<!ferris> Nov. 11, 1997
Stanford to Face UCLA in MPSF Championship
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP:
No. 14 STANFORD VS. No. 2 UCLA
Cardinal and Bruins to Battle for Title, Automatic Bid
MPSF: The 14th-ranked Stanford men's soccer team (13-3-2) will travel to Los Angeles to take on second-ranked and three-time defending MPSF Champion UCLA (16-2-0) on Sunday, November 16, in the 1997 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship Game. The winner will claim the conference title and the Federation's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00 p.m. at UCLA's Spaulding Field. The two teams advanced to the championship game by winning their respective divisions - Stanford the Mountain and UCLA the Pacific. The Cardinal, which finished Mountain Division play 3-0-1, clinched the title with a 3-1 victory over California on October 19. The Bruins clinched the Pacific Division title with the combination of their 6-1 win over UC Santa Barbara on November 9 and Cal State Fullerton's 3-2 loss to Cal Poly SLO the day before. The Bruins finished with a 4-1-0 mark in divisional play. Complete MPSF standings follow on the next page.
MPSF Postseason History: Stanford will be making its third MPSF postseason appearance (the first since 1993) and its second MPSF Championship appearance. The Cardinal's first showing came in 1992, the Federation's inaugural year. In the beginning, the conference conducted a postseason tournament composed of the top two teams in each division. Stanford, which finished second in the Mountain Division that year, met Pacific Division champion UCLA in the opening semifinal round. The teams played to a 1-1 overtime tie with Stanford advancing on penalty kicks. The Cardinal met Washington in the championship, coming up short in a 1-0 overtime loss to the Huskies. Stanford again finished second in the Mountain Division in 1993 and again met UCLA in the semifinals. This time, the Bruins came out on top by a score of 2-1. UCLA has won the Pacific Division title every year since the formation of the MPSF (six years) and has captured four MPSF Championships, including three straight.
Last Week: Stanford concluded the 1997 regular season with a 5-1 road loss to Santa Clara - its first setback on the road this season. The five goals were the most allowed by a Cardinal squad since a 5-0 loss to Oregon State in 1995, a span of 43 games. The Cardinal had given up just six goals all season entering the game with the Broncos. Freshman forward Corey Woolfolk (Ann Arbor, MI/Pioneer HS) posted the lone goal for the Cardinal, his fifth of the season. Junior defender Jamie Clark (Hanover, NH/North Carolina) turned in the assist on the score, his third of the year. Despite the loss, Stanford still finished with its best regular season record since 1978. The 13 wins by the '97 squad tied them for the third-highest total in school history. It is also the third-highest total in school history overall - including postseason play.
Rk. Year Record 1. 1978 16-6-0 2. 1979 14-5-2 3. 1997 13-3-2
Stanford in the Charts: Stanford enters the game with UCLA ranked 10th in the Soccer News Top 25 poll and 14th in the Soccer America Top 20 poll. The Cardinal dropped out of the NSCAA/Umbro Top 25 poll this past week after a 10-week long stay. After cracking the NSCAA/Umbro poll (the Cardinal's first ranking of any sort since at least 1992) at No. 15 on September 8, Stanford eventually rose to its highest ranking ever - No. 2. The Cardinal held that spot just two weeks ago. Stanford has been ranked by at least one of the polls for a school-record 10 consecutive weeks.
Re-Writing the Record Book: The '97 squad is on pace, or is threatening, to break several single-season team and individual records, including wins, highest winning percentage, fewest losses, most shutouts, fewest goals allowed and lowest goals-against average. The Cardinal has already set school records for the longest winning streak to begin a season and within a season (9), and the longest unbeaten streak to begin a season and within a season (15). The 1996 and '97 squads combined to set school records for longest winning streak (14) and longest unbeaten streak (20). The 14 game winning streak was the longest in the nation at the time. This year's team has also tied the school record for shutouts in a season, matching the 12 shutouts by the 1985 squad. Below are the records currently threatened by the '97 Cardinal:
Record 1997
Wins in a season 16 (1978) 13
*Highest Winning Pct. .750 (1964/10-3-1) .778
*Fewest Losses 3 (1964) 3
Most Shutouts 12 (1985) 12
Fewest Goals Allowed 13 (1985) 11
Lowest Goals Against Avg. 0.59 (1990 min.) 0.59 (1686 min.)
* Minimum 14 games
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| GK Adam Zapala |
Individually, goalkeeper Adam Zapala has broken the school record for shutouts in a season, is on pace to break the record for fewest goals allowed and is threatening the record for the lowest goals-against average. His individual accomplishments are further noted in the "Freshmen Sensation's" segment. Freshmen Sensations: Goalkeeper Adam Zapala (Cupertino, CA/Bellarmine Prep) and forward Corey Woolfolk have been brilliant in their inaugural seasons at the collegiate level. As mentioned before, Zapala has already broken the school record for shutouts in a season. His 12 shutouts thus far are two better than the old mark of 10 set by Tom Austin in 1985. Zapala is also threatening to break two other school marks held by Austin, including fewest goals allowed in a season and lowest goals against average. He has given up just 11 goals all season, two fewer than Austin's 13 in 1985. His 0.59 goals against average matches Austins' school-record 0.59, also set in '85. Only three goalies in Stanford history have recorded a GAA lower than 1.00 (minimum 900 minutes). Zapala's GAA is currently the fifth-best in the entire nation and is tops among freshman. Below are the top five goalies in the nation in GAA.
Rk. Name (School) Games GA Min. GAA 1. Bill May (Washington) 16 8 1514 0.48 2. Dani Braga (St. John's) 14 7 1213 0.52 3. Matt Nyman (Dartmouth) 14 8 1346 0.53 4. Ronnie Pascale (Furman) 15 7 1123 0.56 5. Adam Zapala (Stanford) 18 11 1686 0.59
Woolfolk has made a huge impact as well. The freshman from Pioneer High School in Ann Arbor, Mich, where he was named the state's "Mr. Soccer" and garnered NSCAA/Umbro All-America and Gatorade Regional Player-of-the-Year honors in 1996, has contributed heavily as both a goal scorer and a setup man. He has tallied five goals and five assists for 15 points thus far. His goal and point totals rank second on the squad and seventh in the MPSF Mountain Division. His five assists tie him with junior midfielder Simon Elliott (Wellington, New Zealand/Victoria University) for the team lead and for the fourth-highest total in the division.
Cardinal Honors: Several Cardinal players have received honors for their outstanding play this season. Below is the list of awards garnered thus far:
MPSF Player-of-the-Week A.J. Sauer (Sept. 8) Adam Zapala (Sept. 22) Jamie Clark (Oct. 13) Soccer America Team-of-the-Week Jamie Clark (Sept. 21 and Oct. 14) Shan Gaw (Oct. 21) Stanford-Nike Invitational All-Tournament Team Jamie Clark, Shan Gaw, Dan Wytock and Adam Zapala Saint Mary's College "Fall Soccer Classic" Offensive MVP Jamie Clark Cal-adidas/Foot Locker Legacy Classic All-Tournament Team Jamie Clark, Shan Gaw and Adam Zapala
Statistically Speaking: Forward A.J. Sauer (Spring, TX/Klein Oak HS) currently leads the team with 18 points on nine goals. His point total ranks tied for fifth in the MPSF Mountain Division and tied for 17th in the Far West Region. His nine goals place him in a tie for second in the division and in a tie for ninth in the region. As a team, Stanford ranks second in the entire MPSF in team goalkeeping (0.59). The Cardinal trail only Washington, who leads the pack with a 0.50 GAA. Offensively, Stanford stands tied for fifth in the conference with 91 points.
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| Coach Bobby Clark <!hr> |
Head Coach Bobby Clark: Clark is in his second year at the helm of the Cardinal program and since taking over, he has guided the Cardinal to a 23-7-6 (.722) mark. In his inaugural season, he led Stanford to a 10-4-4 record, the Cardinal's first winning season since 1992. For his efforts, he was named the MPSF's Mountain Division Co-Coach-of-the-Year. Clark began his collegiate coaching career at Dartmouth in 1985 and before leaving in 1994, he directed the Big Green program to three Ivy League titles, two NCAA Tournament quarterfinal appearances and eight winning seasons in nine years. He was twice named NCAA Region I Coach-of-the-Year. In his 10-plus seasons as a head coach, Clark has amassed an impressive 103-47-19 (.665) record. He has also coached in New Zealand, Zimbabwe and in his native Scotland. In New Zealand, Clark was responsible for re-kindling a Kiwi National team that had been dormant for a year-and-a-half. Upon his arrival, he traveled the country evaluating players in order to fill the national teams. During his two-year stay, he coached all four teams (Senior, Olympic, Under-20 and Under-17). In 1995, he was awarded the Jim McMullen Trophy, an award given to the individual who does the most for New Zealand Soccer. Before entering the coaching ranks, Clark was a professional player in Scotland from 1962-82 and competed on three (1970, '74 and '78) of Scotland's World Cup campaigns. He made more than 800 first team appearances, 696 of which came with Aberdeen F.C.. He helped lead Aberdeen to the 1970 Scottish Cup, the 1976 League Cup and the 1980 Premiere League Championship.
Stanford vs. UCLA: This will mark the 25th meeting between Stanford and UCLA and the first since 1994, a 2-1 season-opening overtime loss to the Bruins in the Cal State Fullerton Tournament. While UCLA holds an impressive 21-1-3 all-time series advantage against Stanford, the series has been a tight one in the 1990's. Three of the five matches this decade have been decided by one goal and three have gone into overtime. One of the ties ended with Stanford winning on penalty kicks. Below is the series breakdown in the '90's:
Year Result Site 1990 UCLA won 2-1 (OT) Stanford 1991 UCLA won 3-0 UCLA 1992 Tie 1-1 (OT)* Washington** 1993 UCLA won 2-1 UCLA*** 1994 UCLA won 2-1 (OT) Cal State Fullerton * Stanford won on penalty kicks ** MPSF Semifinal Game played at the University of Washington *** MPSF Semifinal Game
Stanford's lone win in the series came in the 1987 AT&T/Pacific West Classic (1-0).
UCLA Quick-Take: UCLA enters the '97 meeting on a five-game win streak and boasting a 16-2-0 overall record. The Bruin's two losses came against Cal State Fullerton (3-1) and the University of Alabama-Birmingham (2-0). Junior forward Seth George leads the Bruins offensive attack with 12 goals and 10 assists for a total of 34 points. Senior Matt Reis starts in goal for the Bruins and enters the game with a 0.90 goals-against average and five shutouts. The Bruins are coached by Sigi Schmid, who will be going for his 300th career victory against Stanford. In his 18 years at the helm of the Bruin program, he has compiled a 299-58-33 mark.
Notables: The game will be a showdown between the top offensive unit in the MPSF and the second-ranked defensive unit in the conference. UCLA leads the MPSF with 57 goals while Stanford ranks second in the MPSF in goals allowed, permitting just 11. The Bruins are not far behind in that category however, allowing just 13. Below are some further game notables:
Stanford UCLA No. 14 Rank* No. 2 None Preseason Rank* No. 8 13-3-2 Record 16-2-0 2-1-1 Record vs. Top 25 2-0-0 1-1-0 Record vs. Top 10 1-0-0 4-1-1 Away/Home 9-0-0 33 Goals Scored 57 11 Goals Allowed 13 12 Shutouts 9 9 Yellow Cards 23 2 Red Cards 1 * Soccer America
Note: Records vs. Top 25 and Top 10 are at the time the games are played. Away/Home is Stanford's away record and UCLA's home record.
NSCAA/Umbro Division I Top 25 Poll
November 10, 1997
Rk School Record Pts
1. Indiana 18-0-0 480
2. St. John's 16-2-2 439
3. Washington 14-2-2 427
4. Southern Methodist 15-2-0 420
5. UCLA 16-2-0 374
6. American 13-3-3 360
7. Duke 15-4-0 354
8. South Carolina 14-2-1 309
9. Virginia 12-3-3 297
10. Dartmouth 9-2-4 218
11. Maryland 13-4-1 216
12. SW Missouri St. 12-3-3 198
13. Marquette 12-4-3 162
14. Creighton 13-4-1 138
15. Florida Int. 13-5-1 131
16. Gonzaga 14-4-0 129
17. Rider 14-5-1 115
18. James Madison 12-4-0 65
19. UNC Charlotte 12-5-2 53
20. Saint Louis 12-4-3 33
21. Connecticut 11-6-1 32
22. Rutgers 12-6-2 30
23. Santa Clara 10-7-0 26
24. Clemson 9-5-3 18
25. Bowling Green 16-5-0 16
Others Receiving Votes: William & Mary, Boston University,
STANFORD, Furman, St. Francis, VCU.
Soccer America Top 20 Poll
November 10, 1997
Rk School Record
1. Indiana 18-0-0
2. UCLA 16-2-0
3. Southern Methodist 15-2-0
4. Washington 14-2-2
5. South Carolina 14-2-1
6. Duke 15-4-0
7. St. John's 16-2-2
8. Virginia 12-3-3
9. American 13-3-3
10. Creighton 13-4-1
11. Maryland 13-4-1
12. SW Missouri St. 12-3-3
13. UNC Charlotte 12-5-2
14. STANFORD 13-3-2
15. Clemson 9-5-3
16. Saint Louis 12-4-3
17. Gonzaga 14-4-0
18. Fresno State 11-6-2
19. Furman 14-4-0
20. Boston University 13-5-2
1997 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Standings
Mountain Division Overall
W L T PCT HOME AWAY W L T PCT HOME AWAY NEUT STK
*Stanford 3 0 1 .875 2-0-0 1-0-1 13 3 2 .778 6-0-1 4-1-1 3-2-0 L3
Washington 3 1 0 .750 2-1-0 1-0-0 14 2 2 .833 7-2-0 6-0-1 1-0-2 W6
California 2 2 0 .500 1-0-0 1-2-0 11 6 1 .639 5-2-1 4-2-0 2-2-0 W1
Oregon St. 1 2 1 .375 0-1-1 1-1-0 4 12 2 .278 2-6-2 2-6-0 0-0-0 L4
CS Sacramento 0 4 0 .000 0-2-0 0-2-0 4 13 0 .235 3-7-0 1-5-0 0-1-0 L1
* Mountain Division Champion
Pacific Division Overall
W L T PCT HOME AWAY W L T PCT HOME AWAY NEUT STK
*UCLA 4 1 0 .800 2-0-0 2-1-0 16 2 0 .888 8-0-0 5-1-0 2-1-0 W5
Cal Poly SLO 3 2 0 .600 3-0-0 0-2-0 6 10 0 .375 4-2-0 1-8-0 1-0-0 W1
Cal State Fullerton 3 2 0 .600 2-1-0 1-1-0 10 9 0 .526 6-3-0 2-5-0 2-1-0 L1
Cal State Northridge 2 2 1 .500 2-2-1 0-0-0 5 11 1 .324 5-5-1 0-3-0 0-3-0 W1
UC Irvine 1 3 1 .300 0-1-1 1-2-0 6 9 4 .421 3-4-3 1-5-1 2-0-0 L2
UC Santa Barbara 1 4 0 .200 0-2-0 1-2-0 4 14 1 .237 1-5-0 3-8-0 0-1-1 L1
* Pacific Division Champion