LOOKING AHEAD: The No. 13 Stanford men’s soccer team (3-1-0) concludes its three-game stretch at home when its hosts San Jose State (1-1-0) on Thursday, September 10 at 6 p.m. in a match televised on the Pac-12 Networks. The Cardinal hits the road again on Sunday, September 13 to play SMU (2-1-1) at 7 p.m. CT/5 p.m. PT in Dallas.
WEEKEND RECAP: Stanford swept both games at Cagan Stadium last weekend, defeating Northeastern on Friday, 1-0, and VCU on Sunday, 2-0. Slater Meehan scored his second career goal to lead the Cardinal over the Huskies. Against the Rams, Foster Langsdorf scored once and assisted on another, Corey Baird helped set up Langsdorf’s header, Adam Mosharrafa scored the first of his career and Eric Verso played a role in both goals.
VS. SAN JOSE STATE: The game against San Jose State will be the 39th all-time meeting between the two schools, with the Cardinal owning a 21-12-5 edge in records dating back to 1973. Eric Verso and Jordan Morris played the 1-2 game to perfection in last season’s meeting on September 6, each scoring off assists from the other, to lead Stanford to a 2-0 victory over the Spartans in the Cardinal’s home opener at Cagan Stadium. San Jose State is tied with San Francisco as Stanford’s sixth most-contested opponent in program history. The Spartans’ last win in the series came at the Cal Legacy Classic in Berkeley, Calif. on Sept. 8, 2006 (2-1).
VS. SMU: Stanford owns a 3-2-1 all-time record against SMU, the last result being a 2-0 Mustang victory at the Cal Legacy Classic on September 5, 2008. The Cardinal’s last win came in Dallas at the Mi Cocina Classic, 2-1, on September 5, 2004. SMU defeated Stanford on The Farm, 2-1, in an NCAA quarterfinal on December 2, 2000.
NO PLACE LIKE HOME: Despite losing to UC Irvine in the second round of the NCAA Tournament last fall, Stanford has fared quite well at Cagan Stadium. In its last 16 matches on The Farm, the Cardinal is 11-1-4. Over that time, Stanford has outscored its opponents at home, 28-10, and not allowed more than one goal in any of the 16 contests.
SHUTOUT STREAK: Stanford, which last year led the Pac-12 in goals against average for the first time since 2002, has won three straight matches without allowing a goal. The Cardinal’s shutout streak is currently at 318:12, its longest since midway through the 2007 season (575:51).
WEEK’S BEST: Following three shutout victories last week, Stanford junior goalkeeper Andrew Epstein was named Pac-12 Player of the Week on Tuesday morning. The honor is Epstein’s first, the first of the season for the Cardinal and Stanford’s 22nd all-time player of the week selection. Epstein, an All-Pac-12 second team selection in 2014, led the conference, was 43rd in the nation and finished seventh in Stanford single-season history in goals against average (0.86) a year ago.
WELCOME BACK: Stanford will welcome back two key cogs coming off duties with U.S. Soccer. Jordan Morris, who missed Sunday’s win over VCU, will return to the Cardinal after coming on for Jozy Altidoe in the 57th minute of the U.S. Men’s National Team’s 4-1 loss to Brazil in Foxborough, Massachusetts on Tuesday night. It was the junior’s sixth USMNT cap. Freshman Amir Bashti will be making his home debut for Stanford as well after missing the past two matches. He has been with the U.S. Under-20 Men’s National Team at the Stevan Vilotic-Cele Tournament in Serbia. Bashti came on in the 32nd minute of the United States’ 6-1 loss to France in Senta on September 4 and entered a 2-0 victory over Israel in Backa Topola on September 7 in the 78th minute.
MENTOR IN TOWN: San Jose State head coach Simon Tobin is in his second season leading the Spartans following a 27-year run at CSU Bakersfield where he amassed a 305-189-54 record. He coached 1993 Bakersfield graduate Jeremy Gunn with the Roadrunners and the current Stanford boss also got his coaching career started as an assistant at his alma mater alongside Tobin. Gunn served as an assistant coach with Bakersfield’s men’s and women’s soccer programs from 1993-1999. The Roadrunners won the 1997 NCAA Division II National Championship and advanced to the 1995 NCAA Final Four. While serving as the men’s assistant coach, Gunn also performed duties as the acting head women’s coach during the women’s program’s first two seasons. Gunn was named CCAA conference women’s coach of the year after leading the Roadrunner women to a conference championship and national ranking in only their second season. Additionally, both Stanford associate head coach John Smith and volunteer assistant Ben Graham were on Tobin’s staff at CSU Bakersfield for a time.
QUOTABLE: “When I arrived as a player at Bakersfield the team had struggled to survive - Coach Tobin had inherited a team that had been 1-59 in conference,” Gunn said. “Ten years later we had won five conference titles and a national championship. I had the invaluable experience of being a part of something growing from start to finish. I learned the value of immense hard work, dedication and a sheer desire and ambition to be the best.” [From Charlotte49ers.com]
NOT JUST JORDAN: While the Cardinal roster boasts the most recognizable name in college soccer in that of junior Jordan Morris, the forward isn’t the only player involved with U.S. Soccer. In early August, sophomores Corey Baird and Tomas Hilliard-Arce and senior co-captain Brandon Vincent were called by U.S. Under-23 Men’s National Team head coach Andi Herzog to the first College Identification training camp at the U.S. National Training Center. The camp, which was comprised of 28 collegians, allowed the United States to scout a new crop of players as the team continues preparations ahead of October qualifying for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Baird assisted on the first and Vincent scored the United States’ third goal in its 3-1 win over Club Tijuana’s Segunda Premier Team, a result which wrapped up the camp on August 7. Stanford’s three selections to the camp tied with Maryland for the most in college soccer.
STANFORD’S HUMBLE STAR: Jordan Morris made headlines in January when the U.S. Men’s National Team forward announced his decision to return to school for his junior year citing the fact that his “teammates, coaches, professors and peers make Stanford a special place [where he is] provided the unique opportunity to both play the game [he loves] and learn at one of the world’s great universities.” The Mercer Island, Washington native has earned six caps for the U.S. Men’s National Team in the past year. In November 2014 he became the first active collegian since 1995 to appear for the USMNT when he came on in the 76th minute in a friendly against Ireland in Dublin. On April 15, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, Morris started and scored for the United States against Mexico, becoming the first college player to score for the USA since September 1992. He is the third Cardinal to appear for the USMNT. Todd Dunivant capped twice in 2006 and three-time MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall did so 11 times from 2005-10.
RETURNING ALL-AMERICANS: Stanford is the only team in the country welcoming back multiple NSCAA/Continental Tire First Team All-Americans in Morris and Brandon Vincent. Vincent returns to The Farm for his senior campaign after co-captaining the Cardinal to its best season in a decade in 2014. In addition to receiving first team All-America honors, he was also the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Pac-12 first team selection and earned his second consecutive Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention nod. Precipitated by a move to left back prior to the season, Vincent exploded offensively while championing Stanford’s stout defense. He led the team and was tied for 13th in the conference with six goals after entering 2014 with just one goal in his first 38 career matches.
HERMANN TROPHY WATCH: Both Morris and Vincent were also tabbed as potential contenders for the 2015 Missouri Athletic Club’s (MAC) Hermann Trophy. Thirty men and 28 women from NCAA Division I schools made the watch lists. Along with Jane Campbell and Andi Sullivan on the women’s side, Stanford is the only institution in the country with multiple players named to both lists.
DESTINATION STANFORD: In late July, Manchester United used Cagan Stadium for training during their United States tour. The visit continued a trend of top national sides and clubs utilizing the unparalleled facilities and environment of Stanford for training. The USMNT visited campus for camp before the 2014 FIFA World Cup and within the past two years Stanford has also hosted Italian giant Juventus and English side Norwich City.
WHAT HAPPENED IN 2014: Stanford had a historic season in 2014, including the program’s first league title since 2001, a No. 1 NSCAA ranking, its most wins (13) since 2002 and its best winning percentage (.763) since 2001. The team went 13-3-3 overall and 6-1-3 in conference to advance to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament. Stanford has posted back-to-back seasons of 10+ wins for the first time since 2001-02.
MAJORS: The following are declared majors for Stanford players. Stanford students declare their majors as juniors, so this list includes only upperclassmen:- Adrian Alabi (electrical engineering), Nico Corti (political science), Andrew Eptsein (electrical engineering), Trevor Hyman (product design), Slater Meehan (management science and engineering), Jordan Morris (science, technology and society), Brian Nana-Sinkam (product design), Ty Thompson (economics), Eric Verso (management science and engineering), Mark Verso (public policy), Brandon Vincent (economics)
