[DenverCard]

Couldn't get the live stream until 38 minutes of the first half had elapsed, and maybe that was a good thing.  Per the running statistics, it appears that Stanford was almost run off the field for the first 30 minutes or so.  But like last year in the NCAA playoffs when Akron was dominating them and took a 2-0 lead, the team has a tremendous amount of heart.  For much of the remainder of the game Stanford really took it to UCSB.  Stanford got a goal with about 3 minutes left in the first half, and another about 5 minutes into the second, and all of sudden it was 2-2.

And credit to Jeremy Gunn for some tactical changes that presumably the deficit prompted him to make.  From what I could tell, he moved super-frosh Ousseni Bouda from striker to midfield, and played Zach Ryan and Arda Bulut up front.  Just as the women have moved Macario to midfield, which in turn gives her more touches, Bouda was able to be much more of a factor operating a bit closer to the midfield.  And he has never looked better.  He looked like a threat to do damage every time he touched the ball.

Following a stretch when a UCSB midfielder with mad ball skills temporarily took over the game and then scored, putting Stanford down 3-2, Stanford again cranked up the pressure big time.  And Coach Gunn made an interesting move, inserting Ryan Ludwig in as the last line of defense, moving Beason to left back, and I believe bringing in another midfielder or attacker. Ludwig started at right back much of last year, but this year has played quite sparingly, and only in garbage time.  All of a sudden, he's in the middle and just in front of the goalkeeper.  Who knows what went into that decision.

Stanford kept the pressure on, scored with 5 minutes left in the game, and was dominating in OT until, as VG pointed out, a severe injury to UCSB's top defender caused a 20-25 minute delay and the entire flow of the game stopped.  (Terrible blow to the Gauchos and to that poor player, a senior.)

Along with the ultimate result (to come back from 2-0 against a good team that was supercharged for the game and had a large crowd), the spirit of Stanford, and Gunn's willingness to shake things up, I thought Stanford played with much more poise, and more elegantly, this game than any other.  They were much more willing to pass it out of the back (apart from freshman Keegan Hughes* who treats the ball like a grenade when it's at his feet) and to pass it around on offense as well.  Perhaps there was a sense of nothing-to-lose that caused them to take more chances.

(*Hughes is a very solid defender and the heir apparent to Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Tanner Beason as the next great Stanford dominate header.)

Kudos to Arda Bulut for maintaining focus in scoring the first goal, and for a diving header off the goal keeper that, after an errant shot became an effective pass, resulted in the final tying goal.  Credit to Charlie Weehan for scoring that goal and being a solid threat.  Derek Waldeck is the unsung hero of the team, as he displays excellent ball skills and most of the time the offense runs through him.  Andrew Thomas in goal was his usual excellent self; it appears that he was screened when the third UCSB goal -- a shot he saves most of the time -- got by him.

There are few easy games in men's college soccer and the next two are likely to be the usual grind: UW on Thursday 10/3 and OSU Sunday 10/6. Washington has been on a tear, having pummeled UCLA last week 5-0 (with only a very curious loss to Northridge thus far), and OSU beat and tied Stanford last year.  Recommended viewing for sure, either live or on the Pac-12 network.

[DenverCard]

Couldn't get the live stream until 38 minutes of the first half had elapsed, and maybe that was a good thing.  Per the running statistics, it appears that Stanford was almost run off the field for the first 30 minutes or so.  But like last year in the NCAA playoffs when Akron was dominating them and took a 2-0 lead, the team has a tremendous amount of heart.  For much of the remainder of the game Stanford really took it to UCSB.  Stanford got a goal with about 3 minutes left in the first half, and another about 5 minutes into the second, and all of sudden it was 2-2.

And credit to Jeremy Gunn for some tactical changes that presumably the deficit prompted him to make.  From what I could tell, he moved super-frosh Ousseni Bouda from striker to midfield, and played Zach Ryan and Arda Bulut up front.  Just as the women have moved Macario to midfield, which in turn gives her more touches, Bouda was able to be much more of a factor operating a bit closer to the midfield.  And he has never looked better.  He looked like a threat to do damage every time he touched the ball.

Following a stretch when a UCSB midfielder with mad ball skills temporarily took over the game and then scored, putting Stanford down 3-2, Stanford again cranked up the pressure big time.  And Coach Gunn made an interesting move, inserting Ryan Ludwig in as the last line of defense, moving Beason to left back, and I believe bringing in another midfielder or attacker. Ludwig started at right back much of last year, but this year has played quite sparingly, and only in garbage time.  All of a sudden, he's in the middle and just in front of the goalkeeper.  Who knows what went into that decision.

Stanford kept the pressure on, scored with 5 minutes left in the game, and was dominating in OT until, as VG pointed out, a severe injury to UCSB's top defender caused a 20-25 minute delay and the entire flow of the game stopped.  (Terrible blow to the Gauchos and to that poor player, a senior.)

Along with the ultimate result (to come back from 2-0 against a good team that was supercharged for the game and had a large crowd), the spirit of Stanford, and Gunn's willingness to shake things up, I thought Stanford played with much more poise, and more elegantly, this game than any other.  They were much more willing to pass it out of the back (apart from freshman Keegan Hughes* who treats the ball like a grenade when it's at his feet) and to pass it around on offense as well.  Perhaps there was a sense of nothing-to-lose that caused them to take more chances.

(*Hughes is a very solid defender and the heir apparent to Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Tanner Beason as the next great Stanford dominate header.)

Kudos to Arda Bulut for maintaining focus in scoring the first goal, and for a diving header off the goal keeper that, after an errant shot became an effective pass, resulted in the final tying goal.  Credit to Charlie Weehan for scoring that goal and being a solid threat.  Derek Waldeck is the unsung hero of the team, as he displays excellent ball skills and most of the time the offense runs through him.  Andrew Thomas in goal was his usual excellent self; it appears that he was screened when the third UCSB goal -- a shot he saves most of the time -- got by him.

There are few easy games in men's college soccer and the next two are likely to be the usual grind: UW on Thursday 10/3 and OSU Sunday 10/6. Washington has been on a tear, having pummeled UCLA last week 5-0 (with only a very curious loss to Northridge thus far), and OSU beat and tied Stanford last year.  Recommended viewing for sure, either live or on the Pac-12 network.