STANFORD, Calif. - No. 13 Stanford delivered an emphatic victory to open the 2025 campaign, downing Sacramento State in a 5-1 rout on Thursday afternoon.
The Cardinal (1-0-0) scored its most goals in a season opener since 2019, when it blanked Penn State 5-0. The victory marked Stanford's fourth consecutive win in a regular-season opener.
“What an emphatic victory and a great way to start the season,” head coach Jeremy Gunn said. “You work so hard in the preseason leading up to this moment, and I thought we gave a great account of ourselves today. It was exciting to watch.”
Stanford wasted no time getting on the board, as Fletcher Bank converted on a left-footed finish through traffic to give the Cardinal the lead 90 seconds in.
Stanford remained relentless in its offensive attack and broke through again in the 17th minute, with Zach Bohane making a move to his left and burying another brilliant goal to double the lead.
Sacramento State cut the deficit in half in the 35th minute on a Donovan Sessoms penalty kick, but Trevor Islam restored the two-goal lead with just eight seconds left in the half, cleaning up a deflection in front of the net to send Stanford into the locker room with a 3-1 lead.
Stanford's dominance continued into the second half as Jack Pymm added his first career goal in the 53rd minute, sneaking a shot inside the near post.
In the 72nd minute, Islam capped off the scoring with his second of the afternoon, finishing a deflected Bohane shot at the back post for his first career brace.
“We knew that if we put a few goals past them, we could bury them,” Islam said. “It’s super exciting to get those two goals. You never know which game is going to be your game, so yeah it feels amazing.”
It's the second-straight game in which a Stanford player recorded a brace on home turf. Last season, Noah Adnan scored twice against UC Santa Barbara in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
Stanford outshot the Hornets 25-6 and held a slight 6-5 edge in corner kicks. Sacramento State recorded four saves between the posts, while Cardinal goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly made one stop.
Alfonso Tenconi-Gradillas, Will Cleary, and Joshua Partal each recorded assists in the contest, while Liam Doyle led Stanford in shots with six.
“There were some fantastic career firsts tonight,” Gunn said. “We had players get their first time on the pitch, some first starts, and others had their first career goals—definitely some great positives today.”
Stanford returns to action on Sunday for an early-season top-15 matchup against No. 4 Denver at 7 p.m. PT. Tickets for Sunday’s contest are available here.