STANFORD, Calif. - A combined shutout and an offensive outpouring led Stanford to a massive 5-0 victory over conference foe San Diego State on Thursday night at Cagan Stadium. The five goals tied a season-high mark and set a new season-high for goal differential.
Stanford improves to 8-2-5 and 2-1-5 in Pac-12 play to remain in the hunt for the Pac-12 title while San Diego State falls to 6-5-5 and 0-5-3 in conference.
"It was a crazy game," said the Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "We gave away a great chance in the second minute and Rowan came up with a huge save."
From the jump, the Aztecs had multiple chances in front of the Cardinal goal, but Rowan Schnebly proved equal to each, including a point blank save in the second minute.
"San Diego State had a couple of other good chances that were really frightening for us, but we managed to keep the ball out and tonight we were just clinical," said Gunn. "It wasn't as if we were completely on top during the game, but when we got chances, we took them."
Despite the early attempts from the Aztecs, the Cardinal found the back of the net in the seventh minute from a well-struck Shane de Flores shot. He fired in his attempt off assists from Zach Bohane and Fletcher Bank.
The goal marked the first involvement for Bohane, who added two goals to Stanford's tally in the span of 70 seconds right before the 20 minute mark.
The first was a cleanly hit rebound into the low corner of the goal, leaving no chance for the keeper to make a save. The second involved a great build up from Will Reilly and Shane de Flores to find Bohane in the box for the thumping shot and score.
Zach Bohane led all scorers with five points in the match coming from his two goals and one assist. He leads the conference in assists with 10 and his seven goals are good for third.
"On other nights, you talk about how great you played and you couldn't find a way through," added Gunn. "Tonight, we weren't completely on top but we were clinical with our finishes and as a result, we were out in front against a very good team that's always going to be dangerous, but once you're 3-0 up you're in a pretty solid position."
The Cardinal took the three goal advantage into the locker room at halftime, but didn't slow down in the second half. The defense continued to hold the Aztecs at bay while the offense extended the margin.
"I'm very happy that in the second half we didn't take our foot off the gas," said Gunn. "We kept playing and managed to score more goals."
In the 73rd minute, Fletcher Bank added the fourth goal, firing home a lobbed ball from Mark Fisher. It was Bank's second goal of the season and marked his second goal involvement of the evening.
The Aztecs continued to look for a way back into the game, but the Stanford defense held strong. In total, the Cardinal conceded only nine shots, two of which were saved by Rowan Schnebly.
"You saw in the second half, San Diego State settled the ball, passed it well, and we had to defend," explained Gunn. "The good thing was, we were much more assured with our defending and we were very solid."
Duncan Jarvie provided the fifth goal for Stanford, launching in a rebounded ball four minutes after Bank's goal. The freshman now has two goals on the year.
"Those moments, especially when you play a two-game weekend, it's easy for players in a game to start trying to rest," said Gunn. "But at this level you can't do that. If you're not sharp and all out, you're going to get punished."
The Cardinal closed out the game effectively, earning its sixth shutout of the season.
I'm very pleased with how we saw out the game," said Gunn. " We remained composed without allowing too much excitement for our opponents."
Stanford returns to action in a pivotal Pac-12 matchup on Sunday against UCLA at Cagan Stadium. Kickoff against the Bruins is set for 4 p.m.
