Teammates Again
Tony Quinn

Teammates Again

Baird, Morris on USMNT roster for upcoming matches against Ecuador and Chile
03/12/2019 | Men's Soccer
STANFORD, Calif. – Former MLS Rookies of the Year Corey Baird and Jordan Morris have been named by U.S. Men's National Team head coach Gregg Berhalter to the 24-player roster for upcoming matches against Ecuador and Chile.
 
The group will gather beginning March 17 in Orlando before playing Ecuador on March 21 at Orlando City Stadium and Chile on March 26 at BBVA Compass Stadium in Houston. Both matches will be shown live at 5 p.m. PT on ESPN2, UniMas and UDN.
 
Baird became the third member of Stanford's 2015 NCAA title-winning team to earn a national team cap when he started friendlies against Panama and Costa Rica following the USMNT's January camp. Baird, who assisted on the United States' first goal in a 3-0 victory over Panama on January 27, became the fifth Stanford men's soccer player to appear for the U.S. Men's National Team, joining Morris, Brandon Vincent, Chad Marshall and Todd Dunivant.
 
Morris, who has five goals in 25 career caps since 2014, returns to the team for the first time since January 2018 after successfully recovering from a torn right ACL suffered last February with Seattle Sounders FC. The 25-year-old striker tallied two goals in Seattle's 4-1 season-opening win against FC Cincinnati on March 2.
 
Baird and Morris were teammates on the Cardinal's 2015 national championship side, a group which began Stanford's run of three consecutive NCAA titles. Baird, then a sophomore, started all 23 matches and tied for second in the country in assists (13) and was second on the team in points. His assist total, which was the highest for a Stanford player since 2002 and the most in the Pac-12 since 2010, included two to Morris in the College Cup final against Clemson.
 
Baird had an award-winning debut season for Real Salt Lake in 2018 that saw him take home MLS Rookie of the Year honors. He led all rookies in scoring with eight goals and added five assists, was seventh on his club with 1,903 minutes and finished third on RSL in goals. Baird has previously appeared for the U.S. U-17, U-18, U-20 and U-23 National Teams.
 
Baird, who signed a Homegrown Player contract with RSL last January, was a key catalyst that powered the Cardinal to three consecutive national championships, four straight Pac-12 titles and a 65-10-13 overall record (.813) during his four seasons on The Farm. He tallied 16 goals in 83 career appearances at Stanford to go along with 30 assists, tied with Roger Levesque for third in program history.
 
Morris was named MLS Rookie of the Year in 2016 after scoring 12 times, a record for a U.S.-born rookie. His six game-winning goals were second in the league that year and an MLS rookie record.
 
The 2015 MAC Hermann Trophy winner and Pac-12 Player of the Year for the Cardinal, Morris had a career-high 13 goals in 18 appearances that season. In his final 14 games with the Cardinal, the junior had 12 goals, three assists and 27 points. He finished fifth in the country in game-winning goals (6), fifth in goals per game (0.72), seventh in total goals (13) and 12th in points per game (1.61). He completed his three-year collegiate career with 52 starts in 54 games played, 23 goals, including nine game winners, 16 assists and 62 points.
 
As a sophomore in November 2014, Morris became the first active collegian to earn a cap for the USMNT since 1995 when he came on in the 76th minute in a friendly against Ireland in Dublin.
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