Stanford University’s men’s soccer team opened its 2025 season with a strong performance, defeating Sacramento State 5-1 on Thursday afternoon. The win marks the fourth consecutive year Stanford has won its regular-season opener and is the program’s highest goal tally in an opening match since 2019.
Head coach Jeremy Gunn commented on the result: “What an emphatic victory and a great way to start the season. You work so hard in the preseason leading up to this moment, and I thought we gave a great account of ourselves today. It was exciting to watch.”
Stanford took an early lead when Fletcher Bank scored less than two minutes into the match. Zach Bohane added a second goal in the 17th minute. Sacramento State responded with a penalty kick by Donovan Sessoms in the 35th minute, but Trevor Islam restored Stanford’s two-goal advantage just before halftime.
Jack Pymm scored his first career goal for Stanford early in the second half, and Islam added another in the 72nd minute, completing his first career brace. Islam reflected on his performance: “We knew that if we put a few goals past them, we could bury them. It’s super exciting to get those two goals. You never know which game is going to be your game, so yeah it feels amazing.”
The last time a Stanford player recorded a brace at home was during last season’s NCAA tournament when Noah Adnan scored twice against UC Santa Barbara.
Stanford outshot Sacramento State 25-6 and had six corner kicks compared to five for their opponent. Cardinal goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly made one save during the match.
Several players contributed assists: Bohane, Will Cleary, Eric Frintu, Joshua Partal, and Alfonso Tenconi-Gradillas. Liam Doyle led all players with six shots taken.
Coach Gunn also noted individual achievements: “There were some fantastic career firsts tonight,” he said. “We had players get their first time on the pitch, some first starts, and others had their first career goals—definitely some great positives today.”
Stanford will next face No. 4 Denver at home on Sunday at 7 p.m Pacific Time.
