Stanford men’s soccer (5-6-5, 2-4-3 Pac-12) traveled up to the Pacific Northwest this weekend and left with a draw against one of the top teams in the nation. The Cardinal tied No. 4 Washington (12-1-1, 4-1-1 Pac-12) 0-0 after neither side was able to score in regulation or the two overtime periods.
Stanford’s defense and its goalkeeper — redshirt junior Matt Frank — were a large reason the team was able to come away without a loss.
The Huskies were in control of the run of play for most of the afternoon, outshooting the Cardinal 14-8. The best chance of the first half, however, fell to Stanford. Sophomore defender Noah Adnan had a header that was just wide of the goal in the 34th minute.
Frank and the defense showed their mettle in the second half, repelling attack after attack from Washington. The highlight of the half again came from Adnan: the Huskies had what looked like a clear scoring opportunity, but the Maryland native made an impressive come-from-behind slide tackle to keep his team level.
The teams were still knotted at zero by the end of regulation, so overtime ensued. The first overtime period was uneventful, with neither side recording a shot. The second overtime was slightly better, with a shot apiece, but a goal was still nowhere to be found.
In the end, the Cardinal did well to come away without a loss against a top-five team in the country. Next on the schedule is a trip to fellow Bay Area school San Francisco on Thursday night. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. PT.