Men's Soccer Falls to Stanford
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December 6, 1998
Charlottesville, Va. – Stanford’s Adam Siegman hit a goal at the 23:15 mark and keeper Adam Zapala made eight saves to lead the Cardinal past second-seed Virginia 3-0 here at Klockner Stadium Sunday afternoon. The loss ends the Cavaliers’ season with a 16-4-3 mark. Stanford advances to its first-ever Final Four with a 17-4-2 record.
Siegman’s goal was the only score of the first half. However, the Cardinal broke the game open with two goals in a two-minute span in the second half. Simon Elliott put a shot in the right corner from 18 yards at the 75:15 mark and then 94 seconds later he scored from 25 yards after intercepting an errant clearance.
Zapala faced 13 shots on the afternoon in handing Virginia its first shutout at home since George Mason knocked the Cavaliers out of the tournament 1-0 in the first round of the NCAA Championships in 1995. Stanford had luck on its side for Siegman’s goal. The Cardinal forward shot from 20 yards, aiming for the left corner. However, the ball deflected off of UVA defender Marshall Leonard’s leg and into the right side of the net.
UVA keeper Mike Forensich, making his first NCAA tournament start in a Cavalier uniform, faced 12 shots with two saves. First team keeper Brock Yetso was sidelined for the game with a broken right hand which was sustained in the course of practice on Thursday.
The Cardinal reaches the round of four in only its third season under head coach Bobby Clark. Prior to this season, Stanford was 0-5 all-time in NCAA Tournament play. Conversely, UVA is kept out of the final four for only the second time this decade. The 3-0 loss was the largest margin of defeat for a UVA squad in tournament play since its first appearance in the NCAA playoffs in 1969 when Maryland downed the Cavaliers 5-0. Stanford will face Maryland in the semifinal round while Indiana and Santa Clara will duel in the other half of the bracket. Indiana defeated Clemson 2-1 in Clemson on Sunday afternoon to advance to the final four.