On Sept. 7, 2007, a freshman midfielder on the Stanford men’s soccer team came off the bench in the 23rd minute of a 1-0 loss to Wisconsin and finished the game with one shot that sailed wide. It was the otherwise unremarkable second game of a season in which the Cardinal would finish 7-6-5 overall. It was also the first and only time in his Stanford career senior defender and captain Bobby Warshaw did not start a match for the Cardinal.

 

In four years on the Farm, the 21-year-old Warshaw has compiled a heady soccer résumé—18 goals, five assists, 41 total points, three-time team scoring leader and two-time All-Pac-10 selection. In the four years and 73 games Warshaw has played, the team has won 31 times. Warshaw has 10 game-winning goals.

 

Last season, Warshaw became just the fifth Stanford men’s soccer player ever to be named to the NCAA Division I All-American first team. He is also a Hermann Trophy semifinalist and a finalist for the Lowe’s Senior CLASS Award, with a good chance of being named an Academic All-American for the second consecutive year.

 

The list goes on, but when asked what being named to so many All-American teams and trophy lists meant to him, Warshaw replied in his typical blue-collar fashion.

 

“All of that doesn’t mean that much to be honest, because it’s more about winning games and championships than awards for me,” he said. “It’s an honor and I respect it and really appreciate all of them, but to win any award and not make the NCAA Tournament is a really crappy feeling. So if I could win games and not awards, I would take that in a heartbeat.”

 

Unlike previous Stanford standouts, Warshaw has had the difficult task of making multiple position changes.

 

As a highly-touted recruit from Mechanicsburg, Pa., Warshaw quickly found a spot in the Cardinal’s lineup as an attacking midfielder, consistently getting forward and becoming the first freshman to lead Stanford in scoring since 1991. But after some shuffling the next year, head coach Bret Simon needed Warshaw to play as a forward, away from his natural midfield position. Facing a traditionally difficult transition, Warshaw started every game and again led the team in goals with three.

 

The next year, however, saw the departures of several key defenders, and Simon asked Warshaw to move all the way back to central defense. The team took off, led by a defense that allowed just 18 goals, and Warshaw still found ways to score, leading the team with a career-high six on just 21 shots.

 

“Soccer is soccer,” Warshaw said. “It’s the same sport no matter what position you’re at. I’m not a forward, not a midfielder. I believe I’m a soccer player. Yes, I’d like to be part of more of the creativity and excitement up the field, but if it helps us win games, then I’m happy to stay back. And no matter what, I’m going to do the best that I can.”

 

The best that Warshaw can do has been a great deal, but when you ask teammates what about Bobby makes him so good, it isn’t his technical skills, but rather his competitive fire.

 

“I believe he has this little thing inside of him, something extra that makes everything a competition,” said redshirt senior Thiago Sa Freire. “Add in the fact that he is by far the hardest worker I have played with on any level, and Bobby is just all about excellence.”

 

Simon said that a lot of what the team does begins and ends with Warshaw.

 

“He always trains so hard, it really sets the tone for the training and everything we do on and off the field,” he said. “He’s the catalyst, if you will, and his willingness to outwork people is something that leaves a mark on a team for quite a number of years.”

 

Redshirt freshman goalie Jason Dodson also commented on Warshaw’s seemingly religious commitment.

 

“Bobby definitely has a contagious work ethic and his attention and commitment to detail is remarkable,” he said. “He won’t accept anything less than perfection. But he also brings an energy you can feed off of. He’s always going, and it’s always something you can get behind as a team.”

 

Sophomore midfielder Hunter Gorskie said that much of the impact of the player whom teammates affectionately refer to as “Bob” came off the pitch.

 

“He’s a great guy to hang out with and a great friend off the field, and a lot of what he does is trying to make it so people are doing the right things all the time,” Gorskie said. “He is all about the game and not letting opportunities get away.”

 

The focus on a winning attitude is perhaps the hallmark of Warshaw’s time at Stanford.

 

“The biggest thing for me has been rebuilding a winning mentality, an atmosphere of winning and being good,” he said. “If you get into a pattern where you make a bad pass in training and you tell yourself it’s OK, or if you lose a game in practice you say, ‘That’s OK, that’s just what we do,’ you have to learn that it’s not OK.”

 

Being a perfectionist on the field, however, hasn’t stopped Warshaw from acknowledging that much of college soccer is about the bonds that it forms. When given the chance to name his favorite experience at Stanford, Warshaw didn’t hesitate.

 

“The guys, the teammates, that’s the best part. In any sport you’re going to win games and lose games,” he said. “The results and scores will change, but your friends and teammates at lunch and at parties and at practice—that’s what will be remembered.”

 

Thursday afternoon at Cal, Warshaw and his “family” will have one last chance to show off the talent and leadership that have MLS teams calling to check on one of Stanford’s brightest soccer stars.