Stanford makes history with title three-peat
Both Cardinal soccer teams now champions, a first for Division I schools
Stanford made history Sunday when its men’s soccer team won the NCAA championship game, duplicating what its women’s squad had done a week earlier.
No Division 1 school in the sport’s history had achieved such a distinction.
While the top-seeded Cardinal women were expected to win their second College Cup title in program history, the men were considered a longshot this year.
They entered the tournament seeded ninth and had to overcome No. 1 Wake Forest last week in the quarterfinals to reach the Cup.
On Sunday, the Cardinal (19-2-2) took down second-seeded Indiana 1-0 after Sam Werner scored a sudden death goal in the second overtime as Stanford won its third consecutive NCAA title.
The Cardinal became the second school in history to win three consecutive titles, matching Bruce Arena’s Virginia teams from 1991-94.
It appeared the game in Chester, Pennsylvania, was headed to a penalty kick shootout like last year when Stanford edged Wake Forest. But in the 103rd minute Werner stole the ball on an Indiana clearance inside the penalty area and stabbed a right-footed shot over goalkeeper Trey Muse.
“My first instinct was to see if I could get a step on the ball,” Werner said.
He ripped off his shirt and raced across the field, a celebration Gunn and his staff frown upon. But the Cardinal coaches might be forgiving after their team extended an NCAA tournament-record to 12 consecutive shutouts. Stanford has not conceded a goal in winning its past two championships.
“It was a cracking game,” Gunn said. “It was pretty obvious why both teams were there. Wonderful work ethic by both teams.”
Stanford opened the tournament by defeating the University of Pacific 4-1 in penalties after 110 minutes without a goal.
On Sunday, the Cardinal outshot Indiana 13-5 to deny the Hoosiers their ninth national title. Indiana (18-1-6) was the only school to play for the championship without a defeat.
The teams battled through more than 100 minutes without a goal. Corey Baird had a good chance in the 64th minute but Muse came off his line for a big save.
Stanford ended the season with 48 goals, the most since 2001 when the Cardinal scored 56 times. But Gunn will lose six seniors including stars Foster Langsdorf and Tomas Hilliard-Arce, who is a finalist for the MAC Hermann Trophy given to the player of the year.
“Walking back in the locker room it sinks in you’re no longer part of this program,” said Hilliard-Arce, who is expected to a high pick in the upcoming MLS draft. “I started weeping. Leaving something so dear to me will be tough.”
Stanford earned its 115th NCAA team championship overall to pass UCLA as the country’s all-time leader. The Cardinal women’s volleyball team has advanced to the Final Four next weekend where it will contend for another title this fall.