STANFORD, Calif. - Strong execution in the opening stages of each half propelled No. 25 Stanford past UC Santa Barbara on Monday night, 2-1. The win pushes Stanford's record above .500 at 2-1 on the year.
"I felt tonight was a really exciting game of college soccer," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn.
The Cardinal wasted no time setting the tone, scoring a brilliant goal in the fourth minute, as Cam Cilley played Ousseni Bouda who pulled it back and dealt the finishing touch to Zach Ryan.
Things continued to roll Stanford's way from that point on, as the field was heavily tilted in advantage of the home team. The Cardinal totaled 10 shots in the opening 45 minutes to UC Santa Barbara's one, six corner kicks.
"We came out really brightly, definitely had a tremendous first half. We were well worthy of the lead, and put ourselves in a really good position," added Gunn.
It was almost deja vu, as just minutes into the second half Stanford struck again, pushing against the run of play and executing a series of passes from Will Richmond to Cam Cilley and eventually to Ousseni Bouda who hammered a ball home off the foot of a Gaucho defender.
Down 2-0 UCSB turned up the intensity of the match, deciding to put itself on the front foot. Richmond had two consecutive shots on goal in the 65th minute, but the Gauchos were determined to get themselves back into the game and eventually struck gold in the 80th minute, cutting the lead to 2-1.
"UCSB came out very well in the second half. Our early goal certainly proved to be very vital in the game, as they grew in the game and pushed themselves on top. Even though we would have liked to be in control a bit more in the second half, we defended well enough to win the game."
Stanford held off a late flurry in the waning minutes to preserve the victory, while redshirt junior goalkeeper Matt Frank collected a career-high six saves.
"All in all, a fantastic game of soccer. Excited to move on to another great game on Saturday."
The Cardinal returns to action on Saturday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. vs. San Jose State.
