STANFORD, Calif. — No. 1 Stanford rolled to a 4-0 victory over CSUN on Monday afternoon, powered by a hat trick from freshman Jayden Fitzgerald Boes.
The win was Stanford's sixth straight victory to open the season, matching its best start since the 2020 campaign. The Cardinal is now unbeaten in its last 15 regular season matches at Cagan Stadium.
Scoring in the 11th, 19th, and 61st minutes, Fitzgerald Boes is the first Cardinal to register a hat trick since Nov. 9, 2012, when Adam Jahn netted three goals in a 6-1 rout over California.
"I was just in a flow state, always thinking about how I could score," said Fitzgerald Boes. "It was about being in the right place at the right time, and my teammates did a great job working together."
Stanford got on the board early after a Jack Pymm corner kick was mishandled by the CSUN goalkeeper, allowing Fitzgerald Boes to poke it home in a scramble for the ball in front of the net.
The Matadors answered with a flurry, putting three consecutive chances on target, but Rowan Schnebly turned away each offering to keep the Cardinal ahead. Moments later, Stanford doubled it's advantage when Fitzgerald Boes collected a CSUN turnover and fired a shot through the legs off a defender, tucking it inside the back post.
Stanford added a third goal in the 36th minute, when Joshua Partal unleashed a strike that snuck inside the left upright for the first goal of his collegiate career, set up by Stanford point leader Logan Tsopanoglou.
Fitzgerald Boes capped off his spectacular performance with a third goal 15 minutes into the second half, taking a feed from Brad Bennett on the right side and driving another low shot past the Matadors' netminder.
Several Cardinal earned playing time with the match in hand, including goalkeeper Jordan Victor, who made a pair of second-half saves in relief. 22 Stanford players saw action in Monday's contest in total, with both sides finishing level in both shots (13-13) and corner kicks (3-3).
“It was a strange game, but I’m happy with the shutout and happy with the four goals,” Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn said. “The positive is we can walk off the pitch knowing we can play better, and that’s a fantastic place to be.”
The campaign continues on Friday, as Stanford travels to Chapel Hill to open conference play against North Carolina at 4 p.m. PT on ACC Network Extra.