BERKELEY, Calif. - No. 15 Stanford earned a 1-1 draw with California on Sunday in Edwards Stadium, making it 10 straight trips to Berkeley without a loss (8-0-2) for the Cardinal.
Stanford moves to 7-2-5 and 1-1-5 in Pac-12 play while the Golden Bears move to 6-5-4 and 2-3-2 in conference contests.
"A really exciting Clasico," said the Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "It was a really hard battle on a tight field where it was tough to get the ball down and play and I thought we did an excellent job settling down to move and pass the ball very well."
In a statistically even match, it was Stanford who had more chances in the first half. The Cardinal launched seven shots over the first 45 minutes compared to California's three.
Despite the offensive edge from Stanford, the match went into the halftime break tied at 0-0.
"I felt on the day, their defense was very solid against us and chances were very hard to come by for both teams," added Gunn. "We were in a tough game and a solid position without giving up too many chances, and had slightly more possession than our opponents while trying to find a way to unlock them."
Coming out of the break, it was the Golden Bears who found the opener. In the 53rd minute as California took a 1-0 lead.
"It was very disappointing for us to give up a goal from an attacking position," explained Gunn. "We gave up the ball close to their corner flag and a counter attack from such a distance, so we were very frustrated."
The Cardinal responded, however, as Jackson Kiil fired home a free kick from Zach Bohane to knot the game at one apiece in the 76th minute. Kiil found the back of the net for the fifth time this season, tying him for the fourth-most in the conference while Bohane added a ninth assist to lead the Pac-12, two more than the next player.
"That put us in a hole and a difficult position and we really had to dig deep to fight our way back into the game," said Gunn. "I'm very proud of how the team responded and how we kept playing while really working hard to get back into the game."
Stanford pushed on in search of the winner, including a close chance by Liam Doyle from a free kick just outside the penalty box in the final minute of the match, but it ended at 1-1.
"To score the tying goal was a testament to our courage and the quality of the delivery and finish, and from then, I felt it was on a knife's edge," added Gunn. "They had a couple of good chances and we had a couple of good chances at well. At the end of the day a tie was a fair result and keeps us in a solid position as we vie to get into the national tournament."
The two teams were evenly matched statistically, with 12 shots and six on target across the whole match for Stanford compared to 13 and three on goal for California. The Cardinal earned four corners in the contest in comparison to the Golden Bears two.
"Great credit to our back-four for being rock solid defensively throughout the game, just an incredible effort by them," said Gunn. "They were absolutely rock solid today and a great strength for the team."
Zach Bohane led the offensive charge for Stanford with three shots while Shane de Flores and Jackson Kiil registered two apiece. Rowan Schnebly played a complete game in goal, making two saves and conceding only his sixth goal of the season in his nine starts.
"I'm proud of the team performance and the way we played," said Gunn. "And I'm excited to bring the games back to Cagan starting this Thursday against San Diego State."
Stanford returns to Cagan Stadium for the final home stand of the regular season, beginning with San Diego State on Thursday evening at 7 p.m.
