Stanford University’s men’s soccer team, ranked No. 4 nationally, will play its first away match of the season against Santa Clara University on Thursday at Stevens Stadium in Santa Clara, California. The two teams have a long-standing rivalry, with Santa Clara leading the all-time series 21-19-7. In recent years, Stanford has performed well in these matchups, holding a 5-3-2 record over the last ten meetings.
The game will feature two experienced head coaches: Stanford’s Jeremy Gunn and Santa Clara’s Cam Rast. Gunn has accumulated 347 career victories, ranking him 12th among active Division I coaches. Rast is recognized as the winningest coach in the West Coast Conference and has led his team to eight NCAA Tournament appearances.
Stanford comes into this matchup after a strong start to its season. The Cardinal opened with a decisive 5-1 win over Sacramento State and followed up with a 2-1 victory against No. 4 Denver at Cagan Stadium. Freshman Jack Pymm scored in both matches, becoming the first Stanford freshman since at least 1995 to achieve this feat in his first two games.
Goalkeeper Rowan Schnebly played a key role in securing the win over Denver by saving a penalty kick late in the match. “He’s actually a buddy of mine. We played growing up together but it’s been a long time since I’ve faced him,” Schnebly said about facing Denver forward Kyle McGowan for the penalty kick. “I just went with my gut. There’s not much you can do at the end of the day. I guessed the right way and thankfully made the save.”
Senior midfielder Zach Bohane was named to TopDrawerSoccer’s Team of the Week following his performance during opening week, where he recorded goals and assists that contributed significantly to Stanford’s early success.
Statistically, Stanford has outperformed its opponents so far this season across several categories including goals (7-2), shots (48-13), shots on goal (16-5), assists (6-1), and corner kicks (10-6). Nine different players have already contributed points for Stanford through just two matches.
Head coach Jeremy Gunn continues to build on his legacy at Stanford, having led teams to four College Cup final appearances since 2015 and three consecutive NCAA men’s soccer championships from 2015–2017.
Two new assistant coaches joined Stanford for this season: Drew Hutchins returns after coaching at NC State last year and playing for Stanford from 2010–2013; Woo Jeon arrives from Cal Poly where he helped guide their program to significant achievements over two seasons.
Stanford returns eight players who started more than fifteen games last year, including top scorers Bohane and Shane De Flores as well as goalkeeper Schnebly.
The Cardinal’s freshman class is highly regarded nationally by TopDrawerSoccer, rated as one of the best recruiting classes in recent years for both Stanford and within their conference.
Looking ahead, Stanford faces six teams that reached last year’s NCAA Tournament as part of its sixteen-game schedule this season. After Thursday’s contest against Santa Clara, they return home Sunday to host UC Davis before beginning conference play on September 5 against Louisville.
Santa Clara enters Thursday’s match seeking improvement after finishing last season with five wins, eight losses, and three draws. Their roster includes nineteen returning players such as All-WCC selections Naji Elder and Will Wiersdorf.
The upcoming match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ starting at 7:30 p.m., with Anthony Passarelli providing commentary.
