Stanford vs. Washington men's soccer: Preview, history, how to watch

No. 2 Stanford men's soccer last faced off with a ranked opponent on Sept. 2. On Thursday, the Cardinal welcome No. 7 Washington to Palo Alto for a top-10 matchup between Pac-12 foes.

Ranked No. 1 in last week’s United Soccer Coaches poll, Stanford’s time at college soccer’s summit was short-lived after the Cardinal (7-0-1) required two separate rallies to draw UC Santa Barbara. Washington’s win over Portland was enough for the Huskies (8-1-0) to move up three spots from No. 10

Here’s everything you need to know before Thursday’s match.

The Cardinal is 30-15-10 all-time against ranked opponents under @gunnsoccer, including 23-3-6 in its last 32, and is 6-0-3 in its last nine against top-10 teams.#GoStanford https://t.co/4c36cxWQik

— Stanford Men’s Soccer (@StanfordMSoccer) October 2, 2019

Stanford vs. Washington: Preview, how to watch

Stanford and Washington are set to kick off from Laird Q. Cagan Stadium at 8 p.m. ET. Here’s how to follow the match. 

When: 8 p.m. ET on Thursday, Oct. 3 
Where: Laird Q. Cagan Stadium | Palo Alto, California
How to watch: Pac-12 Networks

RANKINGS: Breaking down the latest men's soccer poll

Stanford vs. Washington series history

Stanford won both meetings of 2018, first winning 3-2 in Seattle before a 3-1 decision in Palo Alto. The second game was the first decided by multiple goals since Nov. 7, 2014.

The November match also marks the last occasion these programs met as top-10 teams. Including that meeting, Stanford is 5-2-2 in its past nine games against Washington, establishing some parity to its history.

Prior to then, Washington rattled off 10 consecutive wins from Oct. 2010 to Oct. 2014 and holds a 34-21-6 lead in the all-time series.

SCOREBOARD: Keep up with the action here

2019 matchup

Stanford	Tale of the Tape	Washington
No. 2	Ranking	No. 7
Jeremy Gunn, 8th season at Stanford 103-29-24	Coach	Jamie Clark, 9th season at Washington 107-43-20
7-0-1	Record	8-1-0
17	NCAA tournament appearances	25
3	NCAA championships	0
21	Goals for	20
5	Goals against	4
5	Shutouts	7
Three tied, 8 Gabe Segal (4 goals), Ousseni Bouda (3 goals, 2 assists), Derek Waldeck (2 goals, 4 assists	Leading scorer	Lucas Meek, 10 (5 goals)

Stanford and Washington combining to allow nine goals in 17 total matches shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The programs have two of the more reliable defenses in Division I.

Washington possesses the luxury of alternating between two viable goalkeeping options in Bryce Logan and Sam Fowler. Stanford has an adept keeper with Andrew Thomas in addition to MAC Hermann nominee Tanner Beason commanding the defense.

Here's how all three netminders have played thus far.