Tournament Central
Stanford Takes On No. 1 Akron
After a pair of NCAA tournament wins, the Cardinal will now travel to face No. 1
Akron on Sunday, Nov. 29, at 1:00 pm, PST. Stanford will enter as the underdog
against the undefeated Zips, but should not be intimidated after a pair of impressive wins already in the 2009 NCAA tourney. Wins over Saint Mary's and UC Irvine have sent the Cardinal to the Sweet 16 in its first tournament appearance in seven years.
Free Webcast
The game on Sunday will be available on a free webcast courtesy of Akron. The link
to the webcast will be available on gozips.com and the men's soccer tournament
central page of gostanford.com. In addition, gametracker will be available at the
same two locations.
Stanford Nips UC Irvine
Stanford advanced to the Sweet 16 with a 1-0 over UC Irvine in NCAA second
round play. The Cardinal defeated the 16th seeded Anteaters on the road thanks to a
Daniel Leon goal in the 36th minute. John Moore also picked up his ninth shutout of
the season.
Stanford Knocks Out Saint Mary's
Returning to the NCAA tourney for the first time since 2002, the Cardinal dominated
Saint Mary's in a 3-0 win to advance to the second round. Adam Jahn led
Stanford with a goal and an assist. Dominique Yahyavi and Adoni Levine also added
goals for Stanford. In addition, John Moore earned his eighth shutout of the season
in goal.
Back In The NCAA's
Stanford men's soccer returns to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2002.
The 2002 team made it all the way to the NCAA final before losing to Pac-10 rival,
UCLA. Overall the men are making their 11th trip to the tournament and own a
record of 15-10 after a pair of wins this season. The Cardinal have three College
Cup appearances (1998, `01, `02). By advancing to the second round with a win
over Saint Mary's, Stanford improved to 2-6 all-time in opening round games. The
second round win over UC Irvine improved Stanford's record to 5-0 in the second
round. The Cardinal are 2-0 in third round games since the expansion of the tournament, including a 2-1 overtime win over Furman in 2002.
Postseason Awards
Bobby Warshaw and Adam Jahn were honored for their outstanding seasons with
the release of the TopDrawerSoccer.com national teams of the year. Warshaw
was honored as second team, while Jahn made first team all-rookie. Warshaw led
Stanford in goals with six despite playing defense, while Jahn provided the Cardinal
with a target forward for its much improved offense.
Pac-10 Honors
Leading the Stanford turnaround in 2009 was head coach Bret Simon, who was
named Pac-10 Coach of the Year for his efforts. It was the third such honor for Simon in his nine years at Stanford. In addition to the coaching honors senior Michael Strickland and junior Bobby Warshaw were named first team All-Pac-10, both for the second consecutive season. Also honored were freshman Adam Jahn and senior
Evan Morgan, who were selected to the second team and seniors John Moore and
T.J. Novak and junior Ryan Thomas who were named honorable mention.
Ranked Cardinal
In the final regular season polls, Stanford dropped out of the NSCAA top-25 for the
first time since early in the season. However, Stanford remains ranked No. 22 by
both Soccer America and Soccer Times.
Goals Equal Wins For Stanford
After struggling to a 4-11-3 record last season where the Cardinal scored just 14
goals in 17 games, things have turned around in 2009. This season Stanford scored
28 goals in 19 games. The Cardinal is averaging 1.47 goals per game after averaging
just 0.82 in 2008. Bobby Warshaw leads Stanford with six goals, but eleven different
players have found the back of the net for Stanford.
D In Defense
The Cardinal has played its traditional strong defense this season, carding nine shutouts and limiting their opponents to just 16 goals in 19 games. Their nine shutouts lead the Pac-10 in 2009. Stanford is allowing just 0.84 goals per game, which is second in the Pac-10. The Cardinal has a streak of 37 consecutive matches by of allowing two goals or less, dating back to 2007. Hunter Gorskie, Ryan Thomas and Bobby Warshaw have started at every game in defense, while T.J. Novak started the first 13 games, before being moved to an attacking role. Since then, Shaun Culver has stepped in to the defense and helped Stanford to a 4-1-1 record and shutouts of UCLA, Washington, Saint Mary's and UC Irvine.
Defending The Net
Stanford keeper John Moore has been a four year starter, but he may be having his
best year in 2009. He already has a career high nine shutouts and finished second in
the Pac-10 in goals against average at 0.91. Moore has also surpassed his career best in saves with 70. He earned the Stanford/Muscle Milk Athlete of the Week honor
after carding a shutout versus UCLA, making nine saves.
National Honors
The success of the 2009 team has led to several national honors this year. For the
week of September 21-27, Bobby Warshaw was named to the TopDrawer.com
national team of the week. Warshaw was also honored by College Soccer News as
a member of the national team of the week for October, 5-11, when he scored the
only Stanford goal in a 1-0 win over Oregon State and a 1-1 tie with Washington.
Ryan Thomas also earned a spot on the College Soccer News national team of the
week for October 12-18. Thomas was honored after scoring a golden goal in a 2-1
overtime win over San Diego State.
Stanford Drops Season Finale To Cal
Stanford suffered a tough loss at the hands of arch rival California on senior night at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium. On the night when John Moore, Evan Morgan, T.J. Novak and Michael Strickland were honored, the Cardinal fell to Cal, 1-0.
Stanford Finishes Road Season In Style
The Cardinal went a long way to securing a spot in the NCAA tourney by earning a
pair of road results on their final trip of the season. First, Stanford earned a 3-2 road win against Oregon State with an offensive outburst. Next, they earned a 0-0 draw at Washington to total four points for the trip and improve their road record to 4-3-1.
Stanford Falls At Cal In Pac-10 Opener
Stanford fell to California 1-0 in the Pac-10 opener. The Cardinal outshot Cal 12-7,
but could not find the back of the net.
Stanford/Nike Classic Champs
Stanford Captured the Stanford/Nike Classic with wins over Air Force and New
Mexico. In the opener Bobby Warshaw scored two goals in a 3-2 win over Air Force.
The second goal came on a diving header after a perfectly played ball from Michael
Strickland. The second game saw the Cardinal shutout a New Mexico team that was
fresh off an upset win over Cal. John Moore anchored the Stanford defense in goal,
posting his fourth shutout of the season.
Stanford Completes Undefeated Bay Area Classic
Stanford improved to 4-1-0 with a pair of wins over local rivals in the Bay Area
Classic. The Cardinal began on the road where they got a 2-0 win over Santa Clara at
Buckshaw Stadium. Bobby Warshaw and Daniel Leon scored goals and John Moore
recorded the shutout in goal for Stanford. They then returned home to face San Francisco and after both teams went scoreless in regulation, Cameron Lamming won the
game for Stanford with a golden goal just 1:45 into the first overtime period.
Stanford Defeats Cal Poly In Home Opener
Stanford defeated Cal Poly in their home opener, 3-2. Stanford got out to a 2-0 first half lead with goals by Adam Jahn and Dominique Yahyavi. However, Cal Poly struck back in the second half and to get within a goal on two separate occasions. Evan Morgan's goal in the 85th minute proved to be the game winner.
Stanford Splits East Coast Road Trip
The Cardinal opened their season with a 1-1 road trip with games at Lehigh and Rutgers. After an opening 2-1 defeat to the Mountain Hawks, Stanford rebounded with a 2-0 win over the Scarlet Knights. Garrett Gunther led the Cardinal with goals in both games. He scored the lone goal early in the match against Lehigh and the game-winner in the second half at Rutgers. John Moore recorded the shutout against Rutgers, the tenth of his Stanford career.
Bret Simon Climbs Stanford Wins List
With a 12-5-2 record so far this season, Bret Simon now has a career record of 80-
68-28 at Stanford. He has passed Bobby Clark for fourth all-time on the Stanford win
list. Simon also reached the 250 win barrier this season with a win at Santa Clara. His career record now stands at 259-137-52.
Warshaw Named To Herman Trophy Watch List
Junior Bobby Warshaw has been named to the Herman Trophy Watch List as selected
by the Missouri Athletic Club. The Hermann Trophy is considered the highest
individual honor in collegiate soccer. Warshaw is coming off a sophomore season
where he led the Cardinal in scoring and was named first team All-Pac-10. This season Warshaw has taken on a new role, playing in the central defense, as well as being the vocal leader of the team.
Morgan And Novak Return From Injury
2008 was supposed to be the year that seniors Evan Morgan and T.J. Novak led the
Cardinal back to the NCAA's, but after both suffered season-ending injuries, they
were forced to postpone until 2009. Morgan is in his sixth year at Stanford, but after suffering knee injuries to each knee he was granted a medical redshirt for the 2009 season. Novak played in the first six games in 2008, but after tearing his hamstring was granted a medical redshirt to come back for a fifth year. The duo has provided leadership for a fairly young team that returned to the NCAA's for the first time since 2002.
