Stanford University’s men’s soccer team secured a 2-1 preseason victory over Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday afternoon at home. The deciding goal came in the 84th minute when Shane De Flores scored, giving Stanford the win in an exhibition match where they dominated possession.
“I thought [today’s game] was a good question to be asked of our program,” said Jeremy Gunn, the Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer. “You could sense some frustration, but today was about how we respond to that frustration. We didn’t get overly frustrated, we continued to carve out chances, and we finally got the winning goal late in the game.”
From the start, Stanford controlled play, creating eight attacking opportunities compared to four by Cal State Bakersfield in the first half. The Cardinal took an early lead in the 25th minute when Fletcher Bank set up Zach Bohane for a goal.
Cal State Bakersfield responded with its only significant scoring chance of the match as Dakotah Medina found the net past Stanford goalkeeper Schnebly, leveling the score despite Stanford’s dominance.
“We played very well at the beginning of the game,” Gunn added. “We were definitely dominating but we weren’t creating enough chances to get that second goal. [Cal State] Bakersfield took their one good chance very well and suddenly we were tied again.”
Stanford continued pressing after halftime and maintained possession in their attacking half for much of the second period. In the 84th minute, Eric Frintu won control of the ball and passed it to De Flores, who scored his second preseason goal.
The Cardinal defense prevented any further goals from Cal State Bakersfield for the remainder of the match. Twenty-five players participated for Stanford for a second straight exhibition game. The team finished with a 22-5 advantage in shots and led 6-5 on corner kicks.
Stanford will finish its preseason schedule on August 16 by hosting Cal Poly before starting regular season play against Sacramento State on August 21. Tickets are available for both matches.
