2017 Season In Review2017 Season In Review
Icon Sportswire
Men's Soccer

2017 Season In Review

YouTube Opens in a new window

Stanford (19-2-2, 9-0-1 Pac-12)
Statistics
NCAA Statistical Rankings
Three-Peat Complete
Left Our Legacy

2017 NCAA CHAMPIONS

  • Stanford cemented its dynasty with yet another clinical postseason performance in 2017. On a sequence that began with a throw-in deep in opponent territory, Sam Werner stripped an Indiana player with one touch and stabbed a right-footed shot under the crossbar on his next, at 102:03, to beat the Hoosiers 1-0 and give Stanford just the second three-year championship run in NCAA history.
  • The Cardinal did not allow a goal throughout the entire tournament for the second straight year and upped its NCAA-record postseason shutout streak to 12 - a stretch of 1,214 minutes and 20 seconds.
  • Sam Werner was named the College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player, Tomas Hilliard-Arce its Defensive Most Outstanding Player and Nico Corti, Tanner Beason and Foster Langsdorf made the College Cup All-Tournament Team.

HOME OF CHAMPIONS

  • Stanford became just the second program to win three straight NCAA titles, joining Virginia which won four in a row from 1991-94. It also became the seventh program to win three men's soccer national championships along with Saint Louis (10), Indiana (8), Virginia (7), San Francisco (4), UCLA (4) and Maryland (3).
  • The victory gave Stanford an unprecedented 115th NCAA team title, moving ahead of UCLA for the all-time lead. It also made Stanford the first Division I school to win national titles in both men's and women's soccer in the same season. Stanford owns an active 42-year stretch with at least one NCAA team championship dating back to 1976-77.
  • The program became the first at Stanford to win three consecutive NCAA championships since women's cross country in 2005-07 and sixth overall, joining women's tennis (1986-91 and 2004-06), women's swimming and diving (1992-96), men's tennis (1988-90 and 1995-98), men's swimming and diving (1985-87 and 1992-94) and women's cross country (2005-07).
  • Jeremy Gunn became the 14th Stanford head coach to win at least three NCAA championships joining Dick Gould (men's tennis - 17), Frank Brennan (women's tennis - 10), Dante Dettamanti (men's water polo - 8), Lele Forood (women's tennis - 8), Skip Kenney (men's swimming and diving - 7), Richard Quick (women's swimming and diving - 7), John Tanner (women's water polo - 6), Eddie Twiggs (men's golf - 5), Don Shaw (women's volleyball - 4), John Dunning (women's volleyball - 3), Sadao Hamada (men's gymnastics - 3), Vin Lananna (men's cross country - 3), Dink Templeton (men's track and field - 3).

MAKE IT FOUR

  • Stanford finished its regular season 15-2-1 overall and was unbeaten in conference action for the first time (9-0-1). The Cardinal's 2017 conference title now sits on the mantle alongside championships from 2016, 2015, 2014 and 2001.
  • Stanford became the second Pac-12 school to win four in a row. UCLA won the same number of consecutive conference crowns from 2002-05.
  • Jeremy Gunn also became the only coach in league history to win more than two consecutive Pac-12 titles as UCLA's four-year run was split evenly between Tom Fitzgerald and Jorge Salcedo.

SENIOR LEADERSHIP

  • The third consecutive national championship capped the careers for six Stanford seniors - Corey Baird, Nico Corti, Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Foster Langsdorf, Bryce Marion and Drew Skundrich - arguably the most successful class in collegiate men's soccer history.
  • The group led Stanford to three national championships, four Pac-12 titles, a 65-10-13 overall record (.813) and 30-3-7 (.838) in their four years on The Farm.

GETTING DEFENSIVE

  • Stanford was second in the nation in both shutout percentage (0.696) and goals against average (0.382). The team's goals against average set a Pac-12 record and was significantly better than the previous mark of 0.52 from UCLA in 2003.
  • The Cardinal conceded just nine goals all season, a school record, and tied another program record with 16 total shutouts, last achieved in 2000.
  • Stanford upped its NCAA-record run to 12 consecutive postseason shutouts spanning 1,214:20 of match time. It finished the season with an active shutout streak of 689:15.

CONVERTING CHANCES

  • The Cardinal was one of the most balanced in the country and finished with a scoring offense of 2.09 goals per game to go along with its Pac-12 record 0.382 goals against average. Stanford was in the top 10 nationally in both categories and its offensive output was the program's best in 16 seasons.
  • Stanford, which scored a school-record 26 times in Pac-12 play, put in three or more in a game nine times this season, the program's most since 2001 (13). The Cardinal's 48 goals were its most since 2001 (56). Stanford was 10th in the nation in scoring offense (2.09), which was its best mark since 2001 (2.55).

WINNING IN BUNCHES

  • Stanford tied a school record with 19 overall wins (2001) and also matched the program mark for fewest losses with two (2015, 2001).
  • It also finished the season with a 15-match unbeaten streak, tying the second-longest stretch in program history. The Cardinal went 15 straight without a defeat during the 2015 season and went 20 games without a loss across the 1996 and 1997 campaigns.

BEST PLAYERS, BEST COACHES

  • Jeremy Gunn and his staff of Oige Kennedy, Charles Rodriguez and Collin Audley were named the 2017 National Staff of the Year by United Soccer Coaches.
  • Gunn, one of four coaches with NCAA titles at both the Division I and Division II levels, has led a team to the College Cup final four times in the past seven seasons and joined Bruce Arena as the only coaches to win three consecutive NCAA men's soccer championships (Virginia; 1991-94).
  • Gunn's teams are 84-25-18 (.732) in his six seasons on The Farm. He owns a career record of 271-86-49 (.728) in 19 seasons, a mark which makes him the fourth winningest active coach at the Division I level by percentage behind Carlos Somoano of North Carolina (.763; 107-26-21), Ray Reid of Connecticut (.745; 433-124-73) and Schellas Hyndman at Grand Canyon (.742; 487-152-53).
  • Gunn s also secured the first national men's coach of the year award handed out by Top Drawer Soccer and collected his fourth Pac-12 Coach of the Year honor.

TOP DRAWER SOCCER PLAYER OF THE YEAR & HERMANN FINALIST

  • Senior defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce was named Top Drawer Soccer's Division I Men's Player of the Year and finished as runner-up in the 2017 MAC Hermann Trophy voting.
  • A two-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Hilliard-Arce championed a Cardinal defense that posted 47 shutouts among his 87 career appearances at center back. Stanford had a 0.59 team goals against average with Hilliard-Arce in the lineup and finished in the top 10 nationally that category each of the last three years, including second his senior season (0.382).
  • A force on set pieces, Hilliard-Arce also finished his career with 13 goals and five assists, including four goals and three assists in 2017.
  • Hilliard-Arce joined Jordan Morris (2015) as the only Stanford men's soccer players to be recognized as Top Drawer Soccer's player of the year.

LANGSDORF LEADS

  • Foster Langsdorf finished his career as the Pac-12's career scoring leader with 37 goals. His 14 goals as a senior were ninth in the nation as were is 34 points and and his six game-winning goals were second.
  • Langsdorf, who was fifth nationally with 15 goals as a junior, became the first Cardinal with back-to-back, double-digit goal campaigns since Jim Talluto in 1990 and 1991 and was also the country's second-leading goal scorer over his final two seasons with 29. Central Arkansas' Niklas Brodacki was two ahead with 30 since the start of the 2016 season.
  • Langsdorf is sixth in school history in career goals and alone in seventh with 86 career points. His career goal total is the most for a Stanford player in 34 years. Jorge Titinger finished his four years with 48 from 1980-83, the second-best mark in school history.
  • Langsdorf had 18 career game-winning goals, including 14 the past two seasons, to go along with 12 career assists.

ALL-AMERICA DUO

  • Hilliard-Arce and Langsdorf were named United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I first team All-Americans on Dec. 8, the  third time in the last four seasons Stanford has had multiple players receive first team All-America recognition.
  • Also on the first team in 2016, Hilliard-Arce joined Jordan Morris and Brandon Vincent as only Cardinal to be named first team All-Americans more than once.
  • A second-team All-American as a junior, Langsdorf added his name to an exclusive list of Stanford first team All-Americans that includes Hilliard-Arce (2016, 2017), Morris (2014, 2015), Vincent (2014, 2015), Bobby Warshaw (2009), Todd Dunivant (2002), Lee Morrison (2001), Ryan Nelsen (2000) and Jamie Clark (1998).

BAIRD BIG

  • Corey Baird finished his career with 30 assists, tied  with Roger Levesque for third in program history and shy of only Dan McNevin (42; 1977-79) and Ted Rafalovich (62; 1978-81).
  • He also was the first member of Stanford's vaunted senior class to solidify his professional plans when he signed a Homegrown Player contract with Real Salt Lake on Jan. 5.
  • He tallied 16 goals in 83 career appearances to go with his 30 assists and his 13 assists during Stanford's first championship run in 2015 were the most for a Cardinal player in 24 years. He had a career-high six goals as a senior despite missing five early-season matches due to injury and assisted on seven others.

MADE IT COUNT

  • In his one year as a starter, redshirt senior Nico Corti put together the best statistical season for a goalkeeper in Stanford men's soccer history. He finished second in the country with a school-record 0.386 goals against average and posted 14 solo shutouts, a Pac-12 record and the second-highest total in the nation this year.
  • Corti didn't allow a goal in five postseason matches, becoming the sixth keeper in NCAA history to not allow a goal in the tournament, and also became the NCAA's career postseason goals against average leader (0.00) in the process.
  • He ended his season not conceding a goal in his final 674 minutes and Stanford upped its NCAA-record postseason shutout streak to 1,214:20.

ALL-REGION

  • Stanford placed five seniors on the United Soccer Coaches NCAA Division I Men's All-Far West Region Teams for the third consecutive season.
  • Forward Corey Baird, defender Tomas Hilliard-Arce and, forward Foster Langsdorf and midfielder Drew Skundrich were first team selections and goalkeeper Nico Corti earned a spot on the third team. Stanford's four first team performers set a school record, besting the three from 2016, 2015 and 1998.

LEADING THE PAC

  • It was déjà vu for Stanford as far as the 2017 Pac-12 postseason awards were concerned. For the second consecutive season Foster Langsdorf (player), Tomas Hilliard-Arce (defensive player) and Jeremy Gunn (coach) received the league's highest honors.
  • Langsdorf, who was Co-Pac-12 Player of the Year last season, is the first in conference history to win the award twice.
  • The Pac-12's top defensive honor has been dominated by the Cardinal since it was first instituted in 2014 with Brandon Vincent (2014, 2015) and Tomas Hilliard-Arce (2016, 2017) each winning twice.
  • Jeremy Gunn has won four consecutive Pac-12 Coach of the Year awards, becoming the first in conference history to do so.

ALL-PAC-12

  • Stanford landed a school-record tying five players on the All-Pac-12 first team. In addition to Langsdorf and Hilliard-Arce, senior forward Corey Baird, redshirt sophomore defender Tanner Beason and senior midfielder Drew Skundrich gave the Cardinal nearly half of the 11-member squad. It was the third time the Cardinal boasted five conference first teamers (2000, 2016).
  • Redshirt junior midfielder Sam Werner earned his first conference postseason accolade in being named to the All-Pac-12 second team and redshirt senior goalkeeper Nico Corti also received his first award, receiving All-Pac-12 honorable mention.

CONFINES OF CAGAN

  • Stanford went 10-1-2 at home in 2016, 15th in the country in percentage (.846) and tied for seventh in wins.
  • The Cardinal has posted a 37-3-8 (.854) record at home over the past four seasons with a goals against average of 0.50.

TEAM ACADEMIC AWARD

  • Stanford was honored by United Soccer Coaches on Oct. 5 with the College Team Academic Award for the most recent academic year. The Cardinal posted a cumulative 3.48 GPA during 2016-17, the fourth-best among Division I schools (Denver - 3.58; Memphis - 3.50; Notre Dame - 3.49).

SCHOLAR ALL-REGION

  • Nico Corti and Sam Werner were named to the United Soccer Coaches Scholar All-West Region team and were the only Pac-12 representatives on the 11-member squad.
  • Corti, a political science major with a 3.53 GPA, was also Stanford's nominee for Pac-12 Scholar-Athlete of the Year. One of 19 Stanford student-athletes majoring in political science, he spent last summer interning with the Crime Strategies Unit at the Santa Clara County District Attorney's Office where he analyzed the impact of various statewide public policies, including Prop 47, on crime and incarceration rates in Santa Clara County.
  • A science, technology and society major with a 3.39 GPA, Werner played the hero in Stanford's march to its third consecutive national championship. The College Cup Offensive Most Outstanding Player scored his fifth goal of the year and first game-winner of his collegiate career in the second overtime of the national final against Indiana, picking the Hoosiers' Griffin Dorsey and lofting his shot from 10 yards over goalkeeper Trey Muse to give the Cardinal the 1-0 win.
  • Of his five goals in 2017, three game in the postseason. Werner also added insurance goals in the quarterfinals at Wake Forest and in the semifinals against Akron, both 2-0 Stanford victories. All five of his goals came in the season's final eight games.
  • Stanford has had multiple scholar all-west region honorees each of the past four seasons.

BAKER'S DOZEN

  • For the sixth 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.
  • Thirteen Cardinal were on this year's list (Collin Liberty, Nico Corti, Amir Bashti, Tanner Beason, Jared Gilbey, Tomas Hilliard-Arce, Marc Joshua, Foster Langsdorf, Bryce Marion, Adam Mosharrafa, Drew Skundrich, Derek Waldeck, Sam Werner), tied for the most in the conference. Since Gunn took over in 2012, Stanford has collected a total of 73 Pac-12 All-Academic honors, including a program-record 14 in 2015.