The men’s soccer team had a disappointing start to the Pac-12 season, dropping a tight 1-0 match in the conference opener Friday at San Diego State before fading in the second half in a 2-0 loss to No. 25 UCLA Sunday afternoon.
Stanford (3-6-1, 0-2 Pac-12) started off the season in a slight funk, struggling to find a groove on the road against some very tough opponents–including a nationally televised matchup at No. 1 Maryland. But the Cardinal had won two straight matches before hitting the road for San Diego, and coach Bret Simon was optimistic that the team was beginning to hit its stride in time for the conference season.
And in the first half of Friday afternoon’s game against San Diego State (7-1-2, 2-0), Stanford certainly played well. Both teams had plenty of scoring chances–the Card took four corners in the span of two minutes in the first half–but neither side could break through.
It looked like Stanford might get on the board first when junior midfielder Adam Jahn forced Aztec goalie Blake Hylen to make a save just minutes into the second half. But instead, San Diego State found a seam in the Cardinal defense, and Ata Ozbay knocked a 25-yard shot past the diving Jason Dodson for the only goal of the game in the 52nd minute.
The Aztecs stayed on the attack for much of the second half, controlling the tempo and mustering up several more scoring opportunities, but a late surge by Stanford sent San Diego State’s defense scrambling. Jahn hit the crossbar on a free kick in the 85th minute, and freshman forward Zach Batteer had one of his four shots on goal saved soon after. But the equalizer never materialized despite 11 second-half shots, including six on goal.
Against UCLA (7-3-1, 2-0) on Sunday, the Cardinal again struggled to finish its chances, particularly early. Stanford had the game’s first four shots–senior Garrett Gunther hit the crossbar in the 24th minute–but nothing came of it, and the teams went to halftime scoreless.
That’s when the Bruins got their act together.
In the 53rd minute, 2010 Pac-10 Freshman of the Year Kelyn Rowe made a nifty play to set up Ryan Hollingshead for the go-ahead goal, which was followed by a penalty kick converted by UCLA’s Andy Rose after a Cardinal foul in the box.
Dodson was forced into action multiple times, making six saves in the second half, and the offense never quite got into gear before the final whistle.
Stanford gets a bit of a reprieve this week with just one match–they will host California on Sunday–but just eight games remain before the NCAA selection committee will set the NCAA Tournament field, and the Cardinal has some work to do in order to be one of the 32 teams selected.