Scholars

STANFORD, Calif. – Ty Thompson and Andrew Epstein were honored by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) for their combined work in the classroom and on the field when the organization announced its Scholar All-America and All-West Region squads.

The duo took up two of the 15 spots on the NSCAA Division I Men’s Scholar All-West Region team and were the only Pac-12 representatives named. Stanford was also the only school in the west that had multiple student-athletes receive scholar all-region recognition.

On Thursday, Thompson was also named an NSCAA Scholar Second Team All-American, the first Cardinal to earn such an honor since Bobby Warshaw and Dominique Yahyavi both made the second team in 2010. Thompson, who graduated two quarters early at the conclusion of the fall session, is the 14th NSCAA Academic All-American in Stanford history.

Thompson captained the Cardinal to the first NCAA title in program history in a headline-grabbing senior campaign. The economics major was named to the NSCAA All-Far West Region first team and the All-Pac-12 first team. In addition to this NSCAA academic honor, Thompson was also a CoSIDA Academic All-District pick and made the Pac-12 All-Academic first team.

Andrew Epstein finished his junior season 10th in the nation in goals against average (0.61), the fifth-best mark in Stanford history. When it mattered most, Epstein didn’t allow a goal at the College Cup against a pair of top-10 offenses in Akron (2.33 goals per game) and Clemson (2.17 goals per game). His eight solo shutouts in 2015 are tied for eighth in the Cardinal record books and his 0.73 career goals against average would be second on The Farm.

An electrical engineering major and CoSIDA Third Team Academic All-American, Epstein made a pair of saves in Stanford’s 8-7 penalty shootout win in the semifinals against Akron. His stop of Nate Shultz in the 10th round sent the Cardinal on to the title match in dramatic fashion.

Stanford men’s soccer won the first national championship in the program’s 102-year history on Dec. 13, defeating Clemson, 4-0, at Sporting Park in Kansas City, Kan. The Cardinal extended its streak of at least one NCAA team championship to 40 years, on ongoing record, while earning its 108th NCAA team title and 129th overall.