Kevin Meza
Jay Parker
0
UC Riverside UCR (1-4-0, 0-0-0)
3
Winner Stanford STAN (5-1-0, 1-0-0)
UC Riverside UCR
(1-4-0, 0-0-0)
0
Final
3
Stanford STAN
(5-1-0, 1-0-0)
Winner
Score By Periods
Team 1 2 F
UC Riverside UCR 0 0 0
Stanford STAN 0 3 3

Game Recap: Men's Soccer |

Highlanders Fall at No. 3 Stanford

UCR holds Cardinal scoreless for an hour in tough Bay Area battle

STANFORD, Calif. (September 10, 2024) - UC Riverside (1-4-0, 0-0-0) hung tough with No. 3 Stanford on Tuesday night before falling to the Cardinal 3-0 at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.

HOW IT HAPPENED 

  • UC Riverside's midfield and back line made life difficult for the hosts early on, who saw little to no action in the final third. 
  • Christian Ceja won free a kick in the ninth minute and UCR capitalized accordingly with a cross from the right touchline, as the Highlanders received their first shot of the night in the 15th minute from Luka Lukic.
  • Stanford saw an opportunity with a throw in in the 20th minute, but Carlos Gonzalez stood safeguarding the near post in one of his few bits of action in the first half.  
  • UCR avoided a 1-0 deficit in the 26th minute with a fortuitous ricochet off the woodwork, and Gonzalez again stood guard and pushed aside an attempt in the 32nd minute for his only save of the opening half. Stanford made a forceful push at goal in the final five minutes, but UCR refused to budge and forced a scoreless halftime in the culmination of a stalwart 45 minutes of defending.
  • Gonzalez made save number two on the night in the 53rd minute and Lukic split defenders on the other end of the pitch in the final third, but without a shot to show for it. The Serbian's near chance was a glimpse of a gradual increase in offense for the Highlanders into the second half before Stanford broke the deadlock in the 62nd minute and doubled the lead in the 72nd. 
  • Lukic nearly replicated his goal from Friday's win at LMU as time wound down, fending off three Cardinal defenders inside the final third before sailing the ball over the crossbar in the night's final two minutes.  

NOTABLES 

  • UC Riverside put in a valiant hour of solid defending against one of the best programs in the country before conceding the opener.  
  • Lukic was the Highlanders' offensive catalyst on the opposite end of the pitch with both shots on the night.  

UP NEXT 

  • UCR continues the road trip on Friday, September 20 with a 5:00 p.m. kickoff at Air Force on ESPN+.