STANFORD, Calif. - The Cardinal claimed its second exhibition win of the preseason, defeating San Francisco 2-0. Stanford's preseason matchups are now complete, and the focus shifts to the regular season opener on August 25 against Villanova.
"I really enjoyed watching the game, it was a good, solid performance and another step forward towards the season," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer, Jeremy Gunn. "I think the exciting thing was we kept a really high tempo the whole game and we were always looking like we could create chances, so that's really exciting."
The Cardinal brought the offensive firepower from the first whistle and capitalized early to take the lead in the sixth minute. Carlo Agostinelli delivered a ball into the box and Noah Adnan headed home the opener to put the Cardinal in front.
"On the flip side we didn't give up too many chances," added Gunn. "Again, the players are doing an excellent job of making selection really really difficult which is exciting for us as a program."
The Stanford defense held strong against the Dons, led by Matt Frank in goal for the first 62 minutes of the match. Eliot Jones and Rowan Schnebly combined to finished the shutout in the second half.
Stanford pounced again early in the second half to double its lead. Carlo Agostinelli set up the goal for his second assist of the game, finding Shane de Flores who chipped the keeper to perfection.
The Cardinal outperformed the visitors offensively throughout the entire match. Stanford held the advantage over the Dons in shots 15-9 and earned six corners to San Francisco's one.
We're just excited to get going," explained Gunn. "These are good moments but they're building towards our true outside competition. I can't wait for the team to get going and we want to make sure we're flying come Thursday."
22 different Stanford players saw the pitch on Saturday, helping the team to the shutout victory over San Francisco in the final action before the regular season opener. Stanford will look to continue it's exhibition success into its next match on August 25 against Villanova at Cagan stadium.