STANFORD, Calif. --- UC Irvine men's soccer hung around with the No. 9 national seed Stanford Cardinal Sunday night in the NCAA Second Round match at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium, but a couple goals down the stretch dropped the 'Eaters eliminating them from the tournament.

The game turned in the 72nd minute as Stanford (13-3-4) whipped a cross into and drew a foul in the box. Pac-12 Player of the Year Tanner Beason stepped up burying the penalty kick down the middle to open up the 1-0 advantage.

The Anteater attack answered right back with a chance in the 73rd minute off a set piece. Daniel Crisostomo's feed was flicked along to the back post to a running Jose Soto whose header on goal floated over the keeper, but was kept out by the crossbar keeping the 'Eaters (11-6-4) down a goal.

Stanford added to their lead in the 83rd minute as Derek Waldeck and Will Richmond built an attack finding Zach Ryan who twisted near the top of the box and slung a shot inside the right post putting the dagger into the 2-0 Stanford victory.

Senior defender Jose Soto was right in the mix throughout the fixture. "We knew it was going to be a good game. They had home field advantage, we knew it was going to tough, but we came with a game plan. I thought we executed it well and we had our chances in the first and second half."

UC Irvine had its share of chances starting with the opening minutes of the match. A turnover at the edge of Stanford's own box left the ball for Lawrence Yamaguchi who drove at keeper Andrew Thomas all alone, but his attempt was saved nearly turning the game on its head in the fourth minute.

The 'Eaters had another golden opportunity to strike first with Alvaro Quezada running the wing and dishing to Christian Gutierrez whose half volley wasn't hot enough to get by the diving Thomas keeping the match level in the 70th minute.

"I felt that whatever happened I love all these guys. I think we had a team that could go all the way. It just didn't happen, and I'm gonna miss it."

Both keepers were outstanding in net on more than one occasion as Thomas and Greg Patenaude each saved three shots. Stanford earned the slight shot advantage at 16-13 while earning seven of the match's eight corners.

"We're sad to exit the tournament especially following a close, hard-fought match," head coach Yossi Raz said of his squad, "but I am very proud of the team's performance tonight and throughout this year. We demonstrated many moments of beautiful futbol during the year as well as growth in how gritty and tough we can be when needed."

Stanford avenges its loss to the 'Eaters in the 2014 NCAA Second Round and keeps its postseason unbeaten streak alive at 16 matches (12-0-4). UCI finishes its successful 2018 campaign at 11-6-4.

NOTES: UC Irvine is now 4-6-1 all-time in its six NCAA Tournament appearances...the 'Eaters were without the services of senior forward Luis Leon and sophomore defender Jalani Ambrose both hampered by injuries...this season marked the 13th in program history with double digit victories and 12th with at least 11...Christian Gutierrez made his second career start in the match, both have come in the final of the team's season...Greg Patenaude finishes his career with a record of 13-7-4 in net