STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford continued its winning ways on Thursday afternoon, defeating UC Davis 3-0 in Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal move to 3-0 on the season while the Aggies drop to 0-2.
"Davis are always a very difficult opponent," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "They always work so hard and they always defend very well with great numbers, so it's always a really tough game to get going in. We expected a bit of a fight and I don't think that dissapointed."
The game began with 30 minutes of battling for possession and creating chances. Both defenses held firm, keeping the matched locked at 0-0 until the 32nd minute when Shane de Flores escaped his defender. He sprinted down the field with the ball, taking it all the way into the penalty area and firing the Cardinal in front.
"I was really happy with the way our team competed," said Gunn. "And then we managed to get composed and create some great chances and score some good goals."
De Flores strike was the difference maker heading into the halftime break, but the Cardinal wasn't finished adding to the tally. Less than one minute into the second half, Keegan Tingey and Cam Cilley set up Jackson Kiil to double the lead.
Stanford held the edge offensively with 15 shots compared to the Aggies nine, but it was a battle for the entire 90 minutes. There were 27 fouls in the match, 18 of which were committed by the visitors.
"I think they had a couple of players that were very dangerous and really caused defenders nightmares," explained Gunn. "I felt that individually and collectively, we defended very well and reduced them to limited chances."
Despite the offensive power of UC Davis, Stanford held firm throughout the match, consistently quelling attacking chances. Matt Frank saved two shots on the day on his way to the second clean sheet of the season.
"As the game went along we looked composed, we looked calm, and I felt that we closed the game out very well in the end," said Gunn "I was really happy with the energy and the attitude again."
The third goal came in the final minutes of the match thanks to quick thinking from Layton Purchase. The junior forward applied pressure on a drop kick from the UC Davis keeper and deflected the kick back into the net to put the Cardinal up by three.
"It was a very hot day for everybody, we haven't had many of those yet," explained Gunn. "As you go through a season, you always just keep experiencing those little firsts, and we keep getting them. We keep answering all the challenges that are put in front of us, and hopefully we can continue to do that."
The Cardinal performed well despite the earlier game start and high heat. Now, the team will shift focus to Sunday's contest against SJSU in Cagan Stadium.
"Happy with the performance, happy with the result," said Gunn. "We look forward to Sunday now."