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Men's Soccer To Host Nike Tournament
#6 Creighton, California and UNLV are Guests at annual tournament
Sept. 29, 1998
STANFORD, CA - The 14th-ranked Stanford men's soccer team welcomes three national powers to New Maloney this weekend as it hosts the annual Nike Tournament. The event features two teams ranked nationally by Soccer America, the country's premier college soccer publication, in addition to two up and coming powers.
Among those two ranked teams is Stanford (5-2-0), which stands at No. 14 after last Friday's 2-0 win against Bay Area rival San Francisco. Senior A.J. Sauer, the Cardinal's top scorer a year ago, has picked where he left off leading this year's squad with three goals and eight points. In the net, sophomore Adam Zapala has continued with solid performances as he leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation with 5 shutouts in seven matches.
Joining the Cardinal as the other ranked team is Creighton. The Bluejays, who are ranked ninth by Soccer America, come into this weekend's action ranked as high as No. 6 by the NSCAA/Coaches Poll. Riding a five-game winning streak, Creighton looks to take home its third tournament title of the year. Already this season, the Bluejays have won their own Ameritas Kick-Off Classic and Diadora Challenge. This past weekend, Creighton improved to 7-1-0 with a 1-0 victory over Ohio State in the championship match of the Diadora Challenge on Sunday.
Coming off consecutive five-win seasons, UNLV (6-2-0) enters this weekend's tournament as a vastly improved team. Already this season, the Rebels have won six matches and are currently on a four-game winning streak after defeating UC Santa Barbara, 3-0, this past Sunday afternoon. At the helm for UNLV is coaching legend Barry Barto, who has over 250 career victories in his 23 seasons as head coach.
Though California enters into the tournament with a 2-4-0 record, all four of their losses have come at the hands of team's ranked in Soccer America's Top 20. This year, the Golden Bears have dropped decisions to #1 Indiana (2-0), #7 San Jose State (2-1), #13 Saint Louis (2-0) and #19 Alabama-Birmingham (4-2). Add that to the fact that Cal already has a 2-1 victory over Butler, currently ranked 21st in the NSCAA/Coaches Poll, and the Golden Bears are a team that should surprise people this season.
The early-season tournament - one of the marquee events among a full slate of collegiate soccer tournaments around the nation - will kick off Friday night at 5:15 pm when Creighton meets Cal following a Stanford woman's match against SMU at 3:00 pm. First round matches concludes with Stanford and UNLV starting approximately at 7:30 pm. On Sunday, action starts at 11:00 am with UNLV facing Cal followed by Creighton and Stanford at 1:00 pm.
Ticket prices for the tournament are $4 for adults and $2 for children aged 14 and under. However, Stanford soccer is offering free admission to some fortunate youngsters. On Friday night, all students of St. Joseph's School (Atherton) and Mariano Castro School (Mountain View), as well as youth soccer players from the Mountain View-Los Altos Soccer Club, receive free admission with their respective team or school T-shirts. On Sunday afternoon, all students of Hoover Elementary School (Palo Alto) and Palo Verde School (Palo Alto) receive free admission with their school T-shirts.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE
STANFORD NIKE TOURNAMENT
NEW MALONEY FIELD
Friday, October 2
Women's Soccer : Stanford vs. SMU, 3:00 pm (Non-Tournament Game)
California vs. #9 Creighton, 5:15 pm
UNLV vs. #14 Stanford, 7:30 pm
Sunday, October 4
California vs. UNLV, 11:00 am
#9 Creighton vs. #14 Stanford, 1:00 pm
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