STANFORD, Calif. – No. 1 Stanford shrugged off an early deficit to beat SMU 3-1 on Thursday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
After shutout wins in its opening three matches, the Cardinal (4-0-0) worked hard to put away the Mustangs (3-1-0), who broke Stanford's 819-minute streak without conceding a goal in the second minute.
Foster Langsdorf scored his sixth goal of the season, and Tanner Beason and Charlie Wehan each scored for Stanford. The Cardinal outshot SMU 24-10 with a 5-3 advantage in corners, but it was the Mustangs who struck first.
SMU won a long throw in from the right sideline, and capitalized on a deflected clearance to slam home the opening goal. It was the first goal conceded by Stanford since Nov. 11 against Cal, and the first allowed by Nico Corti in his 14th career appearance. Corti finished the game with four saves, including a classy kick save in the 75th minute to preserve a 3-1 advantage.
Drew Skundrich had Stanford's first scoring opportunity, teeing one up from 30 yards straight at the keeper. Tomas Hilliard-Arce nearly leveled the score in the 32nd minute with a towering header, only to be denied by a fantastic save.
Stanford equalized in the 38th minute through Beason. Jared Gilbey curled in a dangerous free kick from the left flank, and Beason was hauled down to earn the spot kick. The left back took the penalty himself, confidently leveling the score going into halftime.
A pair of freshman created Stanford's go-ahead goal. Skundrich found right back Logan Panchot in space on the wing, and the freshman whipped an inch-perfect ball to the head of Wehan at the back post. Wehan gave the keeper no chance, looping his header inside the far post to give Stanford the lead in the 66th minute.
Six minutes later, a Mustang defender brought down Wehan in the box, giving the Cardinal its second penalty of the evening. This time, Langsdorf stepped up and buried the spot kick, giving Stanford a two-goal cushion with 18 minutes to play.
Stanford returns to action on Saturday when it hosts Tulsa at 7 p.m. PT. Live statistics and streaming will be available at GoStanford.com.
