STANFORD, Calif. - The Cardinal opened the 2024 season with a victory on Thursday, taking down San Jose State 2-1. The win marked Jeremy Gunn’s 150th at the helm for Stanford, the most of any coach in the team’s 113 year history.
“I’ve been here a little while, haven’t I?” said the Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn when asked about the landmark achievement. “That’s exciting, but as far as the season, all that matters is how we played tonight. I thought we were fantastic.”
The Cardinal was clearly the more dominant side on Thursday evening, owning the advantage in nearly every statistic. Stanford outshot the Spartans 16-3, including 7-2 on goal, and earned seven corners and one penalty.
“Everything went the right way,” said Gunn. “We really put them under incredible pressure, we were incessant, we were dominant, we were around the ball all the time, and I loved the way we played tonight.”
The scoring opened in the 13th minute when freshman Alex Chow was taken down in the San Jose State penalty box. Will Reilly stepped up to take the spot kick and after his initial shot was saved, he fired in the rebound to put the Cardinal on top.
Stanford doubled the lead in the 54th minute when Zach Bohane’s free kick found the back of the net. The Cardinal was well in control, but the Spartans pulled one back in the 80th minute.
“Soccer is a funny sport,” said Gunn. “If it were a boxing match, it would be nine rounds to zero, but they scored a great goal, so suddenly it’s an exhilarating game at the end.”
The Cardinal defended fiercely for the final 10 minutes and held on to prevent an equalizer.
“I’m happy that we saw it out, we can learn lessons regardless of how we are playing,” said Gunn. “We always have to make sure we shut down the opponent, and we held them to only a single shot before the goal.”
Stanford was clearly the more dangerous attacking threat in the game, forcing six saves from the San Jose State goalkeeper. The Cardinal defense held strong as well, allowing only one corner kick across the 90 minutes of action.
“Credit to San Jose State, they kept going and working and a great goal by them to put them back into the game,” added Gunn. “But as much as our players will be upset at themselves for not finishing the game perfectly, I’m still very excited with the performance and proud of the individuals and the team.”
Stanford is back in action on Sunday against Denver at 4 p.m. at Cagan Stadium.