2016 Season In Review2016 Season In Review
Men's Soccer

2016 Season In Review

Stanford (15-3-5, 8-1-1 Pac-12)
Statistics
NCAA Statistical Rankings
Champions Again

2016 NCAA CHAMPIONS

  • Stanford became the sixth program to win back-to-back national championships and the first to do it in a dozen years when it beat Wake Forest in penalties of the College Cup final following a scoreless 110 minutes.
  • The Demon Deacons had match point in the fifth round of penalty kicks, but Andrew Epstein's fifth-round save prolonged the shootout. Stanford's redshirt junior keeper lunged to his left to stop Hayden Partain's championship-winning attempt and swing momentum back to the Cardinal. Sam Werner next put Stanford ahead, 5-4, with a shot up the middle, and Epstein followed with the save of his life, diving to his right to block the try of Wake's Brad Dunwell and secure back-to-back NCAA crowns for the Cardinal.
  • The Cardinal did not allow a goal throughout the entire tournament on the way to its second championship, becoming just the third team to win the title while posting at 0.00 postseason goals against average.
  • Andrew Epstein was named the College Cup Defensive Most Outstanding Player and Corey Baird, Tanner Beason, Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Brian Nana-Sinkam all made the College Cup All-Tournament Team.

Note: According to Section 7 AR2 of the NCAA Statisticians Manual teams are credited with wins and losses instead of a tie when the national championship ends in penalties. 

THREE SEASONS OF SUCCESS

  • The nation's most successful collegiate soccer program over the past three seasons, Stanford is 46-8-11 and leads the nation in winning percentage since 2014 (.792), has won back-to-back national championships and three consecutive Pac-12 titles.
  • The Cardinal joined Indiana, Virginia, San Francisco, Saint Louis and Michigan State as the only collegiate soccer programs to win back-to-back national championships.
  • Stanford has won Pac-12 titles each of the past three seasons, the program's first conference three-peat since it won four straight University and Club Soccer League championships from 1919-23.

DEFENSE WINS

  • Stanford will head into next season with an active shutout streak of 548:29 and has not allowed a goal in seven consecutive postseason matches, an NCAA record. Its postseason shutout streak is currently at 732:17.
  • The Cardinal (2016), Wisconsin (1995) and San Francisco (1976) are the only schools to win national titles without allowing a goal throughout the entire NCAA tournament.
  • Andrew Epstein finished his career with a postseason goals against average of 0.34 to set an NCAA record, besting Don Copple's 0.38 in 720 postseason minutes with Saint Louis from 1969-70.
  • Epstein allowed four goals in 11 career postseason matches (1,073 minutes) from 2014-16. The Cardinal finished the year fourth nationally with a 0.56 goals against average, tied for the second-best mark in program history. Stanford's 13 shutouts also tied for third in the country and were its most since 2000 (16).
  • Epstein's 11 solo shutouts were a career high and tied for fourth in program history with Andrew Terris (2001) and Adam Zapala (1997).

IT ALL CAME TOGETHER

  • Stanford, which started its season 0-1-3, averaged 0.75 goals and gave up 0.83 per game in those four matches finished the year 15-2-2 in its last 19, averaging 1.84 goals per game and with a goals against average of 0.53.
  • On the year, Stanford was 39th nationally in scoring offense (1.65 goals per game) and fourth in team goals against average (0.56).

SOUNDERS ADD ANOTHER CARDINAL

  • Stanford senior captain Brian Nana-Sinkam became the Cardinal's eighth first-round selection when he was chosen with the 22nd overall pick by the Seattle Sounders in January's MLS SuperDraft.
  • Nana-Sinkam is the third Stanford player taken in the first round under head coach Jeremy Gunn after Brandon Vincent went fourth overall to the Chicago Fire last January and JJ Koval was picked ninth by the San Jose Earthquakes following the 2014 season.
  • The Litiz, Pa. product is the 22nd Stanford men's soccer alumnus to hear his name called in the MLS SuperDraft, which from 1996-99 was known as the MLS College Draft.
  • A 2016 NSCAA All-Far West Region second team selection, Nana-Sinkam helped guide Stanford to a 56-15-15 (.783) during his career and was named a Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-American in early December.

ALL-AMERICA RECORD

  • Stanford had a program record three players named to the 2016 NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's All-America Teams.
  • Junior center back Tomas Hilliard-Arce became the eighth first team All-American in Stanford history and redshirt junior goalkeeper Andrew Epstein and junior forward Foster Langsdorf were voted to the second team. It was the first NSCAA All-America recognition for all three.
  • Hilliard-Arce joined an exclusive list of Stanford first team All-Americans that includes Jordan Morris (2014, 2015), Brandon Vincent (2014, 2015), Bobby Warshaw (2009), Todd Dunivant (2002), Lee Morrison (2001), Ryan Nelsen (2000) and Jamie Clark (1998). The Cardinal had two All-Americans honored on seven previous occasions, but never three.

ALL-REGION

  • Stanford tied a program record set last season and placed five on the NSCAA NCAA Division I Men's All-Far West Region Teams.
  • Goalkeeper Andrew Epstein, defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce and forward Foster Langsdorf were first team selections and co-captains Brian Nana-Sinkam and Drew Skundrich earned spots on the second team. Before 2015, the Cardinal had four players honored in 2014, 2000, 1998 and 1997.

HERMANN TROPHY SEMIFINALIST

  • Junior center back Tomas Hilliard-Arce was named one of 15 semifinalists for the 2016 MAC Hermann Trophy on Nov. 29.
  • Last year, two-time Stanford All-American and 2016 Major League Soccer Rookie of the Year Jordan Morris became the first Cardinal men's player to win the honor.
  • Stanford is one of just four schools in the history of the award to have both men's and women's winners.

TREE-PEAT

  • Stanford finished its regular season 11-3-4 overall and 8-1-1 in league action, setting a school record for Pac-12 wins.
  • Its 2016 conference title sits on the mantle alongside championships from 2015, 2014 and 2001.
  • The Cardinal is the second Pac-12 school to win three in a row. UCLA won four consecutive conference crowns from 2002-05.
  • Stanford's Pac-12 record during its three-year run of dominance is 21-3-6.

BEEN AWHLE

  • Stanford's title is the 14th conference championship in program history, but the first three-peat since it won four straight University and Club Soccer League (UCSL) championships from 1919-23.
  • The Cardinal also won UCSL titles in 1915 and 1916, the California Intercollegiate Conference in 1931, the Northern California Intercollegiate Soccer Conference in 1962 and 1963 and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in 1997.

LEADING THE PAC

  • The Cardinal cleaned up when it came to the conference's postseason awards announced on Nov 15. Foster Langsdorf was named Co-Pac-12 Player of the Year, Tomas Hilliard-Arce was selected as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Jeremy Gunn earned Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors.
  • Langsdorf is Stanford's fourth-ever Pac-12 Player of the Year, joining Jordan Morris (2015), Roger Levesque (2001) and Ryan Nelsen (2000).
  • Hilliard-Arce made sure the Pac-12's top defensive honor stayed on The Farm as well. Brandon Vincent won the award, which was instituted in 2014, in each of its first two years of existence.
  • In five years at Stanford, Jeremy Gunn has gone 65-23-16 (.702) and has won three consecutive Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards, becoming just the second in conference history to do so.

ALL-PAC-12

  • Stanford led the way with a school-record tying five players on the All-Pac-12 first team.
  • In addition to Langsdorf and Hilliard-Arce, junior forward Corey Baird, redshirt junior goalkeeper Andrew Epstein and senior defender Brian Nana-Sinkam gave the Cardinal nearly half of the 11-member squad.
  • It was the most conference first teamers for the Cardinal since it had five in 2000, the first year of Pac-12 men's soccer.
  • Junior midfield Drew Skundrich earned his first conference postseason accolade in being named to the All-Pac-12 second team and fellow junior midfielder Bryce Marion also received his first award, receiving All-Pac-12 honorable mention.

GREAT UNDER GUNN

  • One of four coaches to win NCAA titles in both Division I and Division II, Gunn's teams are 65-23-16 (.702) in his five seasons on The Farm.
  • He owns a career record of 252-84-47 (.719) in 18 seasons, a mark which makes him the third winningest active coach at the Division I level (by percentage).
  • With Stanford's 2016 NCAA title Gunn became the seventh coach in Division I history to win back-to-back national championships along with Jerry Yeagley, Bruce Arena, Steve Negoesco, Harry Keough, Gene Kenney and Bob Guelker.

AMERICAN FOR GOALS

  • Forward Foster Langsdorf scored a career-high 15 goals for the Cardinal in 2016, tied for eighth in program history and the most for a Cardinal since Willie Guicci had 22 in 1981.
  • The management science and engineering major finished fourth nationally in total goals, 10th in goals per game (0.65) and led the country in game-winning goals (8).

DOUBLE-DIGIT GOALS

  • Jordan Morris led Stanford with 13 goals a season ago. It was the first time since 2000 and 2001 that the Cardinal had two players put together 10-goal seasons in back-to-back years.
  • Scott Leber (13) and Corey Woolfolk (12) combined for 25 of Stanford's 68 scores in 2000 and Roger Levesque followed that up with his 14 in 2001.

BAIRD ASSISTS

  • Corey Baird led the Cardinal with six assists this season and his 23 in 65 career games rank seventh in Stanford history.
  • The junior tied for second in the nation in assists last season with 13. His 23 career assists are 10th among active NCAA players.

RECORD WATCH

  • Andrew Epstein is in the conversation with some of Stanford's all-time best goalkeepers. His 24 career solo shutouts are tied for second all-time at Stanford with Willie Burkhardt (1981-84) and his career goals against average (0.68) is second. His 174 career saves are seventh and his 6,131 minutes in goal are third.
  • Epstein finished with a career record of 46-8-11 (.792) and his 0.571 goals against average this season was seventh in the country and tied for third in program history with Adam Zapala (1998).

ACADEMIC ALL-AMERICAN

  • Epstein was named to the 2016 CoSIDA Academic All-America Division I first team on Nov. 22.
  • Epstein, who was on the Academic All-America Division I third team last season, joined Taylor Graham (2002) as the Cardinal's only first team Academic All-Americans in men's soccer.

NSCAA SCHOLARS

  • Andrew Epstein and Drew Skundrich were honored by the 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 13 spots on the NSCAA Division I Men's Scholar All-West Region team and Stanford was also the only Pac-12 school that had multiple student-athletes receive scholar all-region recognition.
  • Epstein was also named an NSCAA Scholar First Team All-American, the ninth NSCAA First Team Academic All-American in Stanford history and first since Bobby Warshaw in 2009.

A DOZEN ACADEMIC HONORS

  • For the fifth consecutive season under Jeremy Gunn and his staff, the Stanford men's soccer program had more than 10 of its student-athletes receive recognition from the conference for their combined work in the classroom and on the field when the Pac-12 announced its men's soccer all-academic squads.
  • Twelve Cardinal were on this year's list (Adrian Alabi, Andrew Epstein, Justin Kahl, Amir Bashti, Tanner Beason, Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Foster Langsdorf, Bryce Marion, Adam Mosharrafa, Brian Nana-Sinkam, Drew Skundrich, Sam Werner), the most in the conference. Since Gunn took over in 2012, Stanford has collected a total of 60 Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including a program-record 14 in 2015.

CONFINES OF CAGAN

  • Stanford went 9-1-2 at home in 2016, 19th in the country in percentage (.833) and tied for fifth in wins.
  • The Cardinal has posted a 27-2-6 (.857) record at home over the past three seasons with a goals against average of 0.52.

NEW LOOK, SAME STANFORD

  • A process-oriented bunch, Stanford headed into 2016 with the task of replacing five starters from a year ago, including MAC Hermann Trophy winner Jordan Morris and two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Brandon Vincent.
  • Those two, along with Slater Meehan, Ty Thompson and Eric Verso, accounted for 53 percent of the Cardinal's goals (23-of-43), 48 percent of its assists (23-of-48) and 52 percent of its points (69-of-134) last season.

SCORE TWICE AND WIN

  • Stanford has scored two or more goals in 53 of Jeremy Gunn's 104 matches as Stanford's head coach and is 47-0-6 in those games.
  • The Cardinal hasn't lost when scoring at least two goals since Nov. 11, 2010, when it fell 3-2 at Cal.