USMNT's Jordan Morris leads Stanford over Clemson in NCAA men's soccer final
KANSAS CITY, Kan. -- U.S. national team forward Jordan Morris and the Stanford Cardinal couldn't be stopped.
Morris scored twice and the Cardinal buried four of their five shots to win their first NCAA title in men's soccer with a 4-0 win over Clemson on Sunday in the College Cup final.
Stanford's four goals were the most in a College Cup final since St. John's had four goals in the title game in 1996.
"It couldn't have gone any better," Stanford coach Jeremy Gunn said. "We looked sharp. We came out on the front foot."
With the win, Gunn became the fourth coach to win championship titles at both Division I and Division II schools -- he won in 2005 at Division II Fort Lewis College.
The Cardinal (18-2-3) needed just 87 seconds to take the lead when Corey Baird and Eric Verso helped set up Morris for his first goal.
"I think that whenever we go out we want to score first," Morris said. "Scoring helps to give not only me confidence, but the rest of the team as well. It was good to get one there early."
Morris scored again in the 51st minute to put Stanford up 2-0. Brandon Vincent converted a penalty kick 20 minutes later to make it 3-0.
Verso closed out the scoring in the 74th minute. He got the ball near midfield and dribbled it all the way to the box before scoring.
"(The defender) didn't step to me and eventually I got to the box and I just looked to shape it around the defender," Verso said.
Verso channeled his inner Brandi Chastain after the goal and took off his jersey in celebration, showing off his black sports bra and all.
"Probably not the best look with sports bra underneath," Verso added. "I was just so excited in the moment. Only one goal on the year. I was just so happy that I finally scored, especially in the final. I wasn't really thinking at that point. I was just really excited."
The Tigers (17-3-3) didn't score in either game in the College Cup, winning on penalty kicks in the semifinals.
"I'm very, very proud of this team," Clemson coach Mike Noonan said. "We had a bad day at the office. There's not one result that's going to define our team or the people I have in my locker room. I'm extremely proud of our guys. I think that Clemson also stands for class. I think we have a lot of classy guys in our locker room, even though they're very, very upset right now."
