No. 7 Stanford (14-2-2, 7-1-2 Pac-12)
Santa Clara (11-7-1, 5-1-1 WCC)
Sunday, Nov. 22 • 5 p.m. (PT)
Laird Q. Cagan Stadium • Stanford, Calif.
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What's Next
Pac-12 champion Stanford (14-2-2) opens its NCAA tournament when it hosts Santa Clara (11-7-1) on Sunday, November 22 at 5 p.m. at Cagan Stadium. Kevin Danna and Tim Swartz have the call on GoStanford.com’s live stream.
History vs. Santa Clara
Stanford is 17-20-7 in 44 all-time meetings with the Broncos dating back to 1973 and is 3-3 in the last six.
Earlier this season, the two played to a scoreless draw in an exhibition at Cagan Stadium. Stanford held a 14-5 edge in shots and a 10-2 advantage in corners, but was unable to convert.
The Cardinal and Broncos also played as part of their spring schedules, with Stanford winning 1-0 on April 20 behind a Tomas Hilliard-Arce header in the 25th minute.
Tournament History
The Cardinal is 15-12-3 all-time in the NCAA tournament and 9-2-3 at home, advancing on penalty kicks in two out of those three draws.
Its stretch of three consecutive postseason berths is the second longest in Stanford history behind a six-year run from 1997 to 2002.
| Stanford NCAA Tournament Appearances | |
| Year | Result |
| 2015 | --- |
| 2014 | Second Round |
| 2013 | Third Round |
| 2009 | Third Round |
| 2002 | College Cup Final |
| 2001 | College Cup Semifinal |
| 2000 | Quarterfinals |
| 1999 | First Round |
| 1998 | College Cup Final |
| 1997 | First Round |
| 1992 | First Round |
| 1991 | First Round |
| 1978 | First Round |
| 1962 | First Round |
King of the Pac
Stanford finished its regular season 14-2-2 overall and 7-1-2 in league action, setting a school record for Pac-12 wins.
The Cardinal’s seven-point cushion at the top of the Pac-12 table is the third-largest margin in conference history, only surpassed by nine-point gaps for the champions in 2011 and 2003.
Stanford’s 14 wins are also tied for sixth in program history and are its most since 2002 (17).
| Pac-12 Men's Soccer Champions | |
| Year | Team |
| 2015 | Stanford |
| 2014 | Stanford |
| 2013 | Washington |
| 2012 | UCLA |
| 2011 | UCLA |
| 2010 | California |
| 2009 | UCLA |
| 2008 | UCLA |
| 2007 | California |
| 2006 | California |
| 2005 | UCLA |
| 2004 | UCLA |
| 2003 | UCLA |
| 2002 | UCLA |
| 2001 | Stanford |
| 2000 | Washington |
Leading The Pac
The Cardinal cleaned up when it came to the conference’s postseason awards announced on Tuesday. Jordan Morris was named Pac-12 Player of the Year, Brandon Vincent was selected as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Jeremy Gunn earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.
Morris is Stanford’s third-ever Pac-12 Player of the Year and first since 2001. Ryan Nelsen (2000) and Roger Levesque (2001) took home the award in the first two years of Pac-12 men’s soccer.
Vincent, the 2015 Pac-12 Men’s Soccer Scholar-Athlete of the Year, was also the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year in 2014 and is the only person to ever win the award, which was instituted last season.
Gunn also received recognition from his peers as the conference’s best last season. His award in 2015 is the fifth time a Stanford coach has been awarded Pac-12 Coach of the Year. Gunn is the third head man in league history to win back-to-back coach of the year honors.
All-Pac-12
Eight of Stanford’s 11 starters received recognition on various All-Pac-12 squads. Morris, Vincent and Ty Thompson earned spots on the first team, while Corey Baird, Andrew Epstein, Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Foster Langsdorf and Eric Verso were named to the second team.
Fourteen Cardinal were also named to the league’s all-academic teams on Thursday, tying a school record previously achieved twice, in 2010 and 2007.
Sweep
The Stanford women’s soccer program claimed its outright Pac-12 title on November 1. It’s the first time the Cardinal has swept the league’s soccer championships and the first time since 2008 (UCLA) that both the conference’s men’s and women’s soccer titles have been won by the same institution.
| Pac-12 Championship Men's and Women's Soccer Sweeps | |
| Year | School |
| 2015 | Stanford |
| 2008 | UCLA |
| 2005 | UCLA |
| 2004 | UCLA* |
| 2003 | UCLA |
| 2000 | Washington |
*UCLA's women were co-champions in 2004 along with Arizona.
What's at Stake
Stanford’s 14 overall wins are tied for sixth in team history (1979). Only five Cardinal sides have ever won 15 or more games (16 - 1978; 17 - 2002; 18 - 1998 and 2000; 19 - 2001).
| Stanford Single-Season Wins | |
| Year | Total |
| 2001 | 19 |
| 2000 | 18 |
| 1998 | 18 |
| 2002 | 17 |
| 1978 | 16 |
| 2015 | 14 |
| 1979 | 14 |
| 2014 | 13 |
| 1997 | 13 |
| 1982 | 13 |
Confines of Cagan
Stanford is 8-0-2 at home this season and is 17-1-6 in its last 24 matches at Cagan Stadium. The Cardinal has allowed just four goals at home in 2015 for a 0.38 goals against average.
Streaking
Stanford’s 2-1 loss at Washington on November 2 was its first since a season-opening setback at UC Santa Barbara on August 28, a span of 66 days.
| Stanford Unbeaten Streaks | |
| Year(s) | Length |
| 1996-97 | 20 |
| 2015 | 15 |
| 2001 | 11 |
| 1980-81 | 11 |
| 2001 | 10 |
| 1980-81 | 10 |
The defeat snapped Stanford’s 15-match unbeaten streak, the second-longest run in program history, and the program’s 16-match unbeaten streak in conference play, a run which is tied for 17th in NCAA history.
10+ in Three Straight
In just his fourth year at the helm, Jeremy Gunn has already led Stanford to three straight seasons of 10 or more wins, becoming the third coach in program history to accomplish the feat along with Bobby Clark (1996-2000) and Nelson Lodge (1978-83).
Staying Ahead
Always Willing to Help
Stanford is 10th nationally in assists per game (2.06) and 13th in total assists (37) thanks largely to Eric Verso and Corey Baird.
Verso is fifth nationally in total assists (11) and third in assists per game (0.61). Baird’s eight assists are 24th in the country and his 0.44 assists per game average is 25th.
Stanford, American and SMU are the only teams in the nation that have two different players with at least eight assists.
More Verso
Verso is one of just 16 players in the country with 10 or more assists.
He is the ninth Stanford player since 1980 to reach that number, the fourth since 1985 and the first since 2002. No Cardinal had reached double digits in assists since Roger Levesque (13) and Todd Dunivant (11) in 2002.
| Stanford Players With 10+ Assists Since 1980 | ||
| Player | Year | Assists |
| Ted Rafalovich | 1981 | 17 |
| Ted Rafalovich | 1980 | 16 |
| Roger Levesque | 2002 | 13 |
| Jorge Titinger | 1982 | 12 |
| Eric Verso | 2015 | 11 |
| Todd Dunivant | 2002 | 11 |
| Walter Kingson | 1983 | 11 |
| Matt Moses | 2000 | 10 |
| Giancarlo Ferruzzi | 1984 | 10 |
Morris Magic
The Cardinal will welcome back striker Jordan Morris for its tournament run. The junior missed Stanford’s regular-season finale while with the U.S. Men’s National Team for its first two matches of the 2018 World Cup Qualifying campaign.
Morris has already made an impact with the MNT this year, scoring against Mexico in April and assisting on the game-winning goal against the Netherlands.
He has split time between the senior team, making five appearances with the MNT in 2015, while also earning 11 caps with the U-23s, scoring six goals and tallying four assists. Stanford is 7-0-2 in the past two years when Morris has been gone with U.S. Soccer.
More Morris
A MAC Hermann Trophy candidate, Morris has a career-high eight goals in 13 appearances for Stanford in 2015. In his last nine games with the Cardinal, the junior has seven goals, two assists and 16 points.
Earlier this season, Morris slotted one past the keeper in five straight collegiate matches, becoming just the second Cardinal to do that since 1987. (Darren Fernandez; September 21 – October 3, 2002).
More Than Just Soccer
Morris, a Type 1 diabetic, also lent his support to Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation’s (JDRF) “T1D Looks Like Me Campaign” for National Diabetes Awareness Month (NDAM) in November. Among a number of different pieces to the awareness push, Morris was featured in a Times Square display ad the first week of the month.
Times Square treatment. #GoStanford #NDAM #JDRF #T1DLooksLikeMe
A photo posted by Stanford Men's Soccer (@stanfordmenssoccer) on Nov 4, 2015 at 2:19pm PST
It's in the Defense
Stanford is among the nation’s defensive leaders, ranking 10th in team goals against average (0.64).
Continuity has led to Andrew Epstein only being called upon for 44 saves thus far and as a team the Cardinal has made 45, an average of 2.50 per game which is the 11th fewest in the country.
Epstein’s 0.647 goals against average is 11th in the NCAA.
| Nation's Top Defenses | |
| Team | GAA |
| Denver | 0.37 |
| Loyola Chicago | 0.39 |
| St. Francis Brooklyn | 0.40 |
| Western Michigan | 0.50 |
| Wake Forest | 0.56 |
| Dartmouth | 0.59 |
| Coastal Carolina | 0.59 |
| Washington | 0.63 |
| SIUE | 0.64 |
| Stanford | 0.64 |
Stanford has allowed only 12 goals through its first 18 matches, its stingiest defensive effort since it let in 11 through the first 18 games of 2002.
Stanford’s nine shutouts this season is its most since 2009 (9). Andrew Epstein’s seven solo shutouts are tied for ninth in Cardinal single-season history with Craig Ueland (1977) and Willie Burkhardt (1983).
Destination Stanford
Sir Alex Ferguson made his second visit to campus in the last four months this past week, discussing his reflections and insights on leadership and management at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business on Monday, Oct. 19.
A photo posted by Stanford Men's Soccer (@stanfordmenssoccer) on Oct 20, 2015 at 4:07pm PDT
In late July, Ferguson and Manchester United used Cagan Stadium for training during their United States tour. The visit continued a trend of top national sides and clubs utilizing the unparalleled facilities and environment of Stanford for training. The USMNT visited campus for camp before the 2014 FIFA World Cup and within the past two years Stanford has also hosted Italian giant Juventus and English side Norwich City.
All CLASS
On October 26, Brandon Vincent was named one of 10 men’s soccer Senior CLASS Award finalists for his accomplishments in the classroom and community, and on the field.
Checks all the boxes. Vote Brandon for @SnrCLASSAward » https://t.co/OUAu4aKtOu #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/mLgyxN8fdv
— StanfordMen'sSoccer (@StanfordMSoccer) October 28, 2015
Academic All-District
Andrew Epstein, Drew Skundrich, Ty Thompson and Eric Verso were selected to the 2015 CoSIDA Academic All-District Men’s Soccer Team on October 29. The quartet now advances to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected early next month.
Card's four Academic All-District selections are tops among the NSCAA Top 25 » https://t.co/e2LMNfLuLn #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/wtXNaC4S0O
— StanfordMen'sSoccer (@StanfordMSoccer) October 29, 2015
The four Cardinal representatives on the 13-member team from District 8 set a new program record, surpassing the three from 2014, 2013, 2003 and 2002. Stanford has placed multiple student-athletes on CoSIDA Academic All-District Teams for three straight years and its four this year are more than any other of the nation’s top 25 teams.