Barrage Buries BruinsBarrage Buries Bruins
Jim Shorin/Stanford Athletics
Men's Soccer

Barrage Buries Bruins

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Box Score

STANFORD, Calif. – A second-half surge of three superb goals lifted Stanford to its second 3-0 victory to begin conference play, this time against visiting UCLA on Sunday night.
 
The win was the Cardinal's fifth in a row against the Bruins (5-4-0, 1-1-0 Pac-12), its eighth straight Pac-12 victory and extended its unbeaten run in league play to 13 consecutive matches.
 
"Goals change games," Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn said of what keyed his team's victory. "We scored a great one to open the game up and from then on we were capable of going from strength to strength. We kept growing in stature throughout against a very good team with some great weapons and thoroughly deserved the result. That growth is the most impressive part about the victory."
 
The buildup broke through in the 52nd minute on a tantalizing sequence that began with Amir Bashti dribbling his way out of a crowd of four Bruin defenders at the corner of the box. Once he was free of danger, Bashti passed it out wide to Tanner Beason, who knocked his first-time cross to the far post. The ball bounced once and sat up perfectly for Charlie Wehan to knock it home with a sweep of his leg for his second career score and first of the season.

Bashti himself gave Stanford (5-1-3, 2-0-0 Pac-12) some breathing room 15 minutes later on a play that began with a long throw in to the center of the pitch from Collin Liberty. Derek Waldeck took it and moved up field with a few touches before getting it to Wehan on his right. Wehan poked it forward with his right foot to Zach Ryan at the top of the 18 and the redshirt freshman stopped, turned and fed Bashti just as the senior was making his run through UCLA's back line. Bashti took one touch and without even looking on frame launched his shot at the near post. The ball hit iron and skipped in for his fifth of the year.
 
"In the first half I think we bossed the possession and played really well, but we weren't really opening them up," Gunn added. "Strikers can get a little bit antsy when that happens, but once we scored that first goal the game opened up for us. UCLA had to come out more. They had a good game plan and it could have paid dividends in the first half, but in the second we wanted to keep asking questions and putting them under pressure and it paid off."

Stanford was a step ahead seemingly all night, passing with aplomb and zipping the ball around the field. Usually ruthlessly efficient on set pieces, each of the Cardinal's six goals this weekend came from open play.
 
Sophomore Jack O'Brien capped it off in the 80th minute when Stanford sent in a high-arching ball that was headed repeatedly until it settled in the back of the net. Arda Bulut knocked it first, Beason outjumped UCLA keeper Justin Garces second and O'Brien ended the series by snapping his header just under the crossbar. It was his first career goal as well as Bulut's first career assist.

"We want to keep getting better all the time," Gunn said. "That's all we're looking for. Every time we're out on the pitch, we're gaining valuable experience. Every time we're playing we're learning just a little but more about ourselves. These are new steps for many of the players - being the man in the middle and scoring winners. That's where we're growing from game to game. We're going to hit pitfalls and we are going to have difficulties. It's never going to be a perfect path, but I'm truly excited with how the group continues to move forward and continues to show more and more that they are a great team."
 
Stanford, the four-time defending Pac-12 champion, is on top of the league table with six points after the first weekend of conference action. The Cardinal has seven shutouts in its first nine matches this season and a goals against average of 0.21.