MORAGA, Calif. – In the same position a number of times over the past few postseasons, Stanford again prevailed in penalties, this time advancing past Saint Mary's, 4-2, and into the quarterfinals following a scoreless 110 minutes in Moraga.
The Cardinal has now come out on top in seven consecutive postseason shootouts dating back to 2002 and five in the past four years. Stanford will host Akron, which upset top-seeded Wake Forest 1-0, on Friday, Nov. 30 at 6 p.m. with a College Cup berth on the line.
"We prepare for every eventuality," Gunn said of his team's mentality in a penalty shootout. "We want to knock a team out in the first half and then we want to knock them out in second and then overtime. But if we're both still standing, we've put in the homework to be ready for that moment as well."
Stanford appeared ready for what was to come after the horn signaled the end of the second overtime and its first four takers – Adam Mosharrafa, Arda Bulut, Tanner Beason, Derek Waldeck – calmly buried their attempts.
Mosharrafa led things off and then Andrew Thomas, who made a career-high 11 saves, put the Cardinal in the driver's seat when he dove to his left and tipped Filippo Zattarin's shot off the post. The teams traded makes the next two rounds and in the fourth Waldeck converted for the Cardinal before Jakub Svehlik pelted his shot off the crossbar to end it.
With his 11th clean sheet of the season, Thomas lowered his goals against average to 0.51 and extended Stanford's postseason shutout streak to 14 matches and 1,414 minutes, 20 seconds.
"Andrew kept us in the game today with some amazing saves," Gunn added. "Amir Bashti had the best chance of the first half that was brutally tipped onto the crossbar by their keeper, but at both ends it wasn't through lack of opportunities. It was incredible goalkeeping that kept it at 0-0."
Thomas made a number of stops of Saint Mary's attackers at point blank range. He stoned Jake Rudel in the 35th minute and again in the 58th and saved a 1v1 shot from Anders Engebretsen early in the first overtime to keep the Cardinal alive.
The redshirt freshman keeper was kept busy all afternoon as the Gaels fired off 21 shots.
"It has to be said that they definitely had the better chances in the game," Gunn commented. "Coach Cooper and Saint Mary's have had a fantastic season and to go unbeaten is incredibly impressive. I do feel that getting the home field advantage was a big help for them. They had a tremendous crowd behind them and a little more comfort. I'm proud of how we continued to work and compete in a very tough game against a great team."
Friday's match against the Zips will be the first quarterfinal at Stanford since 2002. The Cardinal has advanced to its past three College Cups with road victories in the round of eight, with wins at Wake Forest in 2015 and 2017 and Louisville in 2016.
Stanford beat Akron, 2-0, in a semifinal last season en route to consecutive national championship No. 3. The Cardinal also prevailed in penalties, 8-7, in a 2015 semifinal over the Zips following another scoreless 110 minutes.
"It's no question in any sport, at any level, the home team has a bit of an advantage," Gunn concluded. "It's wonderful we've earned the right to be hosting the next round and hopefully that can spur us on to put in a great performance."
