STANFORD, Calif. – Former Stanford All-American and current Seattle Sounders forward Jordan Morris has been called up by United States national team manager Jurgen Klinsmann for the U.S.' first two Hexagonal matches in CONCACAF 2018 FIFA World Cup Qualifying.
The United States will host Mexico on Nov. 11 at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, before traveling to San Jose, Costa Rica, to take on Los Ticos on Nov. 15. This is Morris' first call-up for Hexagonal qualifiers.
The Mercer Island, Wash. native has capped 12 times for the MNT and in November 2014 became the first active collegian to do so since 1995 when he came on in the 76th minute in a friendly against Ireland in Dublin. Morris started and scored against Mexico in a friendly win on April 15, 2015. The United States is 9-2-1 in matches featuring Morris.
The first-year pro was named one of three finalists for AT&T Rookie of the Year on Tuesday after leading all rookies in goals and game-winning goals this season. He topped the Sounders in scoring in his first year out of Stanford, set MLS rookie records for game-winning goals (6) and consecutive games with a goal (4) in addition to a new scoring mark for U.S.-born rookies (12). Morris also tallied four assists during the regular season and added another in the team's win over FC Dallas in the first leg of the Western Conference Semifinals a week ago.
Morris, who decided to forgo his senior season on The Farm and signed with the Seattle Sounders as a Homegrown Player in January, was named the Most Outstanding Player at the College Cup after leading the Cardinal to the program's first NCAA title with a two-goal performance in the championship in December. Stanford routed Clemson, 4-0, extending the school's streak of at least one NCAA team championship to 40 years - an ongoing record. Morris' two goals were the first multi-goal effort for a player in a title game since 1997.
The 2015 Pac-12 Player of the Year, Morris had a career-high 13 goals in 18 appearances for Stanford as a junior. In his final 14 games with the Cardinal, the junior had 12 goals, three assists and 27 points. He finished fifth in the country in game-winning goals (6), fifth in goals per game (0.72), seventh in total goals (13) and 12th in points per game (1.61). He finished his three-year collegiate career with 52 starts in 54 games played, 23 goals, including nine game winners, 16 assists and 62 points.
