<!J. Robert Singer> Oct. 28, 1997
Cardinal Prepare for Big Week
"SHOWDOWN IN SAN FRANCISCO"
#1 and #2 Square Off This Friday in the Opening Game of the 1997 Cal-Adidas Legacy Classic
Clash of the Titans:
On Friday, October 31 at Negeosco Stadium on the University of San Francisco campus, the nation's only remaining undefeated Division I teams will clash as the second-ranked Stanford men's soccer team (13-0-2) will face top-ranked Indiana (16-0-0) in the opening game of the 1997 Cal-Adidas Legacy Classic. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. The game will pit the one of the nation's most explosive offenses against the nation's top defense. The Hoosiers are averaging nearly four goals (3.8) per game while the Cardinal have allowed just three goals all season, posting 12 shutouts in 15 games. Stanford, which is currently riding a 20-game unbeaten streak, will close the tourney against USF on Sunday, November 2 at 1:00 p.m. at Cal's Memorial Stadium.
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Junior A.J. Sauer scored two goals in the Cardinal's win over Cal Poly SLO, 3-0. (Ed Grant) <!hr> |
Last Week:
Stanford closed out its 1997 regular season home slate with victories over Saint Mary's and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. Against Saint Mary's, the goals came early and often for the Cardinal, which scored three times in the first 18 minutes en route to a 4-0 win. Freshman goalkeeper Adam Zapala (Cupertino, CA/Bellarmine Prep) established a new school record with his 11th shutout of the season, eclipsing the old mark of 10 set by Tom Austin in 1985. Junior co-captain A.J. Sauer (Spring, TX/Klein Oak HS) notched his second two-goal performance of the season in leading the Cardinal to a 3-0 blanking of Cal Poly SLO. Freshman midfielder Scott Leber (Tucson, AZ/Salpointe HS) capped the game's scoring with the first collegiate goal of his career. By the final whistle, the Cardinal had outshot the Mustangs 22-6. The shutout of the Mustangs was the team's 12th of the year, tying the '85 squad for the school record. The 12 shutouts this season is two more than the combined number of the past three Cardinal squads (10). With the two wins, the '97 squad became just the second in recorded school history (1973-present) to post an undefeated home season, recording a near-perfect 6-0-1 mark. The only other Cardinal team to accomplish the feat was the 1991 squad, which recorded an 8-0-1 home record.
Climbing the Charts:
Stanford climbed in the polls for the sixth consecutive week, making gains in all three national polls. In the NSCAA/Umbro Top 25 poll, the Cardinal rose two spots to No. 2, the highest ranking ever by a Cardinal squad and the highest-ever by a Bobby Clark squad. During Stanford head coach Bobby Clark's nine-year tenure at Dartmouth, the Big Green reached the Top 10 at different times each of his last four years. In 1990, Clark's squad reached as high as No. 7 and finished the year at No. 8. The Cardinal also climbed from No. 4 to No. 2 in both the Soccer America Top 20 and Soccer News Top 25 polls.
Stanford vs. Indiana:
This will mark the fifth meeting between Stanford and Indiana and the first since 1991. The Hoosiers hold a 2-0-2 series lead. Coincidentally, one of the four previous meetings took place at USF. Below is the series breakdown:
Year Result Site
1982 Indiana won 4-2 Stanford
1988 0-0 tie University of South Carolina*
1989 Indiana won 1-0 University of San Francisco*
1991 2-2 tie Indiana**
* Met-Life Classic
** Adidas Met-Life Classic
The game will feature three of the top goalies in the nation - and all three are freshman. Stanford touts Adam Zapala, who leads the nation by a wide margin with his 0.19 goals-against average
(3 goals allowed, 1,416 min.), while Indiana boasts a pair of strong goalies. T.J. Hannig, who has started 11 games for IU, ranks sixth in the country with a 0.60 average (7 GA, 1,042 min.). Joe Zarr, who started the Hoosier's other five games, comes in with a 0.67 average (3 GA, 400:35). Other game notables are listed below:
Stanford Indiana
No. 2 Rank* No. 1
None Preseason Rank** No. 5
13-0-2 Record 16-0-0
2-0-1 Record vs. Top 25** 4-0-0
1-0-0 Record vs. Top 10** 1-0-0
3-0-0 Neutral Site Records 3-0-0
31 Goals Scored 61
3 Goals Allowed 10
12 Shutouts 9
6 Yellow Cards 20
2 Red Cards 0
* Consensus of all three polls ** NSCAA/Umbro Top 25
Note: Records vs. Top 25 and Top 10 are at the time the games are played
Stanford vs. USF:
The meeting between Stanford and the University of San Francisco will mark the 24th between the two schools since 1973. It is the third-longest series in Stanford's recorded history, behind only California (25 games) and San Jose State (25). The Dons lead the series 14-4-5. The last meeting between the two (1996 at Stanford) ended in a 1-1 tie. Cardinal midfielder Shan Gaw (Olympia, WA/Capital HS), scored the lone goal for Stanford. USF enters the tournament 8-8-0 and will face Cal following the Stanford-Indiana game.
"The Streak":
As mentioned before, Stanford is currently riding a 20-game unbeaten streak. The Cardinal have not lost since October 20, 1996, a 2-1 decision to then-second-ranked Cal. The streak includes wins over Cal Poly SLO, Saint Mary's (twice), California, #8 Washington, Sacramento State, UC Irvine (twice), #16 Wisconsin, Chico State, UC Santa Barbara (twice), UNLV, Cal State Northridge, San Jose State (twice) and Santa Clara, and ties with #22 Dartmouth and Oregon State. Rankings are at the time of the game.
During "The Streak", Stanford has:
* Posted a 18-0-2 record, including 8-0-1 away from home
* Outscored its opponents 44-6, including 31-3 this season
* Recorded 14 shutouts, including 12 this season
* Established school records for the longest winning streak overall (14) and within a season (9), and the longest unbeaten streak overall (20 and counting) and within a season (15 and counting)
* Tied the school record for shutouts in a season with 12
* Climbed from no national ranking to No. 2 in the country (the highest ranking ever by a Cardinal squad) and to the No. 1 spot in the Far West Region (also a school first)
Re-Writing the Record Book:
In addition to the records already broken, the '97 squad is on pace to break several other single-season team and individual records, including: wins, highest winning percentage, fewest losses, most shutouts, fewest goals allowed and lowest goals-against average. Zapala is on pace to break the individual single-season school records for fewest goals allowed and lowest goals-against average. His individual accomplishments are further noted below in "The Best in the Nation" segment.
The Best in the Nation:
Freshman goalkeeper Adam Zapala has been brilliant in his inagural season at the collegiate level. As mentioned before, he currently holds a firm lead as the nation's leader in goals-against average, posting a meager 0.19 mark. Below are the top five goalies in the nation in GAA:
Rk. Name (School) Games GA Min. GAA
1. Adam Zapala (Stanford) 15 3 1416 0.19
2. Matt Nyman (Dartmouth) 11 5 1046 0.43
3. Bill May (Washington) 14 7 1347 0.47
4. Dani Braga (St. John's) 13 7 1123 0.56
5. Brian Gagnon (Cent. Conn.) 11 5 765 0.59
Zapala's 0.19 goals-against average is well on pace to setting another school record. The current single-season GAA mark is held by Austin, who recorded a 0.59 GAA in 1985. Only three goalies in Stanford history have recorded a GAA lower than 1.00 (minimum 900 minutes in goal). With at least four games remaining, he has already set the school record for shutouts in a season with 12, topping Austin's total of 10 in 1985. Austin required 19 complete games in goal to achieve the record.
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 Soccer America Team-of-the-Week
A.J. Sauer (Sept. 8) Jamie Clark (Sept. 21 and Oct. 14)
Adam Zapala (Sept. 22) Shan Gaw (Oct. 21)
Jamie Clark (Oct. 13)
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
Statistically Speaking:
Forward A.J. Sauer currently leads the team with 18 points on nine goals. His point total ranks tied for 11th in the Far West Region and third in the MPSF Mountain Division while his seven goals place him in a tie for seventh in the region and second in the division. Freshman forward Corey Woolfolk (Ann Arbor, MI/Pioneer HS), the 1996 Mr. Soccer in the state of Michigan, ranks second on the squad with 13 points on four goals and five assists. His 13 points rank tied for eighth in the division while his five assists stand tied for fourth in the division. Junior midfielder Simon Elliott (Wellington, New Zealand/Victoria University) ranks third on the squad with 11 points on three goals and five assists. His 11 points rank tied for 12th in the division while his five assists stand tied for ninth in the region and tied for fourth in the division. As a team, Stanford leads the entire MPSF in team goalkeeping (0.19) and ranks fifth in team scoring (85 points).
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 23-4-6 (.788) mark. In his inaugural season, Clark 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 103-46-19 (.670) record. 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.
Ticket Information:
Stanford vs. Indiana (Negeosco Stadium - USF)
$7.00 Reserve
$5.00 General Admission
$3.00 Senior Citizens/High School Students with I.D.
$1.00 Kids under 12
For more information or to reserve tickets, please cal the USF ticket office at (415) 422-2873.
Stanford vs. USF (Memorial Stadium - Cal)
$5.00 Adults
$3.00 Youth 5-17 years-of-age
Free Children 5-and-under
For more information, please contact the California ticket office at (510) 642-3460
Soccer America Top 20 Poll
October 27, 1997
Rank School Record
1. Indiana 16-0-0
2. STANFORD 13-0-2
3. UCLA 13-2-0
4. Virginia 10-2-3
5. Southern Methodist 12-2-0
6. Duke 13-3-0
7. Washington 11-2-2
8. South Carolina 9-2-1
9. St. John's 13-2-2
10. Creighton 11-3-1
11. American 9-3-3
12. Dartmouth 7-1-3
13. Maryland 11-3-1
14. Clemson 8-4-3
15. North Carolina St. 10-4-0
16. William & Mary 11-2-1
17. Air Force 11-2-0
18. New Mexico 11-5-0
19. Gonzaga 12-3-0
20. James Madison 10-3-2
NSCAA/Umbro Division I Top 25 Poll
October 27, 1997
Rank School Record Points
1. Indiana 16-0-0 760
2. STANFORD 13-0-2 713
3. Virginia 10-2-3 636
4. St. John's 13-2-2 617
5. Southern Methodist 12-2-0 593
6. Duke 13-3-0 571
7. Washington 11-2-2 563
8. American 9-3-3 487
9. UCLA 13-2-0 420
10. South Carolina 9-2-1 405
11. Creighton 11-3-1 375
12. Dartmouth 7-1-3 350
13. William & Mary 11-2-1 332
14. Maryland 11-3-1 253
15. Clemson 8-4-3 156
16. Saint Louis 10-4-3 154
17. Marquette 10-4-2 125
18. North Carolina State 10-4-0 107
19. James Madison 10-3-2 80
20. Gonzaga 12-3-0 46
21. Rider 10-5-1 44
22. St. Francis (Pa.) 13-4-1 38
23. Connecticut 9-6-1 31
24. Florida International 11-5-1 28
25t. Akron 12-4-1 13
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 0 2 .933 6-0-1 4-0-1 3-0-0 W3
Washington 3 1 0 .750 2-1-0 1-0-0 11 2 2 .800 5-2-0 5-0-1 1-0-1 W3
California 2 2 0 .500 1-0-0 1-2-0 9 5 1 .643 4-1-1 3-2-0 2-2-0 W1
Oregon State 1 2 1 .375 0-1-1 1-1-0 4 10 2 .313 2-6-2 2-4-0 0-0-0 L2
CS Sacramento 0 4 0 .000 0-2-0 0-2-0 1 12 0 .077 1-6-0 0-5-0 0-1-0 L6
* Mountain Division Champion
Pacific Division Overall
W L T PCT HOME AWAY W L T PCT HOME AWAY NEUT STK
Cal State Fullerton 3 1 0 .750 3-1-0 0-0-0 9 7 0 .563 6-3-0 1-3-0 2-1-0 L1
UCLA 3 1 0 .750 1-0-0 2-1-0 13 2 0 .867 5-0-0 5-1-0 2-1-0 W2
Cal Poly SLO 2 2 0 .500 2-0-0 0-2-0 5 9 0 .357 3-1-0 1-8-0 1-0-0 L1
Cal State Northridge 2 2 1 .500 2-2-1 0-0-0 3 10 1 .250 3-4-1 0-3-0 0-3-0 W1
UC Irvine 1 3 1 .300 0-1-1 1-2-0 5 6 4 .467 3-0-3 1-5-1 2-0-0 W2
UC Santa Barbara 1 3 0 .250 0-2-0 1-1-0 3 12 1 .219 0-5-0 3-6-0 0-1-1 W1