SUNDAY, AUGUST 24, 2025
#13 STANFORD CARDINAL (1-0-0) vs. #4 DENVER PIONEERS (1-0-0)
Maloney Field at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium | Stanford, Calif.
MATCH NOTES » No. 13 Stanford hosts No. 4 Denver on Friday in the eighth all-time meeting between the programs, with the Cardinal holding a 5-1-1 advantage in the series. It marks the second straight season the two programs have met, after Denver claimed a 1-0 early-season victory. Both programs rank among the nation’s top six in victories since 2015, with Stanford fifth in wins at 127, followed by Denver’s 124. The Cardinal are 2-1-1 against the Pioneers under Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn, but looks for their first victory over the non-conference foe since 2019.
LAST TIME OUT » Stanford delivered an emphatic victory to open the 2025 campaign, as a brace from Trevor Islam highlighted a 5-1 rout of Sacramento State on Thursday afternoon. Fletcher Bank gave the Cardinal the lead 90 seconds in, while Zach Bohane added a goal and an assist in a three-point effort. Jack Pymm rounded out the Cardinal scoring, finding the back of the net for the first time in his career. Will Cleary, Eric Frintu, Joshua Partal, and Alfonso Tenconi Gradillas were all credited with helpers in the winning effort. Stanford outshot the Hornets 25-6 and held a slight 6-5 edge in corner kicks to jump to 1-0-0 on the season. It was the most goals in a season opener for Stanford since 2019, when it blanked Penn State 5-0. The victory marked the Cardinal’s fourth consecutive win in a regular-season opener.
BACK-TO-BACK BRACES » Trevor Islam’s second and third career goals on Thursday marked the second straight multi-goal performance by a Stanford player at Cagan Stadium. Last season, senior captain Noah Adnan scored twice in the NCAA Tournament second round against UC Santa Barbara, a match officially recorded as a 2-2 draw before Stanford advanced on penalty kicks.
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.
HOME SWEET HOME » Stanford boasts a 318-128-74 (.683) record on The Farm dating back to the 1973 season, including a 94-23-28 (.748) mark at Cagan Stadium under Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn. Stanford opened up the 2025 campaign with a dominant 5-1 victory over Sacramento State. 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 159-52-52 (.702) in his 13 seasons on The Farm and he owns a career record of 346-113-83 (.714) in 26 seasons, a mark which makes him the tenth-winningest active coach at the Division I level (by percentage). Gunn’s 346 victories rank 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’s loaded freshman class was lauded as 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.
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 PIONEERS » A perennial power in college soccer, Denver heads into the 2025 season coming off a 15-3-5 season and a berth to the College Cup semifinals. The Pioneers have lost a significant portion of their cast from a season ago, including their top-two leading scorers Sam Bassett and Oje Ofunrein, but return five players with 15+ starts last season and 11 student-athletes that made at least one start in 2024. A program known for its stout defense, Denver opened the season with a 2-0 victory over Washington, limiting the Huskies to just three shots on frame.
NOW AND LATER » Stanford continues its opening-weekend homestand with its first ranked opponent of 2025, welcoming No. 4 Denver to Cagan Stadium on Sunday. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. kickoff with Sara Ach and Greg Mescall on the call 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., before returning to The Farm to host UC Davis on August 31.
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 » Early arrivers to Sunday’s match against Denver have a chance to secure a free Stanford Men’s Soccer trucker hat, while supplies last. Miss out on this weekend’s swag? Join us next Sunday for our Camper Reunion night against UC Davis and make some noise for the Cardinal with our noisemaker giveaway!