STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford scored three times in the span of 13 second-half minutes and the No. 1 Cardinal rolled to its seventh consecutive victory with a 3-0 win over San Jose State on Tuesday night.
Stanford (7-0) has won its first seven matches for the first time in 17 years. It also went 7-0 to begin its 2002 campaign. The school record for consecutive victories to begin a season is nine, set in 1997 and matched in 2001.
The first 15 minutes after halftime often decides games and the Cardinal absolutely dominated that stretch against the Spartans (0-7). Charlie Wehan had a shot saved and another go high in a seven-second span early in the period before slipping the ball to freshman Ousseni Bouda, who hammered it in from a tight angle to put Stanford in front in the 52nd minute.
Less than two minutes later, a Logan Panchot corner was punched away by SJSU keeper David Sweeney and dropped perfectly to Derek Waldeck at the top of the box. The senior waited, swung his right leg and showed beautiful form to drill it home in the 54th.
Waldeck started Stanford's final tally in the 65th when he dispossessed a San Jose State defender trying to play it out of the back. He took two touches into the box and crossed it to freshman Gabe Segal, who tidily finished his fourth goal of the season with a slide.
"In that second half you saw the energy and urgency we really desire," Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn said. "It was quite clear that we were on top in those first 15 minutes and we did what was important to win the game."
Through seven matches, super-sub Segal leads the team with four goals, while fellow freshman Bouda is tied for second with three of his own. Waldeck's four assists pace Stanford in that category. Twenty Cardinal saw action on Tuesday night and the team displayed the depth it will need to make a run at its sixth consecutive Pac-12 title.
"There were a lot of bright showings," Gunn added . "The strikers are all fighting for time and they can all stake a claim that they should be getting more minutes. We have the luxury of enjoying good, healthy competition. You have to keep pushing and be ready to make most of your opportunities and that's what players did tonight."
Stanford is at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday, Sept. 28 before getting into the teeth of its conference schedule, beginning with Washington at Cagan Stadium on Thursday, Oct. 3.
