No. 5 Stanford at No. 2 Clemson
Friday, September 6 • 4:00 p.m. PT | ACCNX
UP NEXT » Stanford faces off against Clemson on Friday at Historic Riggs Field in Clemson, S.C. at 4 p.m. PT. It’s the first road match of the season for Stanford. The Cardinal owns a 2-1-1 record against Clemson, with the most recent matchup coming in the quarterfinal round of the NCAA Tournament last season as a 2-0 loss for Stanford.
STANFORD’S FIRST ACC CONTEST » Stanford men’s soccer will compete in the university’s first-ever Atlantic Coast Conference event on Friday evening against Clemson.
TWO-WIN WEEK » Stanford scored nine goals while allowing just one to earn two decisive wins last week. The Cardinal topped Cal State Fullerton 5-0 thanks to two goals from Shane de Flores, including the game-winning goal in the contest. Noah Adnan, Fletcher Bank, and Trevor Islam each scored as well, including the first career goal for Islam. Alex Chow and Nico Rei McMillan also both registered their first career assists in the game as Stanford got back to winning ways. The Cardinal followed up the Fullerton win with a 4-1 victory over Saint Mary’s. Jackson Kiil, Louis Sterobo, Shane de Flores, and Duncan Jarvie each netted a goal in the game while Dylan Groeneveled, Zach Bohane, Fletcher Bank, and Will Reilly each recorded assists.
INAUGURAL ACC SEASON » Stanford kicks off it’s inaugural ACC season this year, completing its move from the Pac-12. The ACC features 15 men’s soccer programs, nine more conference opponents than the Cardinal had in its previous conference. Stanford will compete for ACC supremacy against Boston College, California, Clemson, Duke, Louisville, NC State, North Carolina, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, SMU, Syracuse, Virginia, Virginia Tech, and Wake Forest. The new-look ACC features 15 men’s soccer programs this season with the addition of California, SMU and three-time national champion Stanford. Eleven of the ACC’s 15 programs competed in the NCAA Tournament last year.
STANFORD IN THE RANKINGS » The Cardinal moved to No. 5 in this week’s United Soccer Coaches rankings and to No. 3 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings. Following its decisive two-win week, Stanford rose from No. 13 in the United Soccer Coaches Rankings and No. 6 in the TopDrawerSoccer rankings.
NCAA STATS » The Cardinal has been among the most efficient teams in college soccer this season. Stanford currently ranks eighth in goal differential (+8), eighth in total assists (11), ninth in total goals (11), ninth in total points (33), 16th in scoring offense (2.75), 17th in points per game (8.25), and 17th in assists per game (2.75).
TEAM FIRST MENTALITY » Stanford is home to plenty of offensive playmakers. Zach Bohane ranks seventh in the nation in total assists (3), 18th in shots on goal per game (2.00), and 31st in assists per game (0.75). Shane de Flores is 16th in the NCAA in total goals (4) and 41st in total points (6). Fletcher Bank has also been a key distributor early and sits 33rd in the nation in total assists (2).
CONFERENCE STATS » Stanford his the second-best scoring team in the ACC through two weeks, tallying 11 total goals for an average of 2.75 per game, trailing only Duke (21 goals, 5.25 average). The Cardinal is tied for seventh in total goals allowed (3). Zach Bohane rankes third in both shots per game (3.75) and shots on goal per game (2.00) and fourth in assts per game (0.75). Shane de Flores is sixth in goals per game (0.75). The Cardinal’s 5-0 win over Cal State Fullerton netted 16 total points, the second-best point total for any team in the conference this season.
TOPDRAWER SOCCER PRESEASON BEST XI » Zach Bohane was named the No. 1 player in the TopDrawerSoccer Preseason 100, and was also named to the TDS Preseason Best XI. Shane de Flores joined Bohane on the Preseason Best XI teams, earning a spot on the second team. Bohane returns to college soccer as one of the most dynamic attackers in the country. He had eight goals and 11 assists for 27 points a season ago, and will look to continue leading Stanford from the front. De Flores adds even more firepower to an already potent Cardinal offense. The redshirt junior forward was second on the team with 22 points last season, coming from seven goals and eight assists.
ACC IN THE RANKINGS » Seven ACC teams are ranked in the United Soccer Coaches poll, including three in the top 10. Both totals are the most of any conference: Clemson (2), Stanford (5), Pitt (8), North Carolina (12), Louisville (15), Syracuse (20) and SMU (T22).
CHAMPIONSHIP CONFERNECE » Eight active ACC programs have won at least one national championship, the most of any conference. The 15 active ACC schools have combined for 20 titles.
DOMINANT COACHING » Six active ACC head coaches have won D-I national championships as a head coach: Mike Noonan (Clemson), Carlos Somoano (UNC), Jay Vidovich (Pitt), Jeremy Gunn (Stanford), Ian McIntyre (Syracuse) and George Gelnovatch (Virginia). NC State’s Marc Hubbard won a Division II national title in 2013.
RETURNING PLAYERS » The Cardinal returns nine of its 11 starters, losing graduating seniors Mark Fisher and Ryan Dunn. The returning contingent includes Rowan Schnebly, Dylan Hooper, Noah Adnan, Palmer Bank, Fletcher Bank, Zach Bohane, Will Reilly, Shane de Flores, and Jackson Kiil who all started more than half of Stanford’s games last season.
NEWCOMER CARDINAL » Stanford welcomes eight new players to the team, including four freshmen, two graduate transfers, and two walk on players. Joe Moyer, Eric Frintu, Alex Chow, and Jordan Victor make up the newest class of Stanford players. Louis Sterobo from Saint Mary’s and Nik White from Harvard are using their final year of elegibility to compete as graduate transfers. Stanford also added Trevor Islam and Lazslo Bollyky, two walk on players, to the roster.
POSTSEASON REGULARS » The 2023 NCAA Tournament second round match against Missouri State marked Stanford’s 10th appearance in the NCAA tournament in the last 11 seasons and its 21st NCAA tournament appearance overall. The Cardinal has made seven College Cups, most recently in 2019, along with five College Cup Finals and three NCAA Championships (2015-17).
CONFERENCE PROWESS » Nine ACC teams earned bids to the 2023 NCAA Championship, most of any conference in the 2023 tournament. Stanford (Quarterfinals) and SMU (Third Round) also competed in the 2023 tournament. 2023 marked the 11th straight season in which the ACC placed the most teams in the tournament and the 23rd consecutive season that at least five league teams earned a bid.
DEFENSIVE DOMINANCE » Rowan Schnebly led Stanford to three consecutive shutouts during the 2024 preseason and most recently kept a clean sheet against Cal State Fullerton. The Cardinal defense held its opponents scoreless and earned a goal differential of +4 during its three exhibitions. Last season, Schnebly allowed 13 goals in his 15 starts last season, pacing the conference in goals against average while sitting second in total goals against, and is fifth in save percentage. The redshirt freshman keeper finished 8-3-4 on the season. Schnebly and fellow keeper Jack Morris combined to record seven shutouts on the season, most recently at No. Marshall in the third round of the NCAA Tournament.
BALANCED ATTACK » 16 players registered a point in 2023, leading the Cardinal to 43 goals and 55 assists through 20 matches. Zach Bohane led the way with 27 points on eight goals and 11 assists while Shane de Flores was second with 22 points coming from seven goals and eight assists. Bohane’s 27 points were the most for a Cardinal since Foster Langsdorf’s 34 in 2017, and his 11 assists were the most for a Stanford player since 2015 (Corey Baird & Eric Verso - 13).
A DOMINANT RUN » Under Jeremy Gunn, Stanford has solidified its place among college soccer’s elite. No team has won more NCAA titles since 2006 than the Cardinal (3). The Cardinal has won six of the last eight Pac-12 championships, including five straight titles from 2014-18.
CHAMPIONSHIP PEDIGREE » Stanford is one of just two programs to win three straight NCAA titles (2015-17). Virginia won four in a row from 1991-94. It is also one of seven to win at least three national championships along with Saint Louis (10), Indiana (8), Virginia (7), San Francisco (4), UCLA (4) and Maryland (4). Stanford went 52-7-10 (.826) during its three-year championship run.
GREAT UNDER GUNN » One of four coaches to win NCAA titles in both Division I and Division II, head coach Jeremy Gunn has led a team to the College Cup final four times in the past 10 seasons. He and Virginia’s Bruce Arena (1991-94) are the only coaches to win three consecutive NCAA men’s soccer championships. His teams are 152-48-46 (.716) in his 12 seasons on The Farm and he owns a career record of 339-109-77 (.721) in 23 seasons, a mark which makes him the eighth-winningest active coach at the Division I level (by percentage). Gunn’s 339 career wins rank seventh among all active coaches currently at the Division I level.