STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford is again the king of the conference. For the third consecutive season and fourth time in program history, the Cardinal has claimed the Pac-12 crown.
No. 9 Stanford (10-3-4, 7-1-1 Pac-12), which was off this weekend and closes out its regular season at Cal (5-9-2, 1-7-1, Pac-12) on Friday, will hold the 2016 trophy outright following No. 11 Washington's 1-0 loss against No. 21 San Diego State (9-4-4, 4-3-2 Pac-12) on Sunday night. The Huskies (13-5-0, 6-3-0 Pac-12), with 18 points and one game remaining, cannot match Stanford's current total of 22 points.
It's the first conference three-peat for Stanford since it won four straight University and Club Soccer League championships from 1919-23 and the program's 14th overall league title. The Cardinal, which topped the Pac-12 table in 2001, 2014, 2015 and now 2016, won 10 conference championships in various leagues before the Pac-12 began sponsoring men's soccer in 2000.
The defending national champions will also be the league's automatic qualifier for the NCAA Division I Men's Soccer Championship, its 15th overall tournament appearance. The postseason bracket will be revealed on Monday, Nov. 14 at 10 a.m. PT via a selection show on NCAA.com.
