How in the world does Stanford beat SJSU 5-1 @ SJSU? SJSU is 5-1 in conference play and have beaten Santa Clara and tied UCSB. Stanford is 0-7 in the Pac 10, and had 2 wins all year prior to this eve. Is the Pac 10 that strong, or is this a fluke?
I didn't see the game, but I'd say that Santa Clara, Stanford, and SJS have a bit of a local rivalry going as all are within 25 minutes of each other. Santa Clara has actually ended up on the short end this year as they lost to SJS and tied Stanford. That said, from the Stanford write-up it looks like SJS had about a 10 minute bad streak on either side of the half with defensive turn-overs in their own end. I think that top to bottom, Pac 10 is the strongest conference in the west, but there isn't THAT much difference.
That result is shocking. Five goals is closer to Stanford's monthly average than single contest average. If I recall correctly, they have had only two other games in which they scored more than one goal -- a four goal victory over UC Irvine, and a 2-3 loss to Oregon State. I do not think SJSU is fielding a poor team this year. Perhaps the Cardinal simply matched up well against this SJSU squad.