STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford forward Jordan Morris and defender Brandon Vincent were named to the TopDrawerSoccer 2015 Men’s Division I Preseason Best XI first team on Monday.
Stanford, the reigning Pac-12 champion, and UCLA, the preseason pick in the conference, each placed two student-athletes on the 11-member first team to tie for the national lead.
Morris, Vincent and the rest of the Cardinal get the 2015 season underway at 7 p.m. this evening with a free exhibition against CSU Bakersfield. The game will serve as the first of two tune-ups at Cagan Stadium before Stanford opens its regular season at UC Santa Barbara on Friday, August 28. The Cardinal will also host Santa Clara on Saturday, August 22 at 6 p.m. in another exhibition contest.
Last Wednesday, Morris and Vincent were named to the 2015 Preseason Men’s Soccer All-Pac-12 Team and on August 5 the duo was selected to the preseason watch list for the MAC Hermann Trophy. Both NSCAA/Continental Tire First Team All-Americans a year ago, Stanford is the only team in the country returning a pair of first team All-Americans in 2015.
Morris, who has capped five times for the U.S. Men’s National Team, has become the face of college soccer in the past year. In November 2014 he became the first active collegian since 1995 to appear for the USMNT when he came on in the 76th minute in a friendly against Ireland in Dublin. On April 15, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas, Morris started and scored for the United States against Mexico, becoming the first college player to score for the USA since September 1992.
A 2014 MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist as a sophomore, Morris started all 15 games in which he played last season for Stanford tallying four goals, 14 points and a team-high six assists.
Vincent returns to The Farm for his senior campaign after captaining the Cardinal to its best season in a decade in 2014. In addition to receiving first team All-America honors, he was also the Pac-12’s Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Pac-12 first team selection and earned his second consecutive Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention nod.
Precipitated by a move to left back prior to the season, Vincent exploded offensively while championing Stanford’s stout defense. He led the team and was tied for 13th in the conference with six goals after entering 2014 with just one goal in his first 38 career matches.
On August 7, Vincent scored the United States’ third goal in its 3-1 win over Club Tijuana’s Segunda Premier Team, a result which wrapped up the U.S.’s first College Identification Camp at the National Training Center in Carson.
On August 3, the Cardinal received its highest preseason national ranking in 12 years when it came in at No. 8 in the NSCAA Preseason Top 25.
Stanford is coming off a historic season in 2014, including the program’s first league title since 2001, a No. 1 NSCAA ranking, its most wins (13) since 2002 and its best winning percentage (.763) since 2001. The team went 13-3-3 overall and 6-1-3 in conference to advance to its second consecutive NCAA Tournament.
Stanford’s regular-season home opener takes place on Friday, September 4 against Northeastern at 7 p.m.
Season tickets, mini plans and single-game seats are available by visiting gostanford.com/tickets or calling 800-STANFORD.