A 25-yard bullet from true freshman forward Ousseni Bouda was enough to push No. 7 Stanford (9-2-1, 3-1-1 Pac-12) past a penalized San Diego State (3-7-1, 0-5-0) team on Sunday afternoon. The Aztecs were called for four yellow cards in the match as Stanford earned its second straight 1-0 conference victory.
Bouda’s goal came off a breakaway in the 58th minute. Following a long throw into the box by the Aztecs, Stanford battered the ball out to Bouda in open space. The 2018 Gatorade Player of the Year delivered a beautiful strike from 25 yards out that floated into the upper left corner for his fourth goal of the season, tying him with redshirt sophomore Zach Ryan and freshman forward Gabe Segal for the team lead.
Bouda leads Stanford with 12 points through the first 12 games of the season, solidifying himself as a formidable force in Stanford’s offense.
“That goal came on a very special moment from a guy [Ousseni Bouda] who was the national player of the year last year,” San Diego State head coach Lev Kirshner said after the game. “If that’s how we are going to get beat, a golazo from 30 meters out, so be it.”
The Aztecs’ came into Sunday’s match following a humbling 4-0 loss to Cal on Thursday. Seeking an opportunity to regain momentum, San Diego State struggled with penalties throughout the match, as two Aztec players were whistled for yellow cards in each half.
For the Cardinal, the first 24 minutes of play saw two shots on goal, testing SDSU keeper Max Watkin. It appeared as though Stanford was first to score in the 20th minute after junior forward Charlie Wehan found the back of the net, but his goal was called back after he was found off-sides.
Five of Stanford’s nine shots landed on goal, forcing Watkin to make four saves. The penalty-riddled Aztecs shot seven times, only one of which was on target. Meanwhile, Cardinal keeper Andrew Thomas recorded his fourth solo shutout of the season. The redshirt freshman lowered his goals against average to 0.63, the third-best in the conference.
With Thursday night’s 1-0 victory at UCLA, Stanford has won both games at UCLA and San Diego State for the third-consecutive season. Sunday’s victory moves the Cardinal to 13-0-3 all-time against the Aztecs and extends Stanford’s shutout streak to five against San Diego State.
Prior to Thursday’s win, the Cardinal suffered a three-game winless stint, but they appear to have regained their footing with back-to-back victories.
Stanford will take over a week off from competition before beginning a three-game homestand on Wednesday Oct. 23 against the San Francisco Dons (2-7-1, 0-1-0 WCC).
Contact Alejandro Salinas at asalinas ‘at’ stanford.edu.