<!ferris> Nov. 18, 1997
Stanford Vs. Washington in The Opening Round of The NCAAs
Cardinal Reach the NCAA Tournament for the First Time Since 1992
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MPSF: The 15th-ranked Stanford men's soccer team (13-4-2) will be making its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 1992 and just the fifth in school history when it opens first round action at the University of Washington on Sunday, November 23rd. Kickoff is scheduled for 12 noon. The Cardinal received an at-large berth to the 32-team tournament. The meeting with the fourth-ranked Huskies (14-2-2) will mark the second of the season between the two teams. MPSF Mountain Division rivals, Stanford and Washington squared off in Seattle on November 10, with the Cardinal claiming a 1-0 victory. The victory helped lead Stanford to its first-ever MPSF Mountain Division title.
NCAA Tournament History: Stanford will be making its fifth NCAA Tournament appearance. In each of its previous four showings, the Cardinal fell in the first round, including 3-0 to the University of San Diego in its last appearance (1992). While the Cardinal are 0-4 in the tournament, each of the four teams that it lost to advanced to the championship match - with two of the teams capturing the NCAA title. Below is a recap of Stanford NCAA Tournament history:
Year Opponent Result 1962 Saint Louis L, 3-9 1978 USF L, 3-6 1991 Santa Clara L, 1-2 (4ot) 1992 USD L, 0-3Saint Louis won NCAA title with 4-3 win over Maryland USF won NCAA title with 2-0 win over Indiana Santa Clara lost in NCAA title match 1-0 (4ot, penalty kicks) to Virginia USD lost in NCAA title match 2-0 to Virginia
Last Week: Stanford fell 1-0 to No. 2 UCLA in the MPSF Championship match. The Bruins opened the game strong, recording five shots in the first eight minutes. Freshman goalkeeper Adam Zapala held off the attack with three saves during that span. The Cardinal were forced to play a man down for the final 50 minutes as junior defender Eric Vandevelde was given a red card for a hard tackle at the 40:37 mark. Despite giving up a forward position to replace the opening in the defense, Stanford continued to move forward on the attack and played much of the second half in UCLA territory, but were often unable to get a shot off against the strong Bruin defense. Opportunities would come however. Junior midfielder Simon Elliott nearly missed putting the Cardinal on the board with a blast that was knocked away by the diving Bruin goalie. A couple of minutes later, Elliott found freshman forward Corey Woolfolk who slotted a shot into the far post for an apparent 1-0 Cardinal lead but the goal was disallowed due to an offsides call. The Bruins eventually broke the scoreless tie at the 75:07 mark when midfielder Pete Vagenas converted on a penalty kick. UCLA would hold on for the final 15 minutes for its third consecutive MPSF title.
Stanford in the Charts: Stanford enters the game with Washington ranked 15th in the Soccer America Top 20 poll, 17th in the Soccer News Top 25 poll and 22nd in the NSCAA/Umbro Top 25 poll. The Cardinal returned to the NSCAA/Umbro poll this week after a one-week absence. 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 over a 10-week period to its highest ranking ever - No. 2. The Cardinal held that spot just three weeks ago. Stanford has been ranked by at least one of the polls for a school-record 11 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, 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) .737
Most Shutouts 12 (1985) 12
Fewest Goals Allowed 13 (1985) 12
Lowest Goals Against Avg. 0.59 (1990 min.) 0.61 (1776 min.)
* Minimum 14 games
Individually, goalkeeper Adam Zapala has broken the school record for shutouts in a season and is threatening to break the records for fewest goals allowed and lowest goals-against average. His individual accomplishments are further noted in the "Freshmen Sensations" segment.
Freshmen Sensations: Goalkeeper Adam Zapala (Cupertino, CA/Bellarmine Prep) and forward Corey Woolfolk (Ann Arbor, MI/Pioneer HS) 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 12 goals all season, one fewer than Austin's 13 in 1985. His 0.61 goals against average is just shy of Austin's 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 second among freshman. Below are the top five goalies in the nation in GAA:
Rk. Name (School, Yr.) Games GA Min. GAA 1. Bill May (Washington, Sr.) 16 8 1514 0.48 2. Dani Braga (St. John's, Sr.) 14 7 1213 0.52 3. Matt Nyman (Dartmouth, Jr.) 14 8 1346 0.53 4. T.J. Hannig (Indiana, Fr.) 17 9 1402 0.58 5. Adam Zapala (Stanford, Fr.) 19 12 1776 0.61
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.
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 finished the regular season second in the entire MPSF in team goalkeeping (0.61). The Cardinal trailed only Washington, who led the pack with a 0.47 GAA. Offensively, Stanford finished tied for fifth in the conference with 91 points.
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 Saint Mary's "Fall Soccer Classic" Offensive MVP Jamie Clark, Shan Gaw, Dan Wytock and Adam Zapala Jamie Clark
Cal-adidas/Foot Locker Legacy Classic All-Tournament Team
Jamie Clark, Shan Gaw and Adam Zapala
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 23-8-6 (.703) 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 103-48-19 (.662) 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. Washington: Washington leads the overall series 12-7, including 5-2 at home. As metioned before, this will be the second meeting of the season between the two teams. Stanford captured the first game 1-0 behind junior defender Eric Vandevelde's (La Canada, CA/Loyola HS) goal 15 minutes into the contest. Zapala preserved the victory with a save on a Husky penalty kick just before the intermission (44th minute). The meeting will feature two of the top defensive teams in the country, each anchored by standout goalkeepers. Washington's Bill May currently leads the nation with a slim 0.48 goals-against average while Zapala trails close behind. May has played in 16 of the Huskies' 18 games, allowing just eight goals in 1,514 minutes while recording 49 saves and nine shutouts. May and Zapala rank 1-2 in the MPSF and the Far West Region. Below are some further game notables:
Stanford Washington No. 15 Rank* No. 4 None Preseason Rank* No. 7 13-4-2 Record 14-2-2 3-2-1 Record vs. Top 25** 5-2-2 1-2-0 Record vs. Top 10** 0-1-0 4-2-1 Away/Home 8-2-0 33 Goals Scored 47 12 Goals Allowed 9 12 Shutouts 10 9 Yellow Cards 22 3 Red Cards 2 * Soccer America ** Any of the three major polls
Note: Records vs. Top 25 and Top 10 are at the time the games are played. Away/Home is Stanford's away record and Washington's home record.
Stanford Sportsline
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Final 1997 NSCAA /Umbro Top 25 Poll
November 17, 1997
Rk. School Record
1. Indiana 20-0-0
2. So. Methodist 17-2-0
3. UCLA 17-2-0
4. Virginia 16-3-3
5. St. John's 17-3-2
6. Washington 14-2-2
7. South Carolina 16-2-1
8. American 15-3-4
9. Duke 15-5-0
10. Maryland 15-5-1
11. Creighton 15-4-1
12. Boston University 14-5-2
13. Fla. International 14-5-1
14. Saint Louis 14-4-3
15. Rider 15-5-1
16. Bowling Green 17-5-0
17. Gonzaga 14-4-0
18. Va. Commonwealth 15-3-4
19. Rutgers 14-6-1
20. Dartmouth 9-3-4
21. SW Missouri St. 13-4-3
22. STANFORD 13-4-2
23. Marquette 12-5-3
24. UNC Charlotte 12-6-2
25. William & Mary 14-5-2
Others receiving votes: Clemson, Brown, Santa Clara
Soccer America Top 20 Poll
November 17, 1997
Rk. School Record
1. Indiana 20-0-0
2. UCLA 17-2-0
3. Southern Methodist 17-2-0
4. Washington 14-2-2
5. South Carolina 15-2-1
6. Virginia 15-3-3
7. Creighton 15-4-1
8. American 15-3-4
9. Maryland 15-5-1
10. St. John's 17-3-2
11. Duke 15-5-0
12. Saint Louis 14-4-3
13. Rutgers 14-6-1
14. Va. Commonwealth 15-3-4
15. STANFORD 13-4-2
16. Clemson 9-6-3
17. Gonzaga 14-4-0
18. SW Missouri State 13-4-3
19. Boston University 14-5-2
20. Fla. International 14-5-1