Recap: No. 6 Stanford Men’s Soccer edges Oregon State
On Wednesday, No. 6 Stanford men’s soccer defeated Oregon State 3-2. Will Cleary (32:27), Shane de Flores (74:17), and Tomo Allen (89:24) scored for the Cardinal while Arnau Farnos (42:55) and Tim Hoffman (60:26) scored for the Beavers. Rowan Schnebly (4 saves & 2 goals allowed) was the winning goalkeeper for the Cardinal while John Nicolson (3 saves & 3 goals allowed) was the losing goalkeeper for the Beavers. Stanford improves to 8-1-1 overall while Oregon State falls to 4-3.
BOX SCORE: Oregon State at Stanford-Wednesday, September 24th
“Look, we were on two days’ rest. We’ve played more games than anybody in the country before tonight. Now we’ve played even more,” Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said after the match. “We’ve had such a tough schedule because of the way the conference works for us. We keep playing teams that wait all week for us and they have the advantage of freshness and so tonight was just like the midweek game last week where the other team was rested and fresher and it showed.
“Now, we score a great goal, we’re on top, but the other team was just a little bit sharper than us and so our players they have a choice and it was they are a little sharper than us so we can take it as excuses or we can keep fighting. And in a game where, I don’t know about the decisions, but it feels tough when you get in and the VRs go against you.
“Now I have no idea, so I’m not questioning the refs, but it’s still an emotional tough point when you’ve got a chance and then they score off a counterattack when we think we should have a free kick etcetera etcetera. And so bottom line is we had every excuse in the book lined up if we wanted it or we keep fighting and to me the strength and the mentality of the team was just absolutely monumental because we looked leggy, we look like we’ve had a tough time, we looked like the team who has had half the rest and yet we dug so deep and having been in a tough spot in the game we were the team the last 15-20 minutes and how incredible was it to pull out the result.”
Stanford was aggressive from the opening kick, getting corner kicks at 5:35, 13:45, 18:57, and 25:13 while Oregon State was yet to get a corner kick. Zach Bohane fired a couple of shots that were saved by Nicholson during that stretch. Even though none of those corner kicks led to goals, the Cardinal was setting the tone and putting a lot of pressure on the Beavers.
Shortly thereafter, Oregon State would start to get things going a little bit as Fran Cortijo fired a shot at 30:03 that was saved by Schnebly. It was a sign of life for the Beavers after the Cardinal up to that point had all the momentum.
Stanford would soon be rewarded for their aggression with a goal at 32:27 as Cleary found the top left of the goal off his left foot. That made it a 1-0 lead for the Cardinal.
“Yeah, I mean, just a great team goal,” Cleary said of his goal. “Was really trying to get forward as much as possible, played a great ball from Shane, I believe it was. It was just let it put it in front of me, got the first shot on target, and then just followed it up. But really a great team goal and just glad I could help the team and finish it off.”
That lead wouldn’t last long as Oregon State would even things up at 42:55 as Farnos found the bottom right of the goal off his right foot thanks to an assist from Andrew De Gannes. Despite not having any corner kicks in the first half, the Beavers had tied up the match 1-1. That tie would last into halftime.
Oregon State would get the first corner kick of the second half at 49:55, coming out with a lot of fire. At 59:42, Dylan Groeneveld picked up a yellow card for Stanford as the match was starting to get more chippy. Oregon State then fired a shot that was saved by Schnebly at 59:54 only to shortly thereafter take the lead at 60:26 as Farnos fired a shot that was saved by Schnebly only for Hoffman to find the top left of the goal off his right foot. That made it a 2-1 lead for the Beavers.
Stanford would then get a couple more yellow cards at 60:26 (Fletcher Bank for dissent) and 65:55 (Jude Stone for unsporting). Stanford would then get a corner kick at 67:58 and 71:45 as they were determined to tie up the match. At 74:17, Stanford tied things up 2-2 as Shane de Flores found the bottom left of the goal off his right foot.
Stanford then got a corner kick at 75:59 while Oregon State got a corner kick at 77:18. Neither led to a goal, but both teams remained eager to find a third goal and win the match.
At the 88:00 mark, it was still tied 2-2 as a draw seemed inevitable. However, knowing Stanford’s recent history, a last-minute goal was still possible. At 89:24, de Flores had a shot blocked only for Allen to get the rebound and find the bottom left of the goal off his right foot. That made it a 3-2 lead for the Cardinal. With so little time left, the Beavers were unable to even it up once more. 3-2 Stanford would be the final score.
“Oh, it’s incredible you know,” Gunn said of getting that third goal. “And so bottom line is we weren’t putting them under enough pressure and they’re very good soccer team. So because we weren’t quite as sharp they were making us miss. So we were trying to pressure them and we just weren’t quite capable of it and so we just desperately wanted to be making them defend rather than making us defend. Because we’re struggling defending to make life difficult for them.
“They weren’t getting chances, but we weren’t making life difficult enough and so you know we, like I said the last 15 we just looked like the stronger team and we looked like the team that was pushing and could have kept going and going and going and that’s what’s been amazing really impressive is that in every game we just look like we could keep going you know and our opponents look like they’re don’t. And that’s exciting.”
For Stanford, this was a gritty win. They could have thrown in the towel and given up after a goal was denied due to an offsides upon review. There were calls made against them, that they didn’t agree with. Yet despite all that, they kept fighting and in the end got rewarded with a third goal, which was enough to get the victory.
“Oh, this is huge for the team,” Cleary said. “Oregon State is a great out of conference game and it’s a huge confidence boost for us to be able to leave with a win today. Now we’re just looking forward back into ACC play on the weekend. I’m looking to get after it and come out with another win.”
Once again, Stanford found an extra gear in the final minute. They’ve done a great job scoring goals extremely late in matches all season long. That’s a testament to their belief and resolve to play all the way until the bitter end.
“It’s the hard work we do in the program,” Gunn said of the key to those late goals. “It’s the acceptance that this is not going to be easy and it’s the refusal to lay down. And so it’s that mentality that look, we work really really hard. We demand so much from the players and we support them with those demands. And as a result, you create mentality monsters and that’s what we’re continuously driving to be. Won’t happen all the time, but every game we’re playing, we’re creating the chances, we’re creating the pressure, because we’re so fit and strong, mentally and physically.
“Well, I think the character builds the win. And then that self-perpetuates. I look at everything so much in life, basically is like a corkscrew. It gets bigger and better or it gets smaller and so, know that the hard work we do gives you the courage and the courage backs up the hard work and then the two of them keep you driving and they keep giving you that belief. And we keep saying that we only need one moment. We’re capable of scoring against anybody and we’re proving that time and time again. And so we’re not claiming to be perfect, but we are claiming to be very very tough.”
“Yeah, I mean, we’ve had a lot of really close games,” Cleary said. “And I just think it says a lot about our team and our mentality and attitude. How we never quit and we’re relentless. And just the closer we get to the end of the season and that tournament time, it’s great to have experience in those tight moments where we’ll just be ready to push on.
“Yeah, we pride ourselves on outworking the teams. If you watch the last few games, you’ll see three to four players on their team go down with cramps before any of our guys. And that comes down to the work ethic of the guys and the work we’ve put in over the summer and we just now use that to continue building and fighting. So we want our first 10 to look just like our last 10.”
Up next for Stanford is a home match against Boston College on Sunday, September 28th. That will begin at 7:00 PM PT on ACCNX.
“They just had a huge win last night in the dying second,” Gunn said of the Eagles. “You know, they were 1-0 down with five minutes to and scored two goals, 40 seconds apart to win their local rivalry against Boston U. But at least we have an extra day to rest and I think that the team will be energized again and we’re really excited to get at it again and that one more day of rest will do us a world of good.”
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