STANFORD, Calif. – The Cardinal's forward combination of Corey Baird and Foster Langsdorf connected midway through the first half and No. 1 Stanford closed out its exhibition slate with a 1-0 victory over Pacific on Saturday night.
 
In a rematch of the second round of last year's NCAA Tournament it was again Stanford that was able to get by on a Langsdorf goal. The senior striker scored the first of the Cardinal's tallies in its 2-0 postseason win and on Saturday night his goal in the 19^th minute proved to be the difference.
 
The deciding sequence was ignited by another senior in Baird, who picked off an errant Tiger pass out of the back and started Stanford on the break. His through ball led Langsdorf to the center of the field and top of the box and Langsdorf calmly beat Pacific's Curtis Goldsmith 1v1 to the right post.
 
"They're a year older, they're a year smarter and technically and mentally they're a year better," Stanford head coach Jeremy Gunn said of his front six, which returns intact from 2016. "They have all the tools. I don't think you ever start where you left off. Certainly we're a little further ahead (compared to this point last year), but obviously it still has to translate to putting the ball in the back of the net."
 
Pacific, which registered seven shots and one on goal, had its best chance in the 62^nd minute. A cross from the sideline squirted through to Bob Groenendijk at the back post, but the Cardinal's Nico Corti charged off his line to deny Groenendijk and the Tigers.
 
The exhibition was preceded by a free youth clinic hosted by the program's coaches and players on its practice fields adjacent to the stadium as well as tours of Stanford's locker room.
 
"That was absolutely fantastic," Gunn said of the clinic. "Obviously on a game day you're thinking about how your team is going to do, but to see tons of youngsters with smiling faces excited to play soccer that's always an inspiration. That's why we love the game and why we enjoy working with young people."

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Stanford swept both its exhibitions against the top two teams in the WCC and will begin its regular season next Friday night on the road at San Jose State at 5 p.m.
 
"You always think you're ready, but there's always lots to work on," Gunn added of being prepared for the regular season. "I thought there were tons of positives from this game. We attacked well and created a lot of good chances. On another night we could have stuck a couple more away. Defensively the work rate is there, it's just looking to picking the ball off a little bit more at times. We can keep improving in every facet of the game. It's a great start and now we just have to keep our heads down keep looking to get a little bit better each day."
 
Stanford's regular-season home opener against No. 14 Creighton on Friday, Sept. 1 will be Cardinal Kids Day and fans can receive up to two free youth tickets with the purchase of a paid adult ticket. The first 1,000 fans in attendance will also receive the t-shirt celebrating the program's back-to-back national championships.

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To secure the promotion, fans can visit this link. A full promotional schedule for 2017 can be found by visiting gostanford.com/msocpromotions.