Stanford University’s men’s soccer team will host Boston College in the first round of the ACC Men’s Soccer Championship on Wednesday, November 5, at Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed with a regular season record of 12-2-2, while Boston College holds the No. 15 seed after finishing their season at 7-8-1.
This match marks the second meeting between Stanford and Boston College this season and is the fourth all-time encounter between the programs since their first match-up in 1985. In their last contest on September 28, Stanford defeated Boston College 3-0 with goals from Palmer Bank, Alex Chow, and Trevor Islam.
Stanford aims for its 12th NCAA Tournament appearance under head coach Jeremy Gunn, who has led the program for 14 seasons. “One of four coaches to win NCAA titles in both Division I and Division II, head coach Jeremy Gunn has led Stanford to the College Cup final four times since 2015. He and Virginia’s Bruce Arena (1991-94) are the only coaches to win three consecutive NCAA men’s soccer championships.” Under Gunn’s leadership, Stanford has compiled a record of 170-54-54 over his tenure.
The Cardinal finished second in ACC regular-season play and were particularly strong at home with an unbeaten record (9-0-1) at Cagan Stadium—their best home performance since 2017. The team has demonstrated resilience throughout the year by recording late comebacks in several matches, including wins or draws secured after trailing in the final minutes.
Offensively, Stanford is led by sophomore midfielder Trevor Islam—who joined as a walk-on last season—and senior captain Zach Bohane. Islam leads with six goals this season while Bohane adds five goals and three assists. The Cardinal have had contributions from multiple players; eleven different members have scored this year.
Freshman Joshua Partal leads Stanford with six assists and was named to TopDrawerSoccer’s National Team of the Week earlier this fall. Three freshmen—Jack Pymm (three goals), Tomo Allen (two), and Jude Stone (one)—have also found the net during their debut campaigns.
Defensively, Alfonso Tenconi-Gradillas transitioned from striker to center back this year and helped secure two clean sheets while maintaining offensive output with four goals scored.
Stanford outperformed opponents statistically across all major categories: they scored more goals (32 vs. opponents’ 13), took more shots (295 vs. 110), registered more shots on goal (111 vs. 39), delivered more assists (25 vs.10), and earned more corner kicks (104 vs.51).
In national rankings heading into postseason play, Stanford sits at No.7 in United Soccer Coaches poll and No.11 according to TopDrawerSoccer.
The Cardinal are one of only two NCAA programs to win three consecutive national championships (2015–17). They have reached double-digit regular-season wins eight times under Gunn and look set for another deep postseason run.
Boston College comes into Wednesday’s match needing a strong showing to secure an NCAA Tournament berth; they have made just one appearance in that competition over the past eight seasons under sixth-year head coach Bob Thompson.
Should Stanford advance past Boston College, they will host either SMU or Wake Forest on Sunday, November 9. The ACC semifinals and championship game are scheduled for November 13–16 at WakeMed Soccer Park in Cary, North Carolina.
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