Stanford University’s men’s soccer team secured a 3-1 victory over Saint Mary’s on Tuesday evening at Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal, ranked No. 8 nationally, improved their record to 5-1-0 with the win, while Saint Mary’s dropped to 0-3-2.
Stanford conceded the first goal in the 18th minute when Bastian Toelhoej scored for Saint Mary’s. However, Stanford responded quickly as Alfonso Tenconi-Gradillas scored his first goal of the night off a set-piece opportunity, assisted by Joshua Partal and Will Cleary.
“Another great result and another great performance,” said Jeremy Gunn, Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer. “They scored against the run of play, which can be frustrating, but we stayed composed and continued to create fantastic chances. Obviously, the red card changed the game, but we were always on top, so no complaints on the night.”
Shortly after Stanford’s equalizer, Saint Mary’s Fynn Allmon received a red card in the 31st minute, forcing his team to play with ten men for the remainder of the match.
“He’s been absolutely amazing all season,” coach Gunn said about Tenconi-Gradillas. “He’s playing incredibly well, he’s doing everything right, and he’s been an absolute rock for us. It was great to see him chip in on the scoring tonight.”
After going into halftime tied at one goal apiece, Stanford increased its offensive pressure in the second half. In the 68th minute Shane De Flores assisted Trevor Islam for Islam’s third goal of the season.
Moments later Tenconi-Gradillas scored again with a header from a Zach Bohane corner kick.
“The deliveries were really good today; it was a great performance from the servers,” Tenconi-Gradillas said. “Super happy to get on the scoresheet and help the team.”
Stanford finished with a total of 25 shots compared to six by Saint Mary’s and had eight shots on target. The Cardinal also led in corner kicks by ten to seven. Saint Mary’s goalkeeper Sam Bentley made seven saves during the match.
The Cardinal will travel east this weekend to continue Atlantic Coast Conference play against Syracuse on Saturday, September 13 at 4 p.m. PT.
