STANFORD, Calif. – Three Stanford men’s soccer players were recognized when TopDrawerSoccer (TDS) unveiled its Best XI teams on Monday morning.
Junior forward Jordan Morris was named the 2015 TopDrawerSoccer Division I Men’s Soccer Player of the Year, senior co-captain Brandon Vincent joined him on the TDS Best XI first team and sophomore center back Tomas Hilliard-Arce landed on the TDS Best XI second team.
Morris, a MAC Hermann Trophy finalist and the Most Outstanding Player at the College Cup, catapulted the Cardinal to the program’s first NCAA title with a two-goal performance in the championship at Sporting Park on Sunday, Dec. 13. Stanford routed Clemson, 4-0, extending the school’s streak of at least one NCAA team championship to 40 years, on ongoing record, while earning its 108th NCAA team title and 129th overall. Morris’ brace was the first multi-goal effort for a player in a title game since Seth George in 1997 (UCLA).
The Pac-12 Player of the Year, Morris had a career-high 13 goals in 18 appearances for Stanford in 2015. In his final 14 games with the Cardinal, the junior had 12 goals, three assists and 27 points. He finished fifth in the country in game-winning goals (6), fifth in goals per game (0.72), seventh in total goals (13) and 12th in points per game (1.61)
The junior missed five collegiate matches this season due to responsibilities with U.S. Soccer. He split time between the senior team, making six appearances with the MNT in 2015, while also earning 11 caps with the U-23s, scoring six goals and tallying four assists. With the USMNT, Morris scored against Mexico on April 15 and assisted on the game-winning goal against the Netherlands on June 5. A Type 1 diabetic, he also lent his support to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) “T1D Looks Like Me Campaign” for National Diabetes Awareness Month (NDAM) in November.
A MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist and the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year, Vincent anchored Stanford’s back line over the past four years, starting in each and every one of his 80 appearances. The two-time captain also claimed back-to-back Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year honors and is the only person to ever win the award, which was instituted last season. On Dec. 10, he was named a Senior CLASS Second Team All-American and a day later he earned his second consecutive nod as an NSCAA First Team All-American.
Third on the team in goals (6) and fifth in points (14), Vincent’s defensive work championed a Stanford unit that finished sixth in the nation in goals against average (0.62). In August, he was called by U.S. Under-23 Men's National Team head coach Andi Herzog for the first College Identification Training Camp. Vincent scored the third goal for the U.S. in its 3-1 win over Club Tijuana's Segunda Premier Team, which wrapped camp on August 7.
Academically, Vincent was twice a Pac-12 all-academic selection and graduated two quarters early, finishing at the completion of the fall session.
Last Thursday, he was among 59 NCAA Division I college players invited to participate in the 2016 adidas MLS Player Combine in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Jan. 7-12, 2016.
Hilliard-Arce was an All-Pac-12 second team pick this season, scoring three goals while displaying solid work in the center of Stanford’s defense. He tallied his first career brace in a 3-1 win over San Francisco on Sept. 18 with headers in the 20th and 36th minutes and added another goal in a 3-1 victory over San Diego State on Oct. 26.
Hilliard-Arce joined Vincent at the College Identification Training Camp in August. Last season, the sophomore was named to both the National Soccer Coaches Associated of America All-Far West Region third team, the TDS Best XI Freshman first team and the Soccer America Men’s All-Freshman second team.