Recap: No. 3 Stanford Men’s Soccer surges past Boston College
On Sunday, No. 3 Stanford men’s soccer defeated Boston College at home by a final score of 3-0. Palmer Bank (52:48), Alex Chow (55:11), and Trevor Islam (64:26) scored for the Cardinal, all in the second half. Stanford goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly played all 90 minutes, securing the shutout with one save. Boston College goalkeeper Andrej Borak played all 90 minutes, allowing three goals while getting 10 saves. Stanford improves to 9-1-1 overall and 3-1 in the ACC while Boston College falls to 5-5 overall and 1-3 in the ACC.
BOX SCORE: Boston College at Stanford-Sunday, September 28th
“Phenomenal performance,” Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said after the match. “I thought we came out with a wonderful intensity and we were really turning the screws and we were really looking for that first goal and obviously you know we didn’t get it and after going going going and it looked like it was coming, looked like it was coming, didn’t come and then they managed to just get a little bit more settled into the game at the end of the first half.
“And so the message at halftime was look, let’s not get frustrated. Let’s keep the urgency but let’s not get frustrated. We’re playing well, we’re landing body punches, if we keep doing that, the goals will come for sure, you know and I thought, I just thought second-half again we came out and we were just too much for them, you know. I thought our attacking players were fantastic tonight. They were just absolutely everywhere. They were winning so many balls, creating so many good opportunities and they were just an absolute handful and so overall you look at the game and you go what a great performance all-around was awesome to get a shutout as well.
“Big kudos out to the defense, did Rowan get any saves tonight? Once and so just felt it was an all-around, it was really complete performance. I mean a 3-0 victory we were on the ascendancy for so much of the game and just a lot of great positives from tonight from a lot of great players and a great team performance.”
In the first half, Stanford got corner kicks at 29:10 and 30:53, unable to score off either of those chances. Russell Brown of Boston College and Tomo Allen of Stanford both got yellow cards in the first half as well. In addition to having a 2-0 advantage in corner kicks, Stanford was also outshooting Boston College 9-2. Stanford also forced Boston College to come up with four saves in the opening half, doing a good job of putting pressure on them. Even though it was scoreless at halftime, it felt like the dam would soon break for the Cardinal.
“We kind of fell flat after the first 5-10 minutes,” Chow said of what the message was at halftime. “We let them get into the game and we just can’t let that happen. We need to just restart the game in the second half and we did that really well.”
Stanford got corner kicks at 46:50 and 47:15 to open the second half. While neither led to goals, it was clear that the Cardinal were continuing to apply the pressure. Boston College’s Moritz Gundelach then got a yellow card at 51:36. Shortly thereafter at 52:48, Palmer Bank scored the first goal for the Cardinal, finding the top left of the goal off his left foot as Joshua Partal got the assist. It was now a 1-0 lead for the Cardinal.
“Yeah, I was just happy to get on the end of one,” Bank said of his goal. “I saw Josh Partal get on the ball and I just peeled back post. He played a lovely ball and was just happy to hit it home and go celebrate with the team and the fans. So, it was awesome tonight.”
“Yeah, I think we definitely amped up the pressure on them,” Chow said. “Trying to put balls in behind them, turn them around, and the second ball just kept falling to us. We eventually were able to push them back, keep possession, and I mean, it led to a bunch of chances and we were able to capitalize.”
Stanford would very quickly tack on their second goal at 55:11. Islam was able to juke a defender going baseline and pass it to Chow, who punched it in as he found the bottom left of the goal off his right foot. That was Chow’s first career goal. 2-0 Stanford led.
“So amazing, I mean, I’ve waited a year and a half for it,” Chow said of scoring his first career goal. “And you know, it feels great no matter how winning, you know? Just hopefully more to come.”
“He’s been fantastic and he does so many things that people don’t notice,” Gunn said of Chow. “And he does so many great things. And again, it’s funny because when he arrived in the program, I was positive he’d be scoring goals, because he’s a lovely attacking player. And you know, when you haven’t scored, just the goal looks a little bit smaller. Hopefully it looks a little bit bigger now and hopefully he can keep scoring.”
At 62:24, Fletcher Bank fired a shot to the bottom right of the net that was saved by Borak. The Cardinal were continuing to apply the pressure. Then, at 64:26, Islam found the top left of the goal off his left foot as Fletcher Bank got the assist. That gave Stanford a 3-0 lead.
From there, Stanford would go on to win the match 3-0 as they were not able to tack on a 4th goal despite getting corner kicks at 73:25, 74:02, 74:42, and 77:51. Connor Gibson would also get a yellow card for Boston College at 80:35. Stanford would have liked to punch one more in, but overall, a 3-0 victory more than satisfies the goal they had coming in.
“I think it was just the accumulation,” Gunn said of the key to finding goals in the second half. “You know, in the first half we were so close. We had good chances. We just wasn’t quite the final touch and I just think it as the accumulation of pressure in that we continued to ask questions and as a result, because we kept going, going, we kept going at them, I think what happens is the defenders, they just get a little bit battered and they get a little more tired and our players are so sharp and so strong, that you just get a little bit more separation as the game goes along in those moments, you know?”
“Yeah, our mantra with the team is always keep fighting, next play mentality,” Bank affirmed. “So, we thought we could have had a couple in the first half, but some unlucky bounces. It wasn’t quite going our way, but everyone came together second half. All noses pointed in the same direction. Guys up in front attacking led the way and then yeah, it was just awesome to close the game also with a shutout. Huge for the defense, huge for Rowan.
“We like to pride ourselves to be the hardest working team in the country. I think that starts all the way in the summer, all the way in the winter when we’re running and guys are probably taking the day off and we’re over at the dish running hill sprints or we’re in the stadium running hill sprints in there. We always say that one more, you can, there’s more in you. If something jumped over the fence like a lion, you’d probably run. So, we just go in with that mentality into every game and just drive the opponent into the ground.”
What made this win all the more special for Stanford was the fact that they honored Johnatan Rico, their director of operations after the match. He’s moving onto a new opportunity, but the team wanted to make sure he knew how much they appreciated his contributions to the program. They presented him with a signed jersey while goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly gave a little speech in front of the Cardinal faithful. It was a touching moment to cap off a victorious night.
“Oh my gosh, Johnatan Rico might be one of the best things that’s happened to Stanford soccer since I’ve been here,” Bank said. “Since we heard the news of him moving on, everyone has been pretty devastated. It’s said almost every game let’s do this one for Rico. Let’s go celebrate with Rico. Yeah, he loves this team and we just love him. He’d do anything for us and even on an off day you call him up and he’s there for you. So yeah, we’re gonna miss him, but we know he’s gonna do amazing things. He is a special guy.”
This match wrapped up a doubleheader at Cagan with the women’s soccer team defeating Syracuse 4-0 earlier in the day. Stanford women’s head coach Paul Ratcliffe has enjoyed watching the men’s team and the program that Gunn has built alongside his.
“Yeah, they are incredible,” Ratcliffe said of the men’s team. “The last game, I mean they inspire me. I love watching them play and that last game when they scored in the last minute of the game. Fantastic. So they, I know all the girls are close with the guys on the men’s team, so they come to the games, too. And I think we can learn a lot from them because they play really good soccer and score a lot of goals and they’re very competitive.”
“Yeah, I mean Stanford in general is just a special place in terms of academics and athletics,” Bank said. “But out here in Cagan, it’s the capital of college soccer for a reason. You come into the stadium and we like to suffocate the opponent. I mean, we talked about it. They’re falling over and the crowd keeps going. Players are uplifting each other. This is a special place and I love it here.”
Up next for Stanford is a road match at Wake Forest on Saturday, October 5th. That will be their final East Coast trip of the regular season. Kickoff is set for 4:00 PM PT on ACCNX.
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