Stanford’s men’s soccer team began its 2025 preseason with a 2-0 victory over the University of San Francisco at Cagan Stadium on Sunday. The result marks the fourth straight preseason match in which Stanford has not conceded a goal.
Head coach Jeremy Gunn commented on the game, saying, “I’m sure there’s so much both teams want to work on but taking that away, it was a fantastic game. It was super exciting to see everybody back on the pitch, it was great to see the freshmen get their first minutes, and all in all it was a great game of soccer.”
The first half saw limited chances for both sides, with neither team able to score before halftime. In the second half, Stanford increased its attacking pressure. Shane De Flores opened the scoring in the 65th minute after capitalizing on a loose ball near the goal line.
Shortly after, freshman Jude Stone added another goal for Stanford with an assist from fellow freshman Brad Bennett. This marked Stone’s first goal for the Cardinal.
Gunn reflected on his team’s performance: “It was a fairly even start to the game but in the second half, I felt we started to take over. We continued to put pressure on them, we slowly became more and more dominant and I thought the goals came at fair times for us.”
Stanford’s defense held San Francisco to only two shots in the second half. Four different goalkeepers combined for the shutout. Overall, Stanford outshot San Francisco 16-6 and used 25 players during the match.
Several freshmen made their collegiate debuts in this game: Brad Bennett, Jude Stone, Tomo Allen, Victor Fung, Brayden Montague, Joshua Partal, Jack Pymm, and Aidan Reilly all appeared for Stanford.
The team will continue its preseason schedule against Cal State Bakersfield on Tuesday and will play one more exhibition match next weekend against Cal Poly.
