Stanford didn’t look as if it would defend its national title when opening the season 0-1-3 this year.

But the Cardinal is back in the College Cup where it will face ninth-seeded North Carolina on Friday in Houston. Stanford advanced to soccer’s Final Four with its fourth consecutive postseason shutout this year in a 2-0 victory Saturday over Louisville.

Related Articles Stanford forward Foster Langsdorf unleashed as lethal weapon Few expected much from the Cardinal (14-3-4) this season after college player of the year Jordan Morris turned pro and three seniors were drafted by Major League Soccer teams. But coach Jeremy Gunn groomed his players to peak for the NCAA tournament.

“If you look at us at the beginning of the season it is a struggle for us to put the offense together with specific patterns we have,” said junior forward Foster Langsdorf, who got the game-winning goal in the 64th minute.

The co-Pac-12 player of the year added the No. 5 Cardinal has gone through the rotations so much by now the players are comfortable with the system.

It also has helped that Stanford hasn’t allowed a tournament goal since the quarterfinals a year ago. A spectacular effort Saturday by goalkeeper Andrew Epstein and center back Tomas Hilliard-Arce left Louisville (14-6-2) deflated.

The defensive effort allowed Stanford to score twice in the second half on stunning set pieces. Fourth-seeded Louisville outshot the Cardinal 12-6 but Stanford was more efficient with five of its shots on target.

“It was an incredibly gutsy performance,” Stanford coach Jeremy Gunn said. “Our defenders performed perfectly. They built the ball well and started the attack for us and defensively each time they were called upon they took care business.”

The defense was led by goalkeeper Andrew Epstein and center back Tomas Hilliard-Arce.

Stanford broke the deadlock with Langsdorf’s 15th goal of the season off freshman Derek Waldeck’s curling corner kick in the penalty area. Goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland had no chance to stop the header that glanced off a defender.

Then Sam Werner sealed the victory in the 79th minute with a booming 25-yard free kick that landed in the upper left corner of the goal — about the only place Cleveland couldn’t cover on the play.

“In a tight game you need to execute when you’re given chances and fortunately that’s what we did,” Gunn said.

North Carolina (14-3-3) reached the College Cup for the seventh time by defeating Providence 1-0 on Saturday.