May 27, 2005
Stanford, Calif.- A preseason trip to the Midwest and nine matches against teams that qualified for postseason competition last season highlight the recently released 2005 Stanford Men's Soccer schedule. Head coach Bret Simon's fifth year on The Farm begins with a preseason trip to Creighton and ends with a traditional finale at rival Cal on November 13.
"We are excited about our 2005 schedule in that fans will get to see opponents from all over the country," said Simon. "We always try to play a challenging schedule against teams from different regions, and this year will be no different."
The Cardinal will travel to Omaha in August for a week of training and a pair of preseason game at Creighton University. The trip will mark a homecoming of sorts for Simon, who coached at Creighton for six seasons and guided the Bluejays to the most successful season in program history with a 22-4-0 overall record and a trip to the College Cup in 2000. Simon became the first coach to lead two different schools to the NCAA College Cup when he coached the Cardinal to back-to-back appearances in 2001 and 2002.
Stanford will return to the Bay Area to open the season at San Jose State on September 1, marking the start of a five-game road stretch to begin the campaign. Following a tilt at UC Davis on September 4, the team will compete in the Cal Tournament in Berkeley where they will meet Cal State Northridge and Vanderbilt.
The squad will then participate in the first annual Bay Area Classic, a series of matches that will pit the region's top collegiate teams against one another. The Cardinal will travel to Santa Clara on September 16 before opening the team's home slate against 2004 West Coast Conference champion San Francisco on September 18.
Maloney Field will once again be the site of the Stanford/Nike Invitational the following weekend, and the Cardinal will welcome Alabama-Birmingham and Army to The Farm for two final non-conference clashes before opening up Pac-10 play.
Stanford begins conference action on the road, taking on Pac-10 newcomer San Diego State and UCLA before returning home to face Cal on October 8. The rigorous conference slate continues with home games against Washington and Oregon State before the Cardinal makes a northwest swing to take on the same two foes the following weekend. After home clashes with UCLA and San Diego State on November 4 and 6, respectively, the Cardinal closes out the regular season at Cal on November 13.
"Year in and year out the Pac-10 is one of the most difficult men's soccer conferences in the country," surmised Simon. "Any one of the teams in our conference has the ability to qualify for and succeed in the NCAA Tournament."
The Cardinal finished the 2004 campaign with a 7-6-5 overall and a 2-4-2 mark in Pac-10 play, narrowly missing out on postseason selection.
Stanford men's soccer fans can purchase tickets for the 2005 season by calling 1-800-STANFORD or visiting www.gostanford.com.