STANFORD, Calif. - Two world-class goals earned Stanford a pivotal Pac-12 victory over cross-Bay rival California on Saturday night, coming from behind 1-0 to take a 2-1 win at Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal concludes the regular season at 9-3-5 and 3-2-5 in the conference, finishing third overall in the Pac-12 standings.
"What a game. It was an incredible environment, atmosphere and an incredible game of soccer," said the Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "We knew that Cal desperately needed the win to get into the national tournament and we knew it'd be a really tough game."
Both teams brought energy and passion to the pitch on Saturday night, as did the crowd. The match was completely sold out and had a season-high attendance of 2,135 people at Cagan Stadium.
From the first whistle, the match was full of energy and aggression from both sides. In the first half, both teams had five shots, but it was the Golden Bears who found themselves in front in the 36th minute.
"The first half did not disappoint. A soccer purist would love to see more soccer, but this is what playoff soccer will look like," explained Gunn. "In the first half, we had a couple of half chances, they had a couple of half chances, and then they scored off a cleared set piece."
Stanford entered the locker room a goal down but with plenty to play for in the final 45 minutes.
"1-0 down at halftime, the message was really that we're in this, we're going to get more of an opportunity to play now. It'll start to open up and the ball will be on the deck a bit more," said Gunn. "I was really proud of how we fought in the first half, and in the second half, we slowly gained more composure, more possession on the ground, and we got passing and moving better."
The Cardinal was on the front foot for much of the second half, launching 13 shots in the period compared to six from California. Stanford also had five corner kicks in the second half.
Then, in the 65th minute, Dylan Hooper scored an otherworldly goal. The sophomore defender took one touch on the ball before launching a thumping shot from just inside the halfway line of the pitch.
"We were knocking on the door and Cal was defending so well it looked like we could be running out of ideas," explained Gunn. "It just took a moment of brilliance, and what a strike. I'm not sure how far out it was, but he absolutely hit it."
Hooper's shot pinned the top left corner of the goal perfectly, out of reach of the California goalkeeper. And just like that, the game was level at one apiece.
"One of those worldies to get us back in it in a season where we haven't had too many out of the blue goals," said Gunn. "We generally have really earned our goals, and tonight we had a special one to open it up."
After tying the game, the Cardinal continued to press on for the winner. Each team had more opportunities, and Rowan Schnebly was called on to make an important save to keep the match level.
"They had one killer chance that we saved on a counter attack, and we had several chances of our own," said Gunn. "It was like it wasn't going to be our day, and then to score a bicycle kick to win against your rival on senior day, it's not a bad script."
In the 89th minute, Palmer Bank launched a throw-in into the California box. The ball fell cleanly to Mark Fisher, who lined up an incredible bicycle kick to seal the victory for the Cardinal.
Stanford held on for the final seconds of the match to earn the Big Clásico victory, also extending its unbeaten streak in the rivalry to eight straight (5-0-3).
"I'm really pleased for the team tonight," said Gunn. "Congratulations to Cal, it was another unbelievable fight where a tie could have been the result. But in a season where we've had more ties than we would have wanted, I felt we deserved to break the deadlock in a tight game and what a way to do it tonight."
Stanford will now find out its path to the College Cup on Monday at 10 a.m. PT during the NCAA's men's soccer tournament selection show.