LOS ANGELES - No. 5 Stanford defeated UCLA 1-0 on Sunday afternoon, completing the weekend sweep in Southern California over it's conference rivals. Shane de Flores netted the difference maker in the 71st minute, helping the Cardinal claim all three points and move into second place in the conference standings.
Stanford moves to 9-1-4 and 3-1-3 in conference matches, while UCLA falls to 8-5-1 and 3-3-1 in Pac-12 contests. Stanford's victory ended a three-game winning streak for UCLA, a run in which the Bruins had kept a clean sheet in each match.
"What an emphatic way to complete a great weekend," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "It was a very tough game today."
The Cardinal flexed its offensive muscle early, maintaining much of the possession right from the first whistle. Despite the offensive efforts, however, through the first 45 minutes, the match remained scoreless.
"I thought UCLA played extremely well in the first half, they passed and moved the ball so much better than they did in the match on The Farm earlier this year," said Gunn. "So it was tough going in the first half, and I didn't really think we played our best soccer during the first period, it was a bit of a struggle."
Throughout the first half, it was an evenly balanced contest statistically, with only three total shots registered, two for Stanford and one for UCLA.
"We made some adjustments at halftime and felt we got on the ball a lot more," explained Gunn. "We passed a lot more, played more composed, and we got to put more pressure on UCLA."
The match opened up more during the final period, as the Cardinal fired seven attempts offensively compared to the Bruins' five. In the 71st minute, Stanford attacked forward with Zach Bohane finding Keegan Tingey out on the flank.
Tingey delivered a ball high into the box, where it found the head of Shane de Flores, who was making a run in between two defenders. De Flores made perfect contact, hammering the ball to the lower corner, putting Stanford up 1-0, and scoring his fifth goal of the season in the process.
"But in a really tight game, we managed to capitalize on a great moment with an unbelievable cross from Keegan Tingey and another great finish from Shane de Flores," said Gunn. "So all-in-all, it was a very strong defensive effort that meant we kept a clean sheet and a very tough, resilient effort that showed even when we aren't playing our best at times, we still can keep competing, and we managed to work our way into better positions in the game."
Following the goal, the match opened up even more as UCLA sought to answer. The Cardinal also had a few more chances in the final 20 minutes, as Carlo Agostinelli had two attempts including one forcing a save from the Bruins' goalkeeper.
Stanford ultimately held on for the conference victory, successfully stifling the Bruins attack in the closing moments.
"It's a great finish to the weekend," added Gunn. "I really felt we'd left something on the table when we played San Diego State and UCLA earlier in the season, so the players felt great about finishing the games on the road against these two teams."
"Tremendous weekend, great performances, great results, and of course, on to the next weekend."
Stanford will return to action on The Farm against Oregon State on Thursday, October 27 at 8 p.m. for it's first match at home since September 29.
