STANFORD, Calif. – Four Stanford men’s soccer players were recognized when Soccer America unveiled its Men’s MVPs and All-Freshman Teams on Tuesday morning.
Sophomore forward Jordan Morris and junior defender Brandon Vincent landed on the Soccer America Men's MVPs Second Team. Midfielder Corey Baird was recognized on the Soccer America Men's All-Freshman First Team and defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce earned a spot on the All-Freshman Second Team.
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.
In November, 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.
Both Morris and Vincent were also 2014 NSCAA/Continental Tire First Team All-Americans, 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.
Baird, a 2014 All-Pac-12 Second Team pick and a 2014 NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men’s All-Far West Region Second Team honoree, scored four times and assisted on four others in 2014. The freshman played a big role down the stretch as Stanford was on its way to the Pac-12 championship. In the Cardinal’s last five regular-season matches, Baird tallied eight points on three goals and two assists.
Hilliard-Arce, an earlier pick to the 2014 NSCAA/Continental Tire NCAA Division I Men’s All-Far West Region Third Team, started all 19 games on Stanford’s back line this season and was one of 13 different players to score for the Cardinal, putting home a pair of headers. Stanford’s 17 goals surrendered were its lowest total since holding opponents to 16 in 2007.
Stanford had 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.
