By Jose Saldana on October 3, 2016

Stanford men’s soccer (4-2-3, 1-0 Pac-12) began conference play with a thrilling 1-0 victory over local rival California (4-3-1, 0-1), extending the Cardinal’s unbeaten streak at Cagan Stadium to 18 games.

Junior forward Foster Langsdorf continued his scorching start to the season as he fired the game-winner to the right post, past Golden Bears keeper Jonathan Klinsmann. The 47th-minute goal was Langsdorf’s sixth score in the last five games, and his seventh goal overall, tying a career high set last season.

“When we talk about direct soccer, it’s about looking to score and looking to play forward if you can,” head coach Jeremy Gunn said of Langsdorf’s goal. “It was great passing and movement and then Foster had a lot to do on the goal. The defender was right on him, putting him off balance, and to finish it how he did was tremendous. It was a special game, and it took a special goal to decide it.”

The first 45 minutes saw both teams on the offensive. The Cardinal sent up 6 attempts at goal in the first 16 minutes but saves from Klinsmann and a ball off the post kept the game scoreless. The Golden Bears then went on the counterattack, showering Stanford keeper Andrew Epstein with shot attempts.

Neither team could capitalize until after halftime, when Stanford senior defender and co-captain Brian Nana-Sinkam wrestled the ball from a Cal player and sent it to freshman midfielder Jared Gilbey, who delivered a brilliant through-ball past two Cal defenders to Langsdorf for the go-ahead goal.

The offensive attack from both teams continued until the end of the period but neither defense allowed a second goal to find the back of the net.

Frustrations mounted for Cal’s leading goal scorer, senior Christian Theirjung, as the Stanford defense limited Theirjung to zero shots for the game. In the 89th minute, Theirjung acquired a red card for a reckless tackle on a Stanford midfielder and was sent off the pitch.

Stanford keeper Epstein added a 16th career shutout to his resume on the strength of his 4 saves and a tough Stanford defense.

Stanford will continue conference play against the Washington Huskies on Thursday at 7 p.m. The match will be televised on Pac-12 Network.

Contact Jose Saldana at jsaldana ‘at’ stanford.edu.