STANFORD, Calif. – No. 1 Stanford used a pair of second-half goals from Logan Panchot and Tanner Beason to win its exhibition opener against Saint Mary's on Tuesday night, 2-1.
The three-time defending national champions will host its second of two free exhibitions on Saturday, August 18 against CSUN (4 p.m.) before its regular season begins in earnest when it hosts San Jose State on Friday, August 24 (5 p.m.).
Down one at the break, sophomore Logan Panchot leveled the match by playing a two-man game with fellow second-year player Charlie Wehan. Freshman Will Richmond lofted a service to the top of the box in the 61st minute and Panchot headed it back across to Wehan on the opposite side. Wehan looked right and took his defender that way, but with his back to goal returned the pass to Panchot on his left, who slammed his shot to the far post.
Redshirt junior Tanner Beason hammered home the winner from the spot in the 84th minute and earned the penalty following a galloping 20-yard run in the box.
"We laid down the gauntlet to the players," Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said. "I was disappointed with some of the things that were happening in the first half and the players responded. This is why we play in these games. It wasn't an awful first half, but it wasn't right. I'm truly proud of the way the team performed in the second half. The mentality was fantastic and we fully deserved to score a couple of goals."
Stanford found itself in an early hole when Jakub Svehlik broke free and snuck a Saint Mary's goal past a sprawling Andrew Thomas. Svehlik's strike came not longer after Thomas was forced to make a diving save from a tight angle off the boot of Anders Engebretsen in the 17th minute. The redshirt freshman keeper played the full 90 and made four saves for Stanford.
The Cardinal, which lost seven starters off of its 2017 championship squad, had a couple of opportunities to get on the board in the opening 45 minutes. Following the Gaels' goal, junior Derek Waldeck slid a pass through to the top of the box and senior Amir Bashti, but Bashti's shot sliced outside the right post.
In the 37th minute, Beason had his first penalty attempt of the night stopped by Remi Prieur and in the 39th Prieur grabbed a header from Arda Bulut out of the air to stifle Stanford's chance. Prieur played the first half in goal for Saint Mary's and Tijs Te Duits the second.
"We're only returning four starters so we have lots of pieces to put together," Gunn added. "It's definitely going to be a work in progress. The great thing about these [exhibitions] is we come away from tonight having learned an awful lot about some great new players."
Stanford's coaches and players will host a free clinic for youth ages 5-12 prior to its exhibition this Saturday against CSUN. The clinic will begin at 2 p.m. on Ueland Field directly behind the east side of Cagan Stadium adjacent to El Camino Real and is for youth ages 5-12.
Among a number of promotions for the Cardinal's regular-season home opener on August 24, the first 1,500 fans in attendance will receive shirts commemorating the program's three consecutive NCAA championships. Stanford will also celebrate Cardinal Kids Day against the Spartans and fans can receive up to two free youth tickets with the purchase of one paid adult ticket by visiting this link.
A full list of promotions and giveaways for the 2018 season can be found at gostanford.com/msocpromotions.
