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Sept. 30, 1997
East Meets West on The Farm
Stanford and Cal Set to Battle Dartmouth and Harvard
Cardinal Hosting Nike Invitational: The 11th-ranked and unbeaten Stanford men's soccer team puts its nation-leading 13-game win streak on the line this weekend as they host the Stanford/Nike Invitational at New Maloney Field. The invitational includes four of the top programs in the nation. Joining Stanford will be #22 Dartmouth, #25 California and Harvard. The tournament schedule is as follows:
Friday, Oct. 3 Cal vs. Dartmouth 2:00 p.m.
Stanford vs. Harvard 4:00 p.m.
Sunday, Oct. 5 Cal vs. Harvard 11:00 a.m.
Stanford vs. Dartmouth 1:00 p.m.
Last Week: Stanford improved to 8-0-0 (1-0-0 MPSF) on the season with a narrow 1-0 overtime victory over Sacramento State in the Cardinal's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener. Playing a man down since the 87th minute of the contest, the Cardinal pulled out the victory in the 95th minute as junior co-captain A.J. Sauer took a header from defender Jamie Clark and lifted it up and over the charging Hornet goalie and into the back of the empty net for the win. The goal was Sauer's fifth of the season and his second game-winner.
Tournament Ties: Stanford head coach Bobby Clark will face Dartmouth for the first time since leaving the school in 1994 to coach the New Zealand national teams. Clark began his collegiate coaching career at Dartmouth in 1985 and before leaving, 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. Clark, who picked up his 100th career victory last week with the win over Sacramento State, amassed an impressive 82-42-13 mark at Dartmouth. When he took the helm of the Cardinal program, Clark assembled a staff of former Dartmouth players, hiring Geoffrey Wheeler as assistant coach and Brian Wiese as goalkeeper coach. Since his departure from Dartmouth, Clark has played a role in the building of the starting lineup of not only Dartmouth, but Harvard as well. While coaching four national teams in New Zealand (Senior, Olympic, Under-20 and Under-17), Clark recommended two of his players to the Ivy League schools: Dartmouth starting defender Tui'one Faleafa, a family friend, and Harvard starting goalkeeper Jordan Dupuis. In addition to Clark's ties with both programs, Cardinal volunteer coach Bill Scott tutored three current Harvard players at the Phillips Academy in Andover, Mass. The former Massachussetts High School Coach-of-the-Year is currently on a one-year sabattical.
Cardinal Climbing: Stanford continued its rise in the national polls this past week, climbing one spot to #11 in the NSCAA/Umbro Top 25 poll and from #13 to #12 in the Soccer America Top 20 poll. Stanford is one of only two teams in either poll to sport an umblemished record (no losses or ties). Second-ranked and defending national champion St. John's is the other.
The Streak: As mentioned before, Stanford owns the nation's longest winning streak at 13 games. The Cardinal have not lost since October 20, 1996, a 2-1 decision to then-second-ranked Cal. The streak includes wins over Sacramento State, UC Irvine (twice), Wisconsin, Chico State, UC Santa Barbara (twice), UNLV, Cal State Northridge, San Jose State (twice), Santa Clara and Saint Mary's. Stanford has outscored its opponents 30-5 during the span, posting eight shutouts.
Head Coach Bobby Clark: Clark is in his second year at the helm of the Cardinal program. In his inaugural season, Clark led Stanford to a 10-4-4 mark, the Cardinal's first winning season since 1992. For his efforts, he was named the MPSF's Mountain Division Co-Coach-of-the-Year. 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 teams.
Statistically Speaking: A major factor in the Cardinal's success this season has been outstanding team defense and the play of goalkeeper Adam Zapala (Cupertino, CA/Bellarmine Prep). Zapala, a redshirt freshman, currently ranks second in the nation with a 0.25 goals against average. In his first eight collegiate games, Zapala has posted six shuouts and has allowed just two goals. Sauer, a forward from Spring, TX (Klein Oak HS), ranks ninth in the Far West Region and second in the MPSF with his five goals. His 10 points rank 12th in the Far West Region and second in the MPSF. Freshman forward Corey Woolfolk (Ann Arbor, MI/Pioneer HS) ranks second in the MPSF with four assists.
Stanford/Nike Invitational Participants
California: The Golden Bears of UC Berkeley, last year's MPSF Mountain Division champions, enter the tournament 5-1-1 (1-0-0 MPSF) on the season. Cal's lone setback came in Portland, a 4-1 loss to the ninth-ranked Pilots, while they tied Saint Mary's 1-1 in the second game of the season. The loss at Portland was twofold for the Bears as starting midfielder John Beck was lost for the season with a broken leg. Cal is ranked 13th in nation by Soccer America and 25th by NSCAA/Umbro. The Bear's offensive attack is led by sophomore forwards John MacDonald and Justin Bell. MacDonald currently leads the team with nine points and is tied with Bell for the team lead in goals with four. His nine points place him in a tie for third in the MPSF Mountain Division. MacDonald recorded the first hat-trick of his career with three goals against then-15th-ranked Rhode Island in the Brown University tournament. He also added an assist in that game, a 6-0 Cal victory, en route to all-tournament honors. Bell notched two of his four goals in the Rhode Island game and also received an all-tournament selection. He was also named to Soccer America's Team-of-the-Week (Week of Sept. 15) for his efforts. Bell currently ranks tied for sixth in the Mountain Division with eight points. The Bear's defense is anchored by sophomore goalie Doug Brooks. Brooks received numerous honors for his performance as a freshman last season. In addition to being named to Soccer America's All-Freshman Team, he also collected All-MPSF Mountain Division first team and Cal Rookie-of-the-Year honors. This season, Brooks has allowed just five goals and boasts a 0.71 goals against average, which ranks tied for 16th in the nation and third in both the Far West Region and the MPSF. Brooks already ranks tied for first in school history with 11 career shutouts. The Bears are coached by Mark Mallon, now in his fifth season at the helm. Last season, Mallon, who owns a career 36-40-8 record, guided Cal to its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1986.
Dartmouth: The Big Green of Dartmouth College enter the tournament on a high note, winners of three of their last four games and boasting a 3-1-1 (1-0-0 Ivy League) record. Their only non-victory over the last four games came in the team's last outing, a 1-1 tie with 10th-ranked Boston University. Dartmouth cracked the Top 25 for the first time this season this past week, entering at #22 in the NSCAA/Umbro poll. Much like Stanford, Dartmouth's goals are spread throughout the roster, with three players heading the list with two apiece. Seven different players have scored goals as well as recorded assists in Dartmouth's balanced attack. The Big Green have been strong defensively, allowing opponents to reach the back of the net just three times. Junior goalkeeper Matt Nyman has 12 saves on the season and ranks third in the nation with a 0.41 goals against average. Head coach Fran O'Leary assumed the helm after the departure of Cardinal head coach Bobby Clark. Now in his fourth season, O'Leary owns a 24-24-6 record (9-9-4 Ivy League) at Dartmouth. Prior to his arrival at Dartmouth, O'Leary spent two seasons at Kenyon College, where he led the Division III Lords to an NCAA Tournament semifinal appearance in 1993 en route to NSCAA Regional Coach-of-the-Year honors. He also spent three years as head coach at Elmira College in New York. O'Leary is just six wins shy of 100 career victories, posting a career mark of 94-39-12 in eight-plus seasons.
Harvard: Currently 2-1-2 (1-1-1 Ivy League) on the season, Harvard will face Central Connecticut on September 30 before arriving at Stanford. Harvard is coming off one of the finest seasons in school history, with the '96 Crimson squad tying the school record for most wins in a season, finishing 16-2, and capturing the Ivy League title. The Crimson advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament where they lost 3-2 in overtime to Hartford. Harvard, which entered the '97 season ranked 17th in the NSCAA/Umbro Pre-season poll and has not lost since its opening game (1-0 to Penn), is led on offense by senior midfielder Tom McLaughlin. McLaughlin currently leads the squad with three goals, two of which came in a 2-1 victory over Providence. Defensively, Harvard has allowed an average of one goal per game with goalkeeper Jordan Dupuis recording a 0.88 goals against average. Harvard is coached by Stephen Locker, now in his sixth season. Locker has guided the Crimson to 42-35-9 record, including two NCAA Tournament appearances as well as the 1994 and 1996 Ivy League titles. Prior to taking the helm at Harvard, Locker spent three seasons at the University of Rochester, where he led his squads to a 34-14-4 mark, including three consecutive NCAA Division III Tournaments. The 1976 Penn State graduate began his head coaching career at Otterbein College in Ohio.
Series Records
The game between Stanford and Harvard will mark just the second-ever between the two schools. The lone meeting came in 1989, a 2-1 overtime win by Stanford in Cambridge. Stanford and Dartmouth will also face each other for only the second time. The Cardinal defeated the Big Green 3-0 in the 1995 USF Met Life Classic. Cal and Harvard will square off for the first time in the history of the two programs.
1997 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Standings
Mountain Division Overall
W L T PCT HOME AWAY W L T PCT HOME AWAY NEUT STK
Stanford 1 0 0 1.000 1-0-0 0-0-0 8 0 0 1.000 2-0-0 3-0-0 3-0-0 W8
California 1 0 0 1.000 1-0-0 0-0-0 5 1 1 .786 3-1-1 1-0-0 1-0-0 W1
Washington 1 0 0 1.000 0-0-0 1-0-0 6 1 2 .778 2-1-0 3-0-1 1-0-1 W1
Oregon State 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 0-0-0 2 6 1 .278 2-4-1 0-2-0 0-0-0 L4
CS Sacramento 0 3 0 .000 0-1-0 0-2-0 1 9 0 .100 1-5-0 0-3-0 0-1-0 L3
Pacific Division Overall
W L T PCT HOME AWAY W L T PCT HOME AWAY NEUT STK
UCLA 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 0-0-0 7 1 0 .875 2-0-0 3-0-0 2-1-0 W4
Cal State Fullerton 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 0-0-0 4 5 0 .444 2-1-0 0-3-0 2-1-0 L4
UC Irvine 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 0-0-0 2 3 2 .429 2-0-1 0-3-1 0-0-0 W1
Cal Poly SLO 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 0-0-0 3 6 0 .333 1-1-0 1-5-0 1-0-0 L1
UC Santa Barbara 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 0-0-0 1 7 1 .167 0-3-0 1-3-0 0-1-1 L3
Cal State Northridge 0 0 0 .000 0-0-0 0-0-0 1 8 0 .111 1-2-0 0-3-0 0-3-0 L5
NSCAA/Umbro Division I Top 25 Poll September 29, 1997 Rank School Record Pts 1. Indiana 9-0-0 459 2. St. John's 8-0-1 436 3. UCLA 8-1-0 396 4T. Virginia 6-1-2 372 4T. SMU 6-1-0 372 6. Duke 7-2-0 348 7. Maryland 6-1-1 319 8. Washington 6-1-2 298 9. Florida International 7-2-1 257 10. Boston University 5-2-2 227 11. Stanford 8-0-0 223 12. William & Mary 7-1-0 213 13. Creighton 6-3-1 178 14. North Carolina State 6-1-1 134 15. James Madison 7-1-0 98 16. Bowling Green 6-3-0 96 17. Portland 6-1-1 80 18. Saint Louis 6-2-2 67 19T. Temple 5-1-2 52 19T. Seton Hall 6-3-0 52 21. South Carolina 4-1-1 50 22. Dartmouth 3-1-1 22 23. Notre Dame 6-2-2 16 24. Marquette 6-2-1 13 25. California 5-1-1 12
Soccer America Top 20 Poll September 29, 1997 Rank School Record 1. Indiana 9-0-0 2. St. John's 8-0-1 3. SMU 6-1-0 4. Virginia 6-1-2 5. UCLA 7-1-0 6. North Carolina State 6-1-0 7. South Carolina 4-1-1 8. Maryland 6-1-1 9. Portland 6-1-1 10. Duke 7-2-0 11. Washington 6-1-2 12. Stanford 8-0-0 13. California 5-1-1 14. William & Mary 7-1-0 15. Florida International 7-2-1 16. Creighton 6-3-1 17. Marquette 6-2-1 18. James Madison 7-1-0 19. Georgia Southern 7-1-1 20. Wake Forest 5-3-0