STANFORD, Calif. – Sophomore forward Jordan Morris and junior defender Brandon Vincent were both named 2014 NSCAA/Continental Tire First Team All-Americans when the National Soccer Coaches Association of America announced the latest of its individual player awards on Friday morning.
The duo, who were both named NSCAA All-Far West Region first teamers on Wednesday, are the Cardinal’s first All-Americans since Bobby Warshaw was also named to the first team in 2009. Warshaw (2009), Todd Dunivant (2002), Lee Morrison (2001), Ryan Nelsen (2000) and Jamie Clark (1998) are Stanford’s only other NSCAA First Team All-America honorees.
With Morris and Vincent, Stanford is the only school to secure a pair of first-team spots among this year’s 12-member group. Twelve years ago was the last time the Cardinal had multiple all-Americans, when Dunivant was named to the first team and Roger Levesque to the third team. Stanford has never before had two NSCAA First Team All-Americans in the same season.
The two helped the Cardinal to a historic season in 2014, including the program’s first Pac-12 Championship since 2001, a No. 1 NSCAA ranking, its most wins (13) since 2002 and its best winning percentage (.763) since 2001.
Morris, a 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist, started all 15 games in which he played this season for Stanford tallying four goals, 14 points and a team-high six assists. Also an All-Pac-12 First Team selection, he became the first Cardinal since Warshaw in 2009 and 2010 to earn back-to-back all-conference first-team honors.
Late last month, Morris became the first active collegian since 1995 to receive a cap for the U.S. Men’s National Team when he came on in the 76th minute in a friendly against Ireland in Dublin. An earlier call up to the national team camp for its Sept. 3 friendly against the Czech Republic in Prague made him the first current collegian to join the USMNT in 15 years. The Mercer Island, Wash. native also made two appearances with the U.S. U-23 Men’s National Team at camps in Nassau, Bahamas (Aug. 3-7) and Brasilia, Brazil (Oct. 10-13).
A junior captain, Vincent anchored Stanford’s Pac-12 championship defense that allowed just 17 goals, its lowest total since 2007, and posted a 0.85 goals-against average. For his efforts he was honored with the first-ever Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year award.
Vincent also proved himself more than capable on the offensive end. Precipitated by a moved to left back before the year, the economics major led the team with six goals, including three game winners, after entering 2014 with just one in his first 38 career matches.
Stanford has gathered an impressive haul of accolades for its performance this fall. Morris (first team), Vincent (first team), Corey Baird (second team) and Tomas Hilliard-Arce (second team) were named NSCAA All-Far West Region on Wednesday. On Tuesday, associate head coach John Smith earned Far West Region Assistant Coach of the Year honors. The Cardinal also boasts the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in Jeremy Gunn, its Defender of the Year in Vincent and eight total All-Pac-12 picks to go along with 12 Pac-12 All-Academic nods and two 2014 Capital One Academic All-District selections in Zach Batteer and Eric Verso.
