Spotlight on Morris

Goal to beatMexico raises expectations for Stanford player

STANFORD — Jordan Morris was just another Stanford player doing his bit in a spring scrimmage a few days after becoming a national soccer sensation.

Morris, 20, at least tried to play it that way on the Cardinal’s practice field Saturday after a 1- 0 victory over Santa Clara. But the ground- shifting goal he scored for the senior U. S. national team against Mexico last week has elevated his status as the next potential star to wear the red, white and blue.

Now he will have another chance to score against Mexico when the U. S. under23 team plays El Tri on Wednesday at StubHub Center in Carson.

U. S. coach Andi Herzog announced Monday that Earthquakes midfielder Fatai Alashe, former Cal defender Christian Dean and San Jose’s Benji Joya also made the 20- man roster.

Morris is trying to take the recent attention in stride.

“If you get too involved with that stuff, it’s going to kind of run your life,” he said.

Indeed, newfound celebrity doesn’t make the path to the 2016 Olympics and 2018 World Cup any easier.

“Now he’s done something people only dream of doing,” Stanford coach Jeremy Gunn said. “But that has to be the beginning, not the thing that he talks about for the rest of his life.”

Morris gets it as much as any college sophomore can. In a decision that stunned most soccer experts but highlights his maturity, Morris turned down a chance to sign with Seattle Sounders FC this year to play one more year at Stanford.

He picked school over professional soccer although Morris already had played with the senior national team in the fall.

“It obviously was a super exciting and emotional night,” he said of getting his first U. S. goal last Wednesday in San Antonio. “Any time you go from such a high- pressure situation, coming back here it’s just fun.”

Before the Mexico game, Morris had all of 17 minutes of international experience in two appearances. Then coach Jurgen Klinsmann told him the night before he would get his first start.

“I was a little nervous, but I was also excited,” said Morris, the first collegian on the U. S. team in two decades. “Honestly, when I looked around the stadium and saw how big it was, and I knew it be filled … ”

He walked into the Alamodome on Wednesday to find almost 65,000 fans as expected.

If starting wasn’t enough, Morris scored the gamewinner in the 49th minute after a defender blocked a U. S. pass. Morris grabbed the deflected ball in the penalty area and slid a shot under goalkeeper Cirilo Saucedo. Although records are spotty, he is thought to be the first collegian to score for the United States since 1992.

“I was happy that I followed it in and it worked out,” Morris said. “It is something that I dreamed about as a little kid, and then to have that come true is unbelievable.”

Morris is in this position perhaps only because the U. S. World Cup team trained at Stanford last year before heading to Brazil. Coaches discovered Morris during a scrimmage against Stanford.

Now Morris hopes to apply what he has learned from U. S. coaches while playing against guys his own age.

Morris had six goals and four assists in helping Stanford win the Pac- 12 title last year. Although the statistics aren’t eye- popping, he does a lot to make teammates better, as underscored during the weekend scrimmage.

Stanford probably will play part of the autumn schedule without its star striker because of Olympic qualifying games. Morris plans to spend the summer training with the Sounders or another team in the Seattle area, where he was born. His junior season should be hectic with school, college soccer and Olympic qualifying.

“I’m kind of getting used to it, but it will be a lot,” he said.