What do Einstein, country music, earthquakes and Stanford soccer have in common?
If you don't know, pull up a chair and get to know Adam Mosharrafa.
He won three national championships and could win a fourth; his senior project may save lives; he co-wrote a song released by an up-and-coming country music star; and his great grandfather was buddies with Einstein. The Einstein.
Jeremy Gunn, Stanford's Knowles Family Director of Men's Soccer, said no matter where Mosharrafa goes on campus, he's "the smart guy." Makes sense, given that Adam's great grandfather was Ali Moustafa Mosharafa, a legendary Egyptian theoretical physicist.
Mosharafa (one 'r') contributed to the development of the quantum theory as well as the theory of relativity. In 1950, Albert Einstein mourned Mosharafa's death with the ultimate compliment, calling him, "a genius."
Stanford's Mosharrafa is known for something nearly as cerebral -- a penalty kick. Without playing a second of the scoreless 2015 College Cup semifinal against Akron, Mosharrafa buried the high-pressure shootout kick. Stanford won, crucial to its first title.
"I had already rehearsed it in my head hundreds of times," he said. "It was something I prepared for since the beginning of the season. The added pressure is all simulated. If you just stand behind the ball, look at it, and think, 'I just have to kick this ball 12 yards where I'm aiming,' it really doesn't sound all that difficult."
Mosharrafa has taken two more College Cup penalties, and nailed them. Gunn implicitly trusts Mosharrafa, calling him, "the cornerstone of the program," which carries a 19-match unbeaten streak into Friday's clash with visiting UMass Lowell.
"He's had so many other people take the accolades, take the bulk of respect," Gunn said. "Every single one deserved those awards in their own right, but I'm sure they would say they wouldn't have been able to get to where they were without the great work of people like Adam right next to them." History should treat Mosharrafa well. He, Amir Bashti and Collin Liberty are the only current Cardinal to have played in all three NCAA-title seasons.
"I didn't have any expectations for the soccer program," said Mosharrafa, a fifth-year senior. "I understood what an amazing school this was and what an amazing chance I had to come study here and play the game that I love. I never asked how good the soccer team was, or how many games we were going to win. It was always: I want to go to Stanford."
Gunn's emphasis on "discipline" and "work rate" were ideal for Mosharrafa, whom Gunn calls, "one of the great success stories," of Stanford soccer.
"He came behind other players, but showed abilities on the ball and just grew and grew," Gunn said. Mosharrafa's now a third-year starter who engineers a defense that attacks the ball and puts opponents under constant pressure.
Stanford's 1-0 overtime victory over Indiana in the 2017 final was Stanford's 12th consecutive postseason shutout. By the time Georgetown scored in the season's third match, Stanford's shutout streak reached 974 minutes, 15 seconds.
Mosharrafa – who started at right back in 2016 and center back since – is "wonderfully efficient," Gunn said, and "someone you can set your watch by, by how consistent and reliable he is." Mosharrafa carries a 3.52 GPA as a computer science major. For his senior project, Mosharrafa's group was tasked with helping first-responders in the wake of natural disasters. It programmed drones to fly above a site – say, after an earthquake or during a fire – and photograph the landscape, with the images stitched together to create a 3D survey model that emergency personnel could use to navigate territory they could not see. The project earned best in the class.
Soccer player, computer scientist … and songwriter? At Brophy Prep in Phoenix, Mosharrafa dabbled in song writing and poetry, and spent an afternoon with friend Tyler Dial creating a country song called, "Damn Good Time." Dial, now a musical artist in Nashville, released it as a single.
At the College Cup in Santa Barbara, Mosharrafa will be looking for one more "Damn Good Time". A four-time champion? Not even Einstein could top that.