Stanford Cardinal
Overall Rank: #21
Conference Rank: #2 Pac-12
Stanford Team Page
Although Stanford is considered one of the top soccer programs on the West Coast, last year was a year where the Cardinal ran into a little trouble. One-goal losses mounted left and right, and before long Stanford missed postseason play with a record barely above .500. How the Cardinal rebound from that lower mark will be a big indicator of whether Stanford has turned the program around. With a roster that includes several returning players, the smart money is on improvement.
2012 Record: 9-8-1, 5-4-1
2012 Postseason: None
Coach: Jeremy Gunn
Strengths:
Stanford ranked in the top quarter of the NCAA among teams in terms of scoring offense and total goals. The Cardinal averaged 1.72 goals per game and 31 total goals for the season, well behind Division I leading Maryland but still quite respectable. Although top scorer Adam Jahn has departed, the next four highest scorers, J.J. Koval, Bobby Edwards, Zach Batteer and Aaron Kovar, are all back and together they combined for 11 goals and five assists. That’s almost the production of Jahn alone, but it is still enough for Stanford to mount a decent offense. Top keeper Drew Hutchins has also returned for his senior season, and his presence in net should help the team greatly.
Weaknesses:
Jahn’s absence is glaring. He had 13 goals and four assists in 57 shots at net, and he was perfect on three penalty-kick attempts. In fact, he was the only shooter to attempt a penalty kick, and that could be a huge issue moving forward. Of course, attempting a penalty kick is a basic part of soccer, but the fact Jahn did it three times and was perfect each time is a good feat. Although Hutchins is back, his save percentage (70.1) and goals against average (1.207) rank toward the bottom in Division I statistics. That just means Stanford will have to put more goals on the board and avoid all those one-goal losses that racked up a year ago.
Final Projection:
There is enough left in the tank so that Stanford can make a serious run at a tournament bid, if not a Pac-12 championship. Yes, Jahn is not here anymore, but four other scorers can make up the slack pretty fast and bring some success to the San Francisco area. If Hutchins can cut down on his mistakes and the other scorers pick up the slack, it should be a solid season. Early games against Maryland, Georgetown and Santa Clara, all top programs, will tell the direction Stanford heads immediately.
Projected Postseason: NCAA
Returning Leaders:
Goals: Zach Batteer, Junior, F, 6
Assists: Austin Meyer, Junior, MF, 3
Shots: J.J. Koval, Senior, MF, 35
Saves: Drew Hutchins, Senior, GK, 50
Madness 2013 Men's Soccer Recruit Rankings:
#68 Andrew Epstein
#106 Mark Verso
#107 Jordan Morris
#134 Trevor Hyman
#143 Marshall Glover
See All Men's Soccer Top 44 Team Previews
