STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford came out firing on all cylinders Thursday night against San Diego State. In a pivotal Pac-12 matchup, the Cardinal erupted to a 4-0 victory in Cagan stadium.
Stanford improves to 5-5-3 (2-3-0) on the season while the Aztecs move to 7-4-2 (2-4-0).
"A tremendous performance tonight," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "I think we played some wonderful stuff, and a team that was so difficult to play against on the road and we really dismantled them tonight."
Zach Ryan found the opening goal in the third minute of the game by volleying home a cross from Carlo Agostinelli. The early goal set the tone for the match that saw another goal in the first half and two more added in the second.
"I think the difference in the game was our attacking players just had a bit more sharpness and intent," added Gunn. "Every time the game was getting to a new moment, we scored. And so whenever there was a question about how the game was going to go in the next direction, we managed to find a great goal."
Gabe Segal was the next player on the score sheet, firing home a tremendous ball from Will Reilly.
Zach Ryan provided the third goal after Will Richmond earned a penalty. Ryan took the shot with confidence and provided the Cardinal with its first goal from the penalty spot this season.
"A wonderful performance tonight," said Gunn. "It is the start of the second go around and we talked about it yesterday before the game. We've got everything to be playing for."
Ryan Dunn started for the first time in his career at Stanford and he enjoyed a stellar night. He provided his first career assist in the buildup to Segal's goal, and netted his first career goal late in the second half to push the scoreline to 4-0.
"I think today is an awesome day for the team, some great individual performances and a great team performance," said Gunn. "Overall we're very happy, it's great to get the shutout and great to see the team passing and moving the ball so fluidly.
"It was wonderful to see us hitting the back of the net."
The Cardinal will host UCLA on Sunday at 3 p.m. in the final home game of the regular season.
