THURSDAY, AUGUST 21, 2025
#13 STANFORD CARDINAL (0-0-0) vs. SACRAMENTO STATE HORNETS (0-0-0)
Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium | Stanford, Calif.
MATCH NOTES » Stanford welcomes Sacramento State to The Farm for the 25th all-time meeting between the two programs, holding a 17-5-2 record in a series that dates back to 1974. Thursday’s match marks Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn’s first match against the Hornets since taking the helm, as the Cardinal looks for its first win in the series since 2006. Sacramento State won the most recent meeting, but Stanford was unbeaten in the previous six contests (5-0-1). Overall, the Cardinal has outscored the Hornets 68-26 in the series with eight shutout victories.
A PERFECT PRESEASON » The Cardinal kicked off 2025 with an undefeated preseason, posting exhibition wins over San Francisco, Cal State Bakersfield, and Cal Poly at Cagan Stadium. Stanford outscored its opponents 5-1 across the three matches, with twenty-five Cardinal getting valuable minutes before the regular season gets underway. Shane De Flores led Stanford with three preseason goals, while Zach Bohane and freshman Jude Stone also found the back of the net.
SEASON OPENING SUCCESS » Stanford boasts a 31-10-11 record in regular season openers since 1973 , including a 7-3-3 mark under Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn. Stanford has won five straight regular season openers at Cagan Stadium, averaging 3.0 goals per game with a +13 goal differential. Thursday’s match marks the fourth consecutive season opener on home turf, with the Cardinal defeating San Jose State (2024), Creighton (2023), and Villanova (2022) in the past three years.
HOME SWEET HOME » Stanford boasts a 317-127-74 (.683) record on The Farm dating back to the 1973 season, including a 93-22-28 (.748) mark at Cagan Stadium under Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn. Last season, the Cardinal went 6-3-4 on home turf, outscoring opponents 24-13.
GREAT UNDER GUNN » One of four coaches to win NCAA titles in both Division I and Division II, head coach Jeremy Gunn has led Stanford to the College Cup final four times since 2015. He and Virginia’s Bruce Arena (1991-94) are the only coaches to win three consecutive NCAA men’s soccer championships. His teams are 158-52-52 (.702) in his 13 seasons on The Farm and he owns a career record of 345-113-83 (.714) in 26 seasons, a mark which makes him the tenth-winningest active coach at the Division I level (by percentage). Gunn’s 345 victories ranks 12th among active D-I head coaches by win total.
PRESEASON POLLS » Stanford starts the season ranked No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll and No. 10 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings. The Cardinal finished the season 9-5-6 in 2024 and returns a veteran core that has reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament in each of the last three seasons.
RETURNING CARDINAL » The Cardinal brings back eight veterans who made 15+ starts for the program last season, including leading scorers Zach Bohane and Shane De Flores, as well as third-year netminder Rowan Schnebly. Other key returners include Fletcher Bank, Palmer Bank, Will Cleary, Dylan Groeneveld, and Dylan Hooper, while Alex Chow and Alfonso Tenconi-Gradillas are also expected to play major roles after making 19+ appearances a season ago.
FUTURE OF THE FARM » Stanford brings in a loaded freshman class ahead of the 2025 season, welcoming the highest-ranked recruiting class in the ACC and the No. 2 rated recruiting class nationally by TopDrawerSoccer. The 2025 recruiting class includes No. 36 Victor Fung (D), No. 48 Tomo Allen (F), No. 52 Jack Pymm (M), No. 123 Jude Stone (M), No. 162 Brayden Montague (GK), Brad Bennett (M), Dillon Logan (F), Joshua Partal (M), and Aidan Reilly (D). The group represents the Cardinal’s highest-ranked recruiting class since 2019.
ALL EYES ON BOHANE » Zach Bohane was selected to a pair of preseason watch lists ahead of the 2025 campaign, as the senior midfielder was featured on the ACC Preseason Watch List while also being named as a TopDrawerSoccer Midfielder to Watch. Bohane made 16 starts in his 17 appearances in 2024, leading the Cardinal in goals (5), points (13), shots (49), shots on goal (21), and game-winning goals (3). He went on to garner First Team All-ACC honors as well as a United Soccer Coaches Second Team selection. A native of Monte Sereno, Calif., Bohane has been one of Stanford’s most prolific scoring threats throughout his career, sitting second among active players in career points (42) with 13 goals and 16 assists during his three seasons on The Farm.
TOPDRAWERSOCCER PRESEASON BEST XI » TopDrawerSoccer named Zach Bohane to the Preseason Best XI Second Team, giving the midfielder his second consecutive preseason nod by the outlet. Bohane was also listed at No. 17 in the TDS 2025 Preseason Men’s College Top 100 Players list, joining goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly, who was ranked No. 77.
2024 REVISITED » Stanford remained among the nation’s elite in 2024, finishing 9-5-6 to secure the program’s 22nd all-time postseason appearance and the 11th NCAA Tournament berth in Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn’s 12 seasons at the helm. After a blazing 7-1 start to the year, the Cardinal climbed to a No. 1 national ranking for the second consecutive season. Despite a string of draws and close losses in the latter half of the regular season, the team’s defining moment came in the opening round of the ACC Tournament, when Dylan Hooper scored from beyond midfield to seal a dramatic 3-2, buzzer-beating win over Notre Dame. Earning the No. 16 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament, Stanford prevailed over UC Santa Barbara with a 6-5 win in penalties to advance to the NCAA third round, but would fall victim to the other side of penalty kicks in a scoreless draw at top-seeded Ohio State to end the 2024 campaign.
LAST TIME OUT » Stanford’s 2024 season came to an end in the third round of the NCAA Tournament, falling 4-2 in penalty kicks against the top-seed Buckeyes in what was officially recorded as a 0-0 draw. It was a hard-fought contest for 110 minutes, with the margin between the two programs proving to be razor thin in the scoreless bout. The Buckeyes a narrow 13-12 shot advantage in the game, but it was Stanford who generated the more competitive scoring chances with Zach Bohane putting a pair of attacks on frame. Dylan Hooper and Alex Chow each converted on the penalty spot for the Cardinal, but Ohio State was perfect in their execution as they ended Stanford’s season in the fourth round of penalties.
SHARING THE SCORING » 20 Stanford players registered a point during the 2024 season, three more than the 2023 Cardinal campaign. Zach Bohane paced the group with 13 points, followed by Shane De Flores (11), then Jackson Kiil (10). 14 of the 20 players tallied multiple points.
TEAM STATISTICAL SUCCESS » Stanford outpaced its opponents in each statistical category during the 2024 season, holding the edge in goals (31-20), shots (267-190), shots on goal (106-56), shots per game (13.4-9.5), assists (33-14), and corner kicks (121-83).
SOPHOMORE SEASON IN THE ACC » Stanford ranked tied for fifth in the 2025 Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) preseason poll, sitting behind Clemson, defending champion Wake Forest, Pittsburgh, and Duke. went 3-2-3 in conference play during its inaugural ACC season, picking up three key road wins over No. 2 Clemson, No. 23 Notre Dame, and Virginia. Heading into 2025, the Cardinal eyes first-time conference matchups against Boston College, Louisville, Pittsburgh, Syracuse, and Virginia Tech.
ACC IN THE RANKINGS » Eight ACC programs are featured in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll, including four teams inside the top ten, both the most of any conference. Ranked ACC programs include No. 5 SMU, No. 6 Wake Forest, No. 7 Pittsburgh, No. 9 Clemson, No. 13 Stanford, No. 14 NC State, No. 15 Duke, and No. 17 Virginia.
CONFERENCE DOMINANCE » The Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) has proven to be the pinnacle of the sport with eight ACC programs having won an NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship, the most of any conference. Virginia leads the league with seven national titles, followed by Clemson (4), Stanford (3), North Carolina (2), Duke (1), Notre Dame (1), Syracuse (1), and Wake Forest (1). Six active ACC head coaches have won D-I national championships including Jeremy Gunn, Mike Noonan (Clemson), Carlos Somoano (North Carolina), Jay Vidovich (Pittsburgh), Ian McIntyre (Syracuse), and George Gelnovatch (Virginia). NC State’s Marc Hubbard won a Division II national title in 2013.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE » Stanford is one of just two programs to win three straight NCAA titles (2015-17). Virginia won four in a row from 1991-94. It is also one of seven to win at least three national championships along with Saint Louis (10), Indiana (8), Virginia (7), San Francisco (4), UCLA (4) and Maryland (4). Stanford went 52-7-10 (.826) during its three-year championship run.
POSTSEASON REGULARS » Stanford’s 2024 NCAA tournament bid marked the Cardinal’s 11th appearance in the NCAA tournament in the last 11 seasons and its 22nd NCAA tournament appearance overall. The Cardinal has made seven College Cups, most recently in 2019, along with five College Cup Finals and three NCAA Championships (2015-17).
HOME OF CHAMPIONS » Stanford is the all-time leader with 137 NCAA team championships (70 men, 67 women), and 173 national championships overall. The Cardinal owns the most recognizable streak in college athletics, having won at least one NCAA team
title during each of the last 49 seasons, dating back to the 1976-77 campaign. The Cardinal has also produced 565 NCAA individual champions and 658 overall. Stanford has won the Learfield Directors’ Cup in 26 of the possible 31 seasons, including a 25-year streak from 1995-2019.
SCOUTING THE HORNETS » Sacramento State is coming off a 6-10-2 season in 2024, recording a 3-6 record in the Big West Conference. Six starters return for the Hornets, including each of the program’s top five leading scorers, highlighted by All-Big West forward Donovan Sessoms and Big West All-Freshman Team selection Sean Battistessa. There will be plenty of new faces for the team in 2025, as they welcome a total of 12 newcomers this season, six of whom are transfers.
NOW AND LATER » Stanford opens the regular season on Thursday against Sacramento State at Cagan Stadium. The match is slated for a 3 p.m. kickoff with Sara Ach and Alejandro Flores on the call on ACC Network Extra. The Cardinal will continue the homestand on Sunday as they host fourth-ranked Denver at 7 p.m., also to be streamed live on ACC Network Extra. Stanford hits the road for the first time in the 2025 season on August 28, when it makes the short trip to Santa Clara at 7:30 p.m.
A LOOK AHEAD » The 16-game 2025 slate features six NCAA Tournament teams from 2024: Denver, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, SMU, UC Davis, and Wake Forest. Four of those teams (Denver, Pittsburgh, SMU, and Wake Forest) are ranked in the top seven in the United Soccer Coaches preseason poll.
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS » While Stanford aims to secure an early-season victory on Thursday afternoon, fans can arrive early to Cagan Stadium for a chance to secure a free Stanford Men’s Soccer t-shirt. If one match isn’t enough, fans are welcome to another electrifying night at Cagan, where early arrivers can snag a free trucker hat, while supplies last.