A second-half penalty kick ended Stanford’s hopes for a conference championship on Sunday evening. The No. 2 seed Cardinal lost 1-0 to No. 7 seed SMU in the second round of the ACC Tournament at Cagan Stadium.
Stanford, now holding a 13-3-2 record, outshot SMU 18-8 and forced Mustang goalkeeper Martin Dominguez into making 11 saves. Despite these efforts, Stanford was unable to score and was held off the scoresheet for the third time in four matches.
“It’s a mixture of pride and frustration tonight,” said Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn. “This is why soccer is a cruel game. We were turning the screws, getting good chances, and then just one counter proved to be the difference for them. Proud of how the team played, and now we get our rest and get ready for the next one.”
The match began with both teams playing cautiously. Stanford’s first significant chance came in the 29th minute when Joshua Partal’s shot from distance was deflected on target, forcing a diving save from Dominguez. In the final moments of the first half, Stanford goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly made an important stop to keep the score level.
After halftime, Stanford increased its attacking pressure with Tomo Allen producing two shots on goal that required saves from Dominguez. In the 51st minute, Fletcher Bank had an opportunity after a turnover but was denied again by Dominguez. Additional attempts by Liam Doyle and Allen also failed to find the net.
The decisive moment arrived in the 60th minute when SMU’s Mukisa Emmanuel was fouled inside the box during a transition play. Stephan Soghomonian converted the resulting penalty kick to give SMU a lead they would not relinquish.
Stanford pressed forward with seven more attacks late in the match but could not equalize.
“We had plenty of good chances and we forced their keeper to make saves,” Gunn added. “We just didn’t quite finish a couple of the really good ones. This is what happens when you have two really good teams playing each other. Chances are hard to come by, so we have to make those chances count.”
Stanford will have one week before learning its placement in the NCAA Tournament bracket, which will be announced Monday, Nov. 17. The first round of NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Championship begins Thursday, November 20; second-round matches follow on Sunday, November 23.
