NOTRE DAME, Ind. - No. 3 Stanford extended its win streak to five by taking down ACC foe No. 23 Notre Dame on Saturday night. The Cardinal also earned its second road win of the season in as many games away from home.
Stanford improves to 6-1 and 2-0 in ACC play while Notre Dame falls to 1-1-3 and 1-1 in conference games.
“A fantastic road win at a really tough place to play,” said the Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn. “We were so disciplined with our defensive work today against a very good Notre Dame attack.”
The Cardinal defense was the collective star of the game, holding Notre Dame scoreless across the 90 minutes, including 43 minutes where Stanford was down to 10 men.
“The first half had a slower pace with Notre Dame having some of the ball in the buildup, but not testing us with too many chances,” explained Gunn. “The breakthrough and game-winning goal came off a beautiful head by Jackson from a great corner by Will Reilly.”
Jackson Kiil broke the tie in the 22nd minute, heading home Will Reilly’s corner kick at the back post to take the lead. The Cardinal held onto the advantage into the halftime break in what was already a tense battle between two strong squads.
“At halftime, the plan was to be more assertive and to take the game to Notre Dame a bit more,” said Gunn. “I felt we were happy soaking up pressure when it would have been better to play more, pass more, and put them under more pressure.”
Early in the second half, Kiil received his second yellow card after being carded in the first half. From the 47th minute mark, Stanford played down a man the remainder of the match.
“Naturally though, after Jackson was sent off in the first few minutes of the second half, there was really only one option to the game,” said Gunn. “What was incredible was how rock solid we were, how disciplined we were, and how fit and strong we looked defending for almost a whole half with only 10 men.”
The Cardinal adjusted quickly, adopting a more defensive approach that was able to absorb pressure, but prevent a breakthrough from the Fighting Irish. Stanford ultimately faced 15 shots and nine corners from the hosts.
“Notre Dame had a couple of looks at goal, but Rowan claimed crosses, there were a couple of blocked shots, and our defense held strong,” explained Gunn. “Overall, considering we were down to 10 men, I was proud of our concentration and our application to sticking defending as a unit.”
Rowan Schnebly and the Stanford defense held strong in the face of the adversity, shutting out a Notre Dame team that had scored at least one goal in each of their games this season until this point. Schnebly was credited with two saves on the night, but made key stops throughout the 90 minutes to thwart the Fighting Irish.
“Naturally, we would want to be playing, passing, and attacking, but the second half wasn’t about that today,” said Gunn. “Now we regroup and focus on the next challenge against UC Davis who have had a very impressive early season.”
Stanford returns to action at Cagan Stadium on Wednesday, September 18 against UC Davis at 7 p.m.