STANFORD, Calif. – Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Foster Langsdorf are two of 10 men's soccer student-athletes that have been selected as finalists for the 2017 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate soccer.
To be eligible for the award, a student-athlete must be classified as an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. An acronym for Celebrating Loyalty and Achievement for Staying in School, the Senior CLASS Award focuses on the total student-athlete and encourages students to use their platform in athletics to make a positive impact as leaders in their communities.
The finalists were chosen by a media committee from the list of 30 men's candidates and 30 women's candidates announced in late September. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner. Fans are encouraged to vote on the Senior CLASS Award website through November 20. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner. The Senior CLASS Award winners will be announced during the 2017 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup championships in December.
Stanford has done well recently as far as the Senior CLASS Award is concerned. Brandon Vincent and Brian Nana-Sinkam have earned Senior CLASS Award Second Team All-America status the past two years.
Hilliard-Arce and Langsdorf are two seniors who have been integral part in the most successful period in Stanford men's soccer history. Since their arrival on campus in 2014, the Cardinal is the winningest program in the country by percentage with an overall record of 55-10-11 (.796) and has won back-to-back national championships and three consecutive Pac-12 titles.
A science, technology and society major with a 3.18 GPA , Hilliard-Arce is a team co-captain this season, a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic selection and fluent in Spanish. Back home in North Carolina, he volunteers with Camp SOAR, organizing and playing sports with special-needs athletes. He has also worked Stanford soccer camps for four years to help promote the game in the Bay Area and is part of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) on campus.
The senior has started at center back in each of his 75 career matches, has scored 11 times and has two assists. The MAC Hermann Trophy semifinalist from 2016 and a projected top-pick in the upcoming MLS SuperDraft is on a number of watch lists this season, including the MAC Hermann Trophy watch list, the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI First Team, the College Soccer News Preseason All-America First Team and the All-Pac-12 preseason team. He was a first team All-American as a junior, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and named to the College Cup All-Tournament team.
Langsdorf is a management, science and engineering major, sports a 3.24 GPA and is also a two-time Pac-12 All-Academic honorable mention selection. On campus he is a Partners for Academic Excellence (PAE) mentor at Stanford, assisting student-athletes in managing their demanding schedules and also to helping prepare them for future employment opportunities through professional development. Mentors facilitate weekly small group meetings with a wide-ranging curriculum.
The reigning Co-Pac-12 Player of the Year and a second team All-American in 2016, Langsdorf is menacing defenses again in 2017 and the senior is 11th nationally in total goals (8) and 16th in goals per game (0.73). He collected his third brace of the season in the Cardinal's win at San Diego State on Sept. 28, pushed his career goal total to 31 and became the first Stanford player to score 30 or more since Giancarlo Ferruzzi tallied 32 from 1982-85. Now tied for eighth in school history in goals with Chip Jessup (1968-70), Langsdorf is also tied for seventh in the Cardinal record books with 71 career points along with Corey Woolfolk (1997-2000).
Langsdorf's 15 goals for the Cardinal last year are tied for eighth in program history and were the most for a Stanford player since Willie Guicci had 22 in 1981. Since men's soccer became a Pac-12 sport in 2000, no one has earned multiple Pac-12 Player of the Year awards. Langsdorf currently leads the league lead in both goals and points.
He's on this year's MAC Hermann Trophy Watch List along with the Top Drawer Soccer Preseason Best XI second team, the College Soccer News Preseason All-Amerca first team and the All-Pac-12 Preseason Team.
