STANFORD, Calif. — A Jayden Fitzgerald Boes goal just before the halftime break was all No. 1 Stanford needed to earn a 1-0 shutout victory over Bay Area rival Santa Clara on Tuesday evening.
With its sixth home win to start the season, the Cardinal (7-0-1, 0-0-1 ACC) has remained unbeaten in its last 16 regular-season matches at Cagan Stadium, tying the second-longest streak in program history.
“It is another great result for us, and I’m really proud of the way we keep going,” said Jeremy Gunn, the Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer. “We’ve been in a tough stretch of eight games, but even when we weren’t playing our best, we stuck at it and maintained a shutout, which is no mean feat.”
Stanford felt in control of the contest from the opening whistle, maintaining possession in its attacking third for an overwhelming majority of the first half, firing eight shots before the Broncos registered their first attack in the 36th minute.
The moment of brilliance came for the Cardinal in the 43rd minute, when Fitzgerald Boes redirected a low drive from Tim Fortier with his back heel, netting his fourth goal in three games to put Stanford out front just before the half.
Stanford remained composed through a second half that struggled to find its rhythm, tallying ten more shots in search of an insurance goal. The Cardinal’s best look came in the 70th minute, when a brilliant touch forward from Joshua Partal found Trevor Islam, who pulled his shot just left.
The Cardinal backline was rock-solid again on Tuesday night, dominating the aerial battles and stifling any chance for the Broncos to equalize. Rowan Schnebly finished his night with two saves, with his most notable moment coming in the 45th minute, when he made a diving save to his right to parry away a Santa Clara chance off a corner kick.
“It’s always good to get the clean sheet, and I think we did a great job getting guys behind the ball,” said sophomore defender Aidan Reilly, who has started each of Stanford’s seven matches. “The midfielders did a great job working back, and all of us just stayed prepared to block shots.”
Stanford ended the night with a 19-7 advantage on shots, putting six attacks on frame to Santa Clara’s two. The Cardinal also held a 6-2 advantage on corner kicks in the victory.
The Cardinal will now turn its attention to ACC competition the rest of the way, which includes a ranked clash at Cagan Stadium with No. 20 Notre Dame at 7 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets for Sunday’s match are available here.