In the second Big Clàsico of the season, Stanford men’s soccer (6-1-1, 4-1-1 Pac-12) tied with Cal (2-3-1, 1-3-1 Pac-12) 0-0. Neither team was able to finish off its opportunities in what turned into a defensive battle.

The Cardinal were coming off its first loss of the season, last week against No. 6 Washington. 

Stanford forced most of the action in the first half, but was not able to find the back of the net. Cal had the first big chance of the match when senior midfielder Francisco Perez’s attempt was saved by Stanford redshirt junior goalkeeper Andrew Thomas in the sixth minute. 

Four minutes later, senior forward Charlie Wehan’s header forced a save at the other end. 

The half ended with both teams deadlocked at 0-0. Stanford outshot Cal 7-2. 

The second period would be much of the same as the Cardinal largely controlled the run of play. The Golden Bears thought they had scored the opener in the 74th minute, but it was ruled out for offsides. 

By the 90th minute, the score was still even at zero apiece. Stanford had outshot Cal 7-3 in the second half. The teams then headed into a sudden death overtime. The Cardinal were no strangers to golden goal, having knocked off San Diego State thanks to a goal from sophomore forward Gabe Segal in the very first minute of that first overtime period. 

Stanford would have no such luck in golden goal this time around. The Cardinal yet again created more opportunities than its opponent, but none of them were clear-cut scoring chances. Junior midfielder Will Richmond worked tirelessly on the wing for Stanford to make something happen, but his efforts were just not enough. 

The Cardinal earned nine corner kicks in the two overtime periods but were unable to convert. Stanford also outshot Cal 4-3 in overtime. 

Stanford will be back on the pitch again this Sunday at 2 p.m. PT in Los Angeles to take on UCLA. The Cardinal have already played the Bruins this year, a 4-0 Stanford victory in Cagan Stadium on Mar. 6.