STANFORD, Calif. - No. 6 Stanford scored twice in the first half and five times in the second to take down Pacific 7-0 for the largest Cardinal Men's Soccer victory since 1989. The seven goals mark the most a Stanford team coached by Jeremy Gunn has ever scored, surpassing the 2012 squad's record of six goals against California.
Stanford's seven goals are also the most goals scored by a Pac-12 team against an NCAA Division I opponent since UCLA's 7-1 victory over Penn State in 2002.
The Cardinal improves to 10-2-5 after the nonconference matchup while Pacific falls to 3-11-2.
"It was a really complete performance," said The Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "From the very beginning, we looked composed on the ball, we had a couple of openings but it took a while to get the first breakthrough."
Stanford had a handful of opportunities to score during the first half, but it wasn't until the 34th minute that Noah Adnan headed the Cardinal in front. Carlo Agostinelli fired a corner kick into the box forcing the goalkeeper to try and make a play on the ball, but Adnan reacted quickly, heading home for his first goal of the season.
"After that, our team always looked composed and in charge and as a result, we continued to create great chances, wonderful strikes, and wonderful finishes." added Gunn. "We scored in all different ways tonight with lots of different players."
Shane de Flores doubled the lead before halftime, linking up with Keegan Tingey who recorded his fourth assists on the season. De Flores' goal was his seventh of the season, the most on the team and the third-most in the Pac-12 conference.
"In our last home game of the regular season, it was a wonderful way to cap some incredible soccer at home this season," said Gunn. "I'm very please with the attitude and the performance."
In the second half, Stanford recorded five more strikes on its way to tallying the most goals by a Stanford men's soccer team in nearly 33 years.
Keegan Tingey scored his first goal of the season with a laser from outside the penalty box in the 50th minute. Then, Keegan Hughes netted his second goal in as many games, scoring a header off a Carlo Agostinelli corner kick. Ryan Dunn was the next goal scorer, heading home a free kick from Zach Bohane in the 65th minute.
Liam Doyle got into the action in the final ten minutes of the match, scoring twice in less than three minutes to notch his first career brace. He fired in two impressive shots, the first off a Zach Bohane assist and the second with a setup from Layton Purchase.
"I think that it was a great opportunity for players to really push for extra minutes," added Gunn. "And it's a great way to set the stage for our final regular season game against California on Saturday."
Stanford will look to carry its momentum into Saturday's regular season finale at California, the second installment of the Big Clasico this season.
