FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2025
#1 STANFORD CARDINAL (4-0-0) vs. LOUISVILLE CARDINALS (3-0-0)
Dr. Mark & Cindy Lynn Stadium | Louisville, Ky.
MATCH NOTES » For the first time as conference foes, the Cardinal and the Cardinals will square off in an early-season ACC contest. Stanford holds a 2-0-0 all-time record against Louisville, posting a pair of shutouts under Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn. The most recent meeting came in the 2016 NCAA quarterfinals, when Stanford earned a 2-0 victory en route to the second in its run of three consecutive NCAA titles. Both programs have been postseason mainstays in recent years, with Stanford reaching the NCAA Tournament in 11 of the last 12 seasons, while Louisville has made four NCAA tournament appearances in head coach Hayden File’s six-year tenure.
LAST TIME OUT » The Cardinal came out on top of a battle between two NCAA Tournament teams from a season ago, tallying its first clean sheet of the season with a 1-0 victory over UC Davis on Sunday evening. The first half saw limited opportunities in the physical contest between in-state foes, but offensive attacks opened up as the game pace increased in the second half. The Cardinal breakthrough came in the 76th minute as Jude Stone dribbled through the Aggie defense and fired a left-footed attack inside the right post. Rowan Schnebly stayed poised between the posts in the closing moments, logging a pair of saves down the stretch to secure the shutout victory. The final scoresheet saw the Cardinal hold a 13-10 shot advantage, while the Aggies managed a 5-3 edge on corner kicks. Both sides recorded three saves in the contest.
FIRST ROAD TEST » No. 4 Stanford overcame a halftime deficit and battled back for a gritty 2-1 road victory on Thursday evening, improving to 3-0-0 on the young season. After facing its first halftime deficit of the young season, the Cardinal showcased its depth with a new-look rotation out of the break, drawing even in the 57th minute with Will Cleary heading home an Alex Chow corner kick at the far post. Minutes later, Tomo Allen delivered an exceptional go-ahead goal, fighting through multiple Santa Clara defenders and flicking an attack past the left foot of the goalkeeper for the first score of his collegiate career. Rowan Schnebly made two of his season-high four saves in the final ten minutes, and the Cardinal defense held firm until the final whistle to keep its undefeated record intact.
FRESH FACES MAKING AN IMPACT » Stanford’s newest class of freshmen is already making an impact four games into the 2025 season, with four newcomers already finding the scoresheet in the early going. Jack Pymm, Tomo Allen, and Jude Stone have each found the back of the net in the early going, while Joshua Partal has tallied his first career assist. It is the first time at least three true freshman have scored in a single season since current Cardinal Fletcher Bank, Zach Bohane, and Liam Doyle each tallied goals in the 2022 season.
BIG WEEK BETWEEN THE POSTS » Cardinal netminder Rowan Schnebly enjoyed a pair of landmark performances in last week’s victories over Santa Clara and UC Davis. The Portland, Ore., native’s big week began on Thursday when Schnebly recorded a season-high four saves against Santa Clara, making two stops in the final ten minutes to seal the 2-1 victory. Schnebly’s success continued on Sunday with a three-save shutout against UC Davis, marking the 12th solo shutout of his career after tallying seven clean sheets in net a season ago.
NATIONAL NUMBER ONE » With an undefeated start to the 2025 season, Stanford was unanimously voted as the No. 1 team in the nation in both the United Soccer Coaches and TopDrawerSoccer polls. The Cardinal has made a double-digit jump in the rankings since the beginning of the year, after slotting in at No. 13 in the preseason poll. Stanford has now reached the top of the national rankings in three consecutive seasons. This year’s Cardinal squad returns a veteran core that finished 9-5-6 last season and has reached the third round of the NCAA Tournament each of the last three years.
THE CAPITAL OF COLLEGE SOCCER » The standard of college soccer once again resides at Cagan Stadium, as both Stanford men’s and women’s programs are the top-ranked teams in their respective United Soccer Coaches polls. Both programs are a combined 9-0 to start the year with a 3.89 goals per game average. In addition to the men’s undefeated start to the year, the Cardinal women have been dominant with a +23 goal differential, allowing just two goals through five games this season. It is the second year in a row where both programs have held No. 1 rankings at the same time.
TEAM STATISTICAL SUCCESS » Stanford has outpaced its opponents in every statistical category through the opening week of the season, holding an advantage in goals (10-3), shots (78-32), shots on goal (27-13), shots per game (19.5-8), assists (8-3), and corner kicks (19-14). The Cardinal also held the statistical edge in each major offensive category throughout 2024.
SPREADING THE WEALTH » Through just four matches, Stanford has already had seven players find the back of the net with 13 total Cardinal contributing to the scoresheet. Zach Bohane, Trevor Islam, and Jack Pymm have each tallied multiple goals for Stanford so far this season. For comparison, the Cardinal finished the 2024 season with 20 players recording at least one point, including seven who scored multiple goals. Bohane paced last year’s group with 13 points, followed by Shane De Flores (11) and Jackson Kiil (10). Fourteen of the 20 players finished with multiple points.
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 25 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.
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 162-52-52 (.707) in his 13 seasons on The Farm and he owns a career record of 349-113-83 (.717) in 26 seasons, a mark which makes him the tenth-winningest active coach at the Division I level (by percentage). Gunn’s 349 victories rank 12th among active D-I head coaches by win total.
NEW CARDINAL COACHES » Two new members of the Cardinal coaching staff enter the fold for 2025, as Drew Hutchins and Woo Jeon join the sideline this upcoming season. Hutchins, a 2014 Stanford graduate, arrives on The Farm after spending one season as an assistant coach for NC State. During his time in Raleigh, Hutchins helped guide the Wolfpack to a 10-5-5 record and an NCAA Sweet Sixteen appearance. Hutchins makes his return to Stanford after a four-year playing career from 2010-2013, where he started every game his final two seasons. Jeon is set to serve as assistant coach for the Cardinal after a two-year stint with Cal Poly. Most recently serving as associate head coach for the Mustangs, Cal Poly made two Big West championship appearances and earned the program’s first Big West regular season title in 2024 during Jeon’s two years in San Luis Obispo.
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.
HOME SWEET HOME » Stanford boasts a 319-128-74 (.684) record on The Farm dating back to the 1973 season, including a 95-23-28 (.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, before knocking off No. 4 Denver 2-1 on Sunday. Last season, the Cardinal went 6-3-4 on home turf, outscoring opponents 24-13.
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.
ACADEMIC WEAPONS » Stanford got it done both on the pitch and in the classroom in 2024, honored by the United Soccer Coaches with the 2024-25 College Team Academic Award. The Cardinal boasted a 3.74 grade point average, the highest GPA among Division-I award winners. Additionally, 15 student-athletes were named All-ACC Academic Team selections in 2024, with Noah Adnan, Fletcher Bank, Palmer Bank, Zach Bohane, Alex Chow, Liam Doyle, Dylan Groeneveld, Dylan Hooper, Dylan Jarvie, Jackson Kiil, Kwabena Kwakwa, Will Reilly, Rowan Schnebly, Alfonso Tenconi Gradillas, and Nik White all recognized by the conference.
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 » Seven ACC programs are ranked in the top-15 of the latest United Soccer Coaches poll, the most of any conference. Stanford leads the conference as the top-ranked team in the nation, followed by No. 3 Clemson, No. 5 NC State, No. 7 Wake Forest, No. 8 Virginia Tech, No. 10 Pittsburgh, and No. 14 Duke. North Carolina, Virginia, and Louisville each received votes.
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 12 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 CARDINALS » Louisville has enjoyed a perfect start to the 2025 campaign, sitting 3-0-0 on the season without allowing a single goal thus far. A young core with 22 underclassmen, the returning Cardinals are headlined by Preseason ACC Watch List member Alex Svetanoff between the posts. Sophomore forward Michael Lee has led Louisville in scoring in the early going, recording two goals and two assists thus far. Louisville is led by seventh-year head coach Hayden File, who holds a 55-42-14 (.559) career record and has led the Cardinals to four NCAA Tournament appearances.
NOW AND LATER » Stanford kicks off ACC Play on Friday, September 5 with an early-morning road contest against Louisville. The match will kick off on ACC Network Extra at 8 a.m. PT with Jonathan Matthes on the call. The Cardinal will return to Cagan Stadium on Tuesday, September 9 at 7 p.m. PT before returning to the East Coast for a conference match with Syracuse on Saturday, September 13 at 4 p.m. PT
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. After already earning a ranked win over Denver, Stanford awaits four more opponents currently featured in the United Soccer coaches poll, including Wake Forest, Virginia Tech, and Pittsburgh.
UPCOMING PROMOTIONS » Mark your calendars as we welcome students back to campus with a free T-Shirt giveaway on September 21. Fans can also stick around after the action for our first postgame autograph session of the season. Miss out on the fun? Return to Cagan Stadium on September 28 and snag a free beanie courtesy of Stanford Athletics.