SEATTLE - No. 2 Stanford dropped its first result of the season, falling late in a rain-soaked Seattle to No. 6 Washington, 1-0 on Saturday.
"We're really disappointed to drop the result in a very, very tight and well fought game," said the Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer. "The conditions were really heavy after an awful lot of rain, as a result, that reduced some of the attacking quality from both of the teams, but it certainly didn't reduce the competition."
In a cagey start, Stanford's lone shot on goal came in the 15th minute from Will Richmond. Otherwise, the two sides punched and counterpunched, trying to find an opening in the other's defense.
"We started brightly, and as the first half wore on, we looked like the side more likely to break through and score, but just couldn't find that many quality openings."
It was more of the same in the second half, though Stanford seemed to be on the brink of breaking through the final third, peppering in more shots against the UW defense. At long last, it was Washington to produce the finisher, as Dylan Teves scored in the 85th minute.
"The second half was much the same, where we were a bit more dominant, a bit more likely to be in their attacking third, but UW had some good counter attacks, forcing us to be honest. As the game wore on, we really felt like we were in a good spot to win the game, we just couldn't find that final pass and final chance."
"Overall, still very pleased with the performance and work rate from the team, and now we move on and get excited for the next game against Cal."
The loss is Stanford's first defeat in its last 16 matches away from home. The Cardinal remain atop the Pac-12 standings, now in a three-way tie with the Huskies and Oregon State.