STANFORD, Calif. – In a hard-fought battle between rivals, 110 minutes could not separate No. 9 Stanford men's soccer and Cal in a 0-0 (2OT) draw on Wednesday at Cagan Stadium. Stanford moves to 6-1-1 on the season with a 4-1-1 mark in Pac-12 play.
Andrew Thomas made four saves in goal to earn the shutout, Stanford's fifth in eight games this season. The Cardinal outshot the Golden Bears (2-3-1, 2-3-1 Pac-12) by a 18-8 margin, and held a 16-1 edge in corner kicks, but could not find the game's opening goal. Zach Ryan led the team with four shots, while Keegan Hughes and Will Richmond fired three apiece.
"I was really happy with how we played tonight. I thought we were sharp, we broke them down, we had lots of entries into the final third," said Jeremy Gunn, The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer. "We got into the final third in good positions so many times, but we couldn't quite find that final little touch in the box."
Stanford had an early opportunity in the fourth minute when Ryan found space at the top of the box, but he fired wide just outside the posts. The home team thought it scored the opener late in the half, but the goal was ruled out due to a foul on the goalkeeper.
The Cardinal had seven shots in the second half, but Cal made both saves from the shots on target. Nine of the team's 16 corner kicks came in extra time, but the Bears held on to preserve the 0-0 score.
"I was really pleased with how we defended," continued Gunn. "We really didn't give them too many looks on goal, and our back four absolutely earned a quality shutout tonight."
Stanford continues its season March 28 at UCLA. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m.