All-Pac-12 players ready to lead Cardinal in College Cup

Nov. 18, 2022, 1:33 a.m.

No. 5 Stanford men’s soccer (11-2-5, 4-2-4 Pac-12) face High Point University (11-4-5, 5-0-3 Big South) on Sunday to start its quest for the NCAA D-I Championship in the College Cup. Stanford earned its highest end-of-season ranking since finishing No. 3 in 2017, the last time the program took home the championship.

The Cardinal produced their best season in a while, led by a strong senior cohort and a sturdy defense. Although they were bested in the Pac-12 by No. 1 Washington (15-1-3, 7-1-2 Pac-12), there were plenty of highlights along the way, including two Big Clasico wins over Cal (3-8-6, 1-6-3 Pac-12), nine total clean sheets and seven matches in which Stanford scored three goals or more (going 6-0-1 in those games).

Four members of the men’s soccer team were recognized by the Pac-12 for their performances, including senior defender Keegan Hughes, who was named the Pac-12 Defender of the Year, along with being named to the All-Pac-12 First Team. Senior midfielder Cam Cilley also earned a spot on the All-Pac-12 First Team after scoring five goals and recording five assists.

Senior defender Keegan Tingey was included in the All-Pac-12 Second Team, and redshirt freshman Shane de Flores collected an honorable mention after leading the Cardinal in scoring with seven goals.

The Cardinal’s No. 5 ranking earned them a bye to the second round of the College Cup, where they will face High Point, who defeated North Carolina (8-6-5, 2-2-4 ACC) 2-0 in the first round of play. Stanford’s path to the semifinal includes No. 13 Indiana (10-4-6, 3-1-4 Big 10), a program that the team beat in 2017 to complete the “Three-peat” of College Cup victories, and possibly one of No. 4 Virginia (10-4-4, 5-1-2 ACC) and 2020 national champions Marshall (11-3-3, 4-1-3 Sun Belt). If they make it to the semis, the Cardinal could face Pac-12 rival Washington, who they tied 3-3 and lost to 3-0 during the regular season.

Before then, though, Stanford kicks off tournament play versus High Point at Cagan Stadium on Sunday. The game is set for 5 p.m. PT.

Jason is a desk editor for the sports section. At any given moment, he's either complaining about his favorite sports teams or telling someone random he used to live in Italy. You can contact him at sports 'at' stanforddaily.com.

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