STANFORD, Calif. - Hosting its first ACC match in front of a strong Cagan Stadium crowd, No. 3 Stanford earned a convincing 3-1 victory over Virginia Tech on Sunday evening.
The Cardinal (7-1-1) controlled the contest from wire to wire to improve to 2-1-0 in conference play, while Virginia Tech (2-2-3) extended its winless streak to five games in the losing effort.
"It was a phenomenal performance," said Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer Jeremy Gunn. "We came out with such a great purpose, and I thought we were irrepressible at times. [Virginia Tech] has such great soccer players, and I can't speak highly enough of their team, so I'm really proud of how well we handled them tonight."
Stanford forced the game into its attacking end from the opening whistle, recording five shots and five corner kicks in the opening 30 minutes.
The pressure proved too much for the Hokie defense by the 33rd minute, when Zach Bohane found Jack Pymm at the top of the box, who punched home his third goal of the year to put the Cardinal up one.
Virginia Tech had a chance to equalize late in the half, but Cardinal goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly made a pair of stops to preserve the one-goal advantage heading into the halftime break.
Stanford extended its lead just two minutes into the second half, as Bohane flicked a header to the back post off a Joshua Partal corner service. The score marked Bohane's second game this season in which he has recorded a goal and an assist.
The Hokies capitalized on a lucky bounce in the 61st minute, as a corner kick deflected off the head of a Cardinal defender, but Stanford maintained its composure and held Virginia Tech at bay as momentum briefly leaned toward the away side.
With the game clock winding down, Stanford delivered the dagger in the 82nd minute as a deflected corner kick fell to Fletcher Bank, who buried it to restore an insurmountable two-goal lead with just eight minutes remaining.
"The ball just fell right to me and I was able to poach it home," Bank said. "We spend a lot of time on set pieces, and it's a credit to our coaching staff. All in all, it was just an exciting night on a beautiful pitch under the lights at Cagan."
Virginia Tech got one last look in the 84th minute, but Stanford held firm to seal a commanding victory in which they spent 76 percent of the contest in their attacking half.
Stanford held a 19-6 advantage on shots and tallied a season-high 12 corner kicks. Schnebly also recorded a campaign-best five saves between the sticks for the Cardinal.
"What's been so exciting for us is that we've continued to create chances in every game," Gunn added. "We've been putting teams under pressure in all different ways, and that makes us incredibly difficult to scout."
Stanford stays home for two more matches next week, welcoming old Pac-12 foe Oregon State on Wednesday, September 24, before another ACC showdown against Boston College on September 28. Tickets for both upcoming contests can be purchased here.