Recap: No. 12 Stanford Men’s Soccer falls to Washington in 3rd round of NCAA tourney
On Sunday, No. 12 Stanford men’s soccer fell to Washington in the 3rd round of the NCAA tournament by a final score of 1-0. It was a heartbreaking loss for the Cardinal as their season came to a sudden end at Cagan.
BOX SCORE: Washington at Stanford-Sunday, November 30th
“Just feel sick. Just sick,” Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said of how he felt after the match. “We started the game emphatically. We were so dominant in the first half and we were so far on top; we just needed to finish chances. Just that simple.
“And so, to go in at halftime 0-0 naturally gave Washington and opportunity to regroup and they definitely came out better in the second half. And so in the second half, it was a more even game that went back and forth, you know? And again, it’s just a case of creating an opening and finishing an opening and while the game is at 0-0, it only takes one chance and you know, they finish a good delivery and it’s the end of the season.
“And so, not much more to say. I mean, our team played so well, for such extended periods of the game. In every way and sense of the game, we feel that we were the better team, but we come off second best on the scoreline and that’s soccer.”
Stanford out-shot Washington 23-9, had a 5-4 advantage in shots on goal, and a 6-3 advantage in corner kicks. Despite those advantages, it was the Huskies that found the back of the net and not the Cardinal.
What made the loss all the more painful for Stanford was having a goal taken away in the first half due to an offsides. At the 29:44 mark, Palmer Bank fired a shot that was initially saved by Washington goalkeeper Jadon Bowton. On the rebound off the save, Stanford fired the ball into the net thinking they had a 1-0 lead. The officials went to review, determining that it was an offsides. That kept it a 0-0 game.
“I have not looked at it,” Gunn said of the goal being taken away. “People say it’s inches, but it’s inches, you know, but we had plenty of other opportunities on top of that as well. And so, it’s exciting to be getting chances and you’ve gotta keep going. We just couldn’t find a way to finish one tonight.”
In the second half, it looked like Stanford would still find a way to pull out the victory, but the longer it remained tied, the more and more it looked like things could go either way. At 87:13, Washington broke the 0-0 draw as Charlie Kosakoff found the bottom right of the goal off an assist from Zach Ramsey. That made it a 1-0 lead, which would end up being the final score. Stanford would fire a couple more shots at 87:27 and 89:26, but neither were close to going in. Washington walked out with the victory, silencing the Stanford crowd.
This is obviously a disappointing result for Stanford. Painful, in fact. In terms of shots, corner kicks, and shots on goal, they played the better match and were the ones on top. But at the end of the day, it’s about scoring goals and they did not do that in this match. As a result, their season is now over.
To touch quickly on Washington, obviously a massive win for them. They advance to the quarterfinals where they will play No. 4 Maryland. What made this win all the more sweet for them was their head coach Jamie Clark is a Stanford alum. Cardinal fans should be able to get behind the Huskies knowing Clark is at the helm.
Looking ahead to next season, the biggest thing the Cardinal need to figure out is how to better finish chances. They ranked 6th in the nation in shots on goal per match this season with 7.32. However, they ranked 155th in the nation in shot accuracy and 29th in total goals scored. They do a great job of giving themselves opportunities, but where they fall short is capitalizing on them. The defense is always strong, but too often, the offense is what ends up letting them down. With a strong group of players returning, hopefully they’ll be able to make the necessary adjustments in 2026.
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