This Week in Pac-12 Men's Soccer

• Four Pac-12 men’s soccer teams were selected to participate in the NCAA Men’s Soccer Championship, as announced by the NCAA Division I Men’s Soccer Committee. STANFORD and WASHINGTON, SAN DIEGO STATE, and UCLA will vie for a trip to the 2016 NCAA College Cup to be held December 9 and 11 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston, Texas. The Pac-12 is tied for the second-most conference representatives in the field with four.

• San Diego State hosts UNLV and UCLA hosts Colgate in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 17.  Stanford and Washington received first-round byes and play Sunday, Nov. 20. The Cardinal hosts either CSUN or Pacific and the Huskies play the winner of Portland against New Mexico.

• The Pac-12 currently holds an all-time record of 123-96-11 (.558) in the NCAA Tournament, with five national championships and eight second-place finishes. Last season, Stanford won its first national championship with a 4-0 victory over Clemson in Kansas City.

• The Pac-12 concluded the regular season with three teams ranked in the NSCAA top-25 poll for the fifth-consecutive week. Stanford sits at No. 5, followed by Washington at No. 14, and San Diego State at No. 19. UCLA also received votes. 

• The 2016 regular season concluded with Stanford capturing its third-consecutive Conference title going 8-1-1 in league play. Washington finished second in the league with a 6-4-0 record. UCLA followed in third with a 4-5-1 record. San Diego State, California and Oregon State rounded out the final standings. 

• The All-Pac-12 honors for the 2016 season were announced on Tuesday, as determined by a polling of the Conference coaches. UCLA’s Jose Hernandez and Stanford’s Foster Langsdorf were voted Co-Pac-12 Players of the Year. Langsdorf’s teammate Tomas Hilliard-Arce was tabbed Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year, Washington’s Handwalla Bwana was voted Pac-12 Freshman of the Year and Cardinal head coach Jeremy Gunn was voted Pac-12 Coach of the Year. The All-Pac-12 teams were also announced and can be viewed here.

• Stanford’s Foster Langsdorf was named the Conference’s Player of the Week. The junior forward sent No. 8 Stanford into the postseason with a win, netting a Conference-leading fifth game winner of the season in a 2-1 overtime win at Cal. He finished the regular season as the Pac-12 leader in both goals (12) and points (26), and is one of three Stanford players with at least five game winners in a season in the past 19 years (Jordan Morris - 2015; Jamie Clark - 1998). This was Langsdorf's first-career weekly nod and Stanford's 27th all-time.

• Oregon State wrapped up its season with a 1-0 win over then-No. 14 Washington. The Beavers finished 2016 with three wins in its last four matches, and two victories over ranked opponents (No. 21 San Diego State and No. 14 Washington). 

• Stanford captured a 2-1 overtime win over rival California to conclude the season. The Cardinal has gone 6-0-1 in its last seven meetings against the Bears. Stanford leads the Conference and is in the top-25 in the NCAA in points per game (5.39), scoring offense (1.83), total goals (33), and total points (97).

• San Diego State and UCLA ended the 2016 regular season in a scoreless draw that saw redshirt goalkeeper Adam Allmaras make five saves to complete his league-leading 11th shutout of the season and 21st of his career. The Aztecs are ranked in the top-five nationally in save percentage (0.857) and shutout percentage (0.61). The Bruins lead the Conference in assists per game (1.78) and total points (94).

• Stanford senior defender Brian Nana-Sinkam was named one of 10 men's soccer student-athletes selected as finalists for the 2016 Senior CLASS Award in collegiate soccer. Nana-Sinkam helps to organize events between the AYSO VIP (Very Important Players) Green Giants team and the Stanford men's soccer team. He's also on the Stanford Athletics Cardinal Council, which brought together 23 Stanford teams for an annual Date Auction, raising over $4,500 for Camp Kesem, which offers recreational camps in the United States for children of parents with cancer. Additionally he is a creative consultant for The Releaf Group, a non-profit organization that connects Nigerian entrepreneurs in the agricultural industry to the United States. Excelling both on and off the field, nominees must be an NCAA Division I senior and have notable achievements in four areas of excellence: community, classroom, character and competition. Nationwide fan voting begins immediately to help select the winner through November 21. Fan votes will be combined with media and Division I head coaches' votes to determine the winner that will be announced during the 2016 NCAA Men's and Women's College Cup championships in December.

• Seven Pac-12 athletes were selected to the CoSIDA Academic All-District Men’s Soccer Team. The Academic All-District Men’s Soccer Teams recognize the nation’s top student-athletes for their combined performances athletically and in the classroom. The list includes Andrew Epstein of Stanford, Quentin Pearson of Washington, Michael Amick of UCLA, Aravind Sivakumar and Christian Thierjung of California, and Nathan Braaten and Timmy Mueller of Oregon State. All student-athletes now advance to the CoSIDA Academic All-America Team ballot, where first-, second- and third-team All-America honorees will be selected early next month

• The National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) honored Oregon State and Stanford with the College Team Academic Award for the 2015-16 academic year. 315 men’s teams posted a team grade point average of 3.0 or higher to earn the recognition. The Beavers recorded a 3.14 GPA and the Cardinal posted a 3.39 GPA, tied for 35th among NCAA men’s soccer programs across all divisions. 

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