Sept. 22, 2006
PALO ALTO, Calif. - The San Diego State men's soccer team fell to Stanford, 2-1, in the Pac-10 season opener for both teams in Palo Alto, Calif., on Friday night. The Aztecs dropped to 4-3-1 and 0-1-0 in Pac-10 action with the loss, while the Cardinal improved to 3-4-2 and 1-0-0.
Stanford's Galen Thompson scored the opening goal of the game in the 32nd minute off a free kick from 10 yards outside the sideline and 20 yards away from the net from an almost impossible angle.
At halftime, SDSU trailed, 4-1, in shots but the Cardinal's only dangerous shot was its long range goal. The Aztecs won the corner kick battle in the first half by a 2-1 margin.
In the second half, Stanford took advantage of its only other good scoring opportunity of the match with a tally by Evan Morgan at 50:51. Thompson sent the ball into the penalty area where Morgan headed the ball into the net for his third goal of the season.
SDSU, which outshot the Cardinal, 4-3, in the second period, closed to within one goal on freshman Evan Toft's first career score in the 71st minute. Senior Raul Bautista was credited with the assist on the play after Toft trapped his pass and drilled a shot past the Stanford goalkeeper.
The Aztecs had a chance to tie the game in the dying minutes when sophomore Omar Persad beat a few defenders and sent a cross into the box. Freshman Steve Beitashour beat a Cardinal defender to the ball and fired a shot that just cleared the crossbar from 12 yards away.
Five different players had a shot for SDSU and four put their attempts on net.
Senior goalkeeper Luis Trejo, playing in his first game of the season, made two first half saves for the Aztecs, who started five underclassmen in the match.
MAN OF THE MATCH: Senior Nick Clemens was named the Man of the Match for his brilliant play off the bench. Playing in only his third match of the season, Clemens was a workhorse on the defensive side of the ball, limiting Stanford to only a few good scoring opportunities.