What a day it has been for Stanford men’s soccer.
In the early afternoon, it was announced that senior defender Brandon Vincent was one of four players to be added to the roster for the U.S. Men’s National Team’s January training camp. Just over two hours later, Jordan Morris was named the MAC Hermann Trophy winner, given to the nation’s best collegiate soccer player.
Morris was one three finalists for the Hermann Trophy, the other two being Georgetown forward Brandon Allen and Creighton forward Fabian Herbers. On the women’s side, Penn State midfielder Raquel Rodriguez received the award.
“Thank you to everyone who supported me this season — coaches, support staff, parents, siblings, girlfriend and my Stanford teammates who made this year unforgettable and the best of my life,” Morris said after receiving the award. “I could not have done this without their support.”
The best. Your 2015 @HermannTrophy winner » @JmoSmooth13. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/V4cjNOJuXt
— StanfordMen’sSoccer (@StanfordMSoccer) January 9, 2016
Morris is the first men’s soccer player to win the award from Stanford. Three Cardinal women’s players, Kelley O’Hara, Christen Press and Teresa Noyola, won the award from 2009-11. Along with Virginia, Notre Dame and Penn State, Stanford is one of only four other schools in the nation to boast at least one female and one male Hermann winner. Earlier this week, Morris announced that he would be forgoing his senior season to pursue a professional career. He will be traveling to Turkey to participate in a training camp with German club Werder Bremen before returning to the U.S. for the USMNT’s training camp.
Vincent — two-time All-American, back-to-back Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and the College Cup Defensive Most Outstanding Player — will join Morris at the camp, which kicks off Monday in Carson, California and includes not only senior team members, but also some who are age-eligible for the U-23 team. The group will be looking to prepare for the USMNT’s friendlies against Iceland on Jan. 31 and Canada on Feb. 5, which take place at the end of camp.
Thank you at @ussoccer for this opportunity. Looking forward to earning my stripes for this nation. Unbelievable honor — Brandon Vincent (@_bvincent) January 8, 2016
Vincent, along with teammates Tomas Hilliard-Arce and Corey Baird, also attended the U-23 national team’s College Identification Camp in August of last year.
Morris and Vincent were instrumental in Stanford’s run to the national title game this season, which culminated in the team’s 4-0 defeat of second-seeded Clemson. Morris scored the team’s first two goals, while Vincent netted the third off a penalty corner. On the season, the pair combined for 19 goals and were the first- and third-top scorers on the squad. Vincent also was the anchor of a disciplined backline that came in at sixth in the nation in goals against average (0.62) and didn’t let in a goal during the entire College Cup
These dudes. ? #GoStanford #USMNT pic.twitter.com/loDfdMG8Kc
— StanfordMen’sSoccer (@StanfordMSoccer) January 8, 2016
Contact Alexa Philippou at aphil723 ‘at’ stanford.edu.