STANFORD, Calif. – Freshmen Drew Skundrich and Tomas Hilliard-Arce connected midway through the opening half and the Stanford men’s soccer squad won its first home match of the spring over Santa Clara, 1-0, on Saturday afternoon.
Another freshman, Corey Baird, whipped in a corner that was cleared by the Broncos, but to the feet of a waiting Skundrich. The Lancaster, Pennsylvania native eyed Hilliard-Arce at the far side of the box and fired in his service just over the top of a number of white shirts and onto the diving head of the Cardinal’s 6-foot-1 defender in the 25th minute.
“It was a fantastic header and ball in by Drew Skundrich,” Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said. “He put in a lovely ball in there and it was a really well-timed header from Tomas. He attacked the ball and absolutely buried it. It was a very good goal and an important one, as it proved to be the game winner.”
Skundrich has played well in Stanford’s first two spring matches, starting both at right back in place of departed captain Jimmy Callinan. Originally a central midfielder who played out wide for the Cardinal in the fall, Skundrich’s adaptability has paid dividends early on.
“That was another fantastic performance by Drew Skundrich,” Gunn said. “He hadn’t played there at all in his career and he’s put in two very, very solid performances. He’s matured into a great player and is certainly is someone who has shown he’s capable of filling that role at right back if we want him too.”
Callinan, a co-captain of last year’s Pac-12 Championship squad along with Brandon Vincent, started 71 games over four years at Stanford, including his last 56 in a row.
A potent offensive attack in 2015 will look to its cohesive back line not only to shut down opponents, but also help set up attacks pressing forward. Returners Brandon Vincent, Brian Nana-Sinkam and Hilliard-Arce started 18 of Stanford’s 19 games together a season ago.
“We worked with the back four through the winter building out of the back,” Gunn added. “They’ve been really composed and helped set a tempo for us. I do think we do need to tighten things up a bit defensively. [On Saturday] we allowed the defensive line to be dictated to us a little bit and the game got too stretched. That’s why we play the games and those are all things we will continue to work on in training.”
The four set a favorable tempo for the Cardinal in the first half. Chances were aplenty surrounding Hilliard-Arce’s header. Ty Thompson blasted a left-footed shot just wide early on. Vincent crossed one in to Eric Verso, whose diving header was saved low by Santa Clara.
Later, Jordan Morris sped down the right flank and served the ball back to Slater Meehan who forced the Bronco keeper to make a stretching save. The rebound came to Sam Werner, but the attempt with his left went just high over the crossbar.
“I thought the first half performance was excellent,” Gunn commented. “We had quite a few great chances and their keeper made some very good saves. We were just a foot away from finishing some other good opportunities. We moved the ball well and had some wonderful passing combinations where we really cut through our opponent.”
Stanford’s home spring slate continues on Saturday, April 25 against CSUN (1 p.m.) and Sonoma State (3 p.m.) while UC Davis is in town on Sunday, May 3 at 7 p.m. Each of Stanford’s home matches this spring except for one will take place on Ueland Field directly adjacent to Cagan Stadium and are free and open to the public. The game against UC Davis will be held under the lights at Steuber Rugby Stadium adjacent to softball's Boyd and Jill Smith Family Stadium.