STANFORD, Calif. – The Cardinal picked up right where it left off in the preseason exhibitions, earning a 1-0 victory over the visiting Villanova Wildcats on Thursday night. Stanford moves to 1-0 on the season and has now won six of its last seven season-opening matches.
“Always good to get off to a winning start, but most importantly I felt we started the game really well,” said The Knowles Family Director of Men’s Soccer Jeremy Gunn. “We were really positive and I thought we passed and moved the ball well and created a couple of good chances.”
Three of the first four shots of the game came from the Cardinal, including Jackson Kiil’s opener in the ninth minute. Fletcher Bank threaded a pass through to Cam Cilley whose shot was saved, but Kiil was in the right place to pounce first for the score.
“We were very sharp defensively, so I was very happy with both sides of the ball,” explained Gunn. “I think as the game went on, they were definitely playing the ball at us and they had some great physical presences. We were just giving away too many fouls and they were getting to hit the ball at us.”
Stanford’s defense held strong despite pressure from Villanova, allowing only 11 shots, four of which were on goal. On the other side of the field, the Cardinal launched 17 shots, with ten being on target.
“In the end, the second half ended up quite scrappy,” added Gunn. “But even in a scrappy game, our keeper wasn’t…
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