STANFORD, Calif. – Earning a 1-1 draw against the second-ranked team in the nation, the Pacific men's soccer program garnered a goal from freshman
Zion Vaughn to tie Stanford on Monday night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.
The Tigers (2-6-4) possessed a lead for the majority of the match and ultimately held the Cardinal (8-2-4) to just one goal in the 90-minute effort.
"I'm extremely proud of the effort and resiliency," head coach
Adam Reeves said. "Stanford always provides a massive challenge and task, and this group was up for it. For 70 minutes, they were asked to execute a completely different game plan than normal and they did a great job at it. Unfortunately, we made a young man mistake and they punished us for it. Nevertheless, I'm proud of the group."
Vaughn, who tallied his first collegiate goal, found the back of the net after junior
Luca Baltzer headed the ball his way, who then finished off the goal to give Pacific a 1-0 lead in the 39th minute.
Senior
Joshua Moya turned in a top-notch performance in goal, tying his season-high in saves with 10 on the night. Moya collected that many saves in Pacific's season-opening victory over UC Davis.
Seven Tigers battled the whole length of the match, featuring Moya, senior
Emmanuel Obiefuna, junior
Danny Govea, Baltzer, junior
Matteo Carbone, junior
Jacob Heisner and graduate student
Ignacio Flores III logging the 90 minutes.
While the Cardinal carried most of the possession offensively, it was the Tigers who took advantage of their opportunities in the first half. A free kick led to Baltzer's header assist to Vaughn, who gave Pacific a 1-0 lead heading into the halftime break.
Stanford pressed in the second half, seeking an answer. Playing tighter defensively, the Tigers were relentless in not letting the ball get to Moya. Heisner made a couple key blocks in the second half to keep the Cardinal at bay. Obiefuna was a force to stop opposing forwards from scoring inside the box.
Down a man for the final 21 minutes of the match, the Tigers tried their best to defend, giving up an equalizer in the 70th minute, but nothing more to hold on for a 1-1 draw on the road. Moya stood his ground for the dwindling moments of the match, making one last save in the final minute to secure the tie for his team.
Pacific returns to West Coast Conference play to finish the week, hosting Santa Clara on Saturday at 7 pm at Knoles Field.
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