Vincent, Gunn Lead Pac
STANFORD, Calif. – Brandon Vincent was the first-ever selection as the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Jeremy Gunn earned his first Pac-12 Coach of the Year nod when All-Pac-12 honors for the 2014 season were announced by the conference on Thursday evening as determined by a polling of the league’s coaches.
A junior captain, Vincent anchored Stanford’s championship defense that went undefeated at home (8-0-2) and posted the conference’s second-best goals-against average (0.84). The Cardinal also tied for the Pac-12 lead in goals allowed, only surrendering 16. It’s the first year a Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year has been awarded.
Vincent has also proven himself more than capable on the offensive end. Precipitated by a moved to left back before the year, the economics major leads the team with six goals, including three game winners, after entering 2014 with just one in his first 38 career matches.
In his third year on The Farm, Jeremy Gunn has engineered the rapid ascent of a Cardinal program which now sits among the nation’s elite. Stanford won its first Pac-12 title since 2001 on Sunday and finished the regular season with a 13-2-3 mark, its highest win total before the tournament since 2002 (14).
Under Gunn, Stanford finished ranked first in the nation in every major poll, No. 2 in the NCAA RPI and earned a No. 6 seed in the upcoming NCAA Tournament. He’s the third Cardinal men’s soccer coach to receive recognition from his peers as the conference’s best and first since 2009.
Those two headlined a group of eight Stanford men’s soccer players that claimed spots on various All-Pac-12 teams on Thursday.
Vincent, along with sophomore forward Jordan Morris, were Stanford’s representatives on the All-Pac-12 First Team. A 2013 second teamer, it’s Vincent’s first selection to the first team.
Morris earned his second consecutive spot on the league’s first team, the first Cardinal to do that since Bobby Warshaw in 2009 and 2010. He has started all 14 games in which he’s played this season for Stanford tallying four goals, 14 points and a team-high six assists. On Tuesday, Morris became the first active collegian since 1995 to earn a cap for the U.S. Men’s National Team when he played in the team’s friendly against Ireland in Dublin.
Stanford led the way with five selections to the 11-man All-Pac-12 Second Team in Corey Baird, Zach Batteer, Andrew Epstein, Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Austin Meyer.
Baird, a two-time Pac-12 Player of the Week selection, has scored four times and assisted on four others in 2014. The freshman played a big role down the stretch as Stanford was on its way to the Pac-12 championship. In the Cardinal’s last five matches, Baird tallied eight points on three goals and two assists.
Already a two-time All-Pac-12 performer, Batteer is Stanford’s active leader in both goals (20) and points (48). He has 12 points on four goals and four assists in 2014.
A two-time conference all-academic honoree, Batteer was selected earlier this month to the 2014 Capital One Academic All-District Men’s Soccer Team and now finds himself on the Capital One Academic All-America Team ballot.
In his first season in goal, sophomore Andrew Epstein has allowed just 16 goals on the season and posted a 0.85 goals-against average, good for 49th in the nation. He’s posted five solo shutouts, started in goal in two others and, if the season ended today, would be seventh in Stanford history in single-season goals against average.
Another reason for Stanford’s defensive dominance has been the play of freshman center back Tomas Hilliard-Arce. He’s started all 18 games this season and is one of 13 different players to score for the Cardinal, putting home a pair of headers. Stanford’s 16 goals surrendered are its lowest total since holding opponents to 15 through 18 games in 2007.
Austin Meyer, who secured Stanford’s third-straight Pac-12 Player of the Week honor on Monday, punched in the game-winning goal to help Stanford knock off No. 15 California 3-2 in double overtime and clinch the Pac-12 title on Sunday. It was his second goal of the season, with his other score also being an overtime winner against San Diego State on Nov. 2. All three of the redshirt senior’s three career goals have been game winners. He’s also assisted on five others in 2014 while appearing in all 18 games.
Ty Thompson rounded out Stanford’s All-Pac-12 honorees, as the junior was an honorable mention selection for the second straight season. He’s started 13 of 18 games and tallied one assist while holding down the Cardinal’s central midfield with Meyer.
Stanford begins its NCAA Tournament at home on Sunday, Nov. 23 at 5 p.m. against UC Irvine.