Stanford eyes a three-peat

STANFORD - If anyone penciled the back-to-back NCAA men’s soccer champion for a return trip to the College Cup, it sure wasn’t the man in charge.

Was it possible? Sure.

Was it likely? That depends on who you ask.

“We always knew that we’re capable of doing this, but obviously there’s a lot of pitfalls in the way as you try to get there,” Stanford coach Jeremy Gunn said. “You always really appreciate how fragile, especially the sport of soccer, it can be. And so for us to be still standing is quite incredible by the players. But, remember, I don’t look at it as trying to go to a third one, because that sounds more difficult.”

Only one coach in NCAA Division I history managed the elusive three-peat - Bruce Arena (Virginia, 1991-94) - with many others denied a third title in a row.

Stanford (18-2-2) might join the exclusive club, but first it must get past Indiana (18-0-6) in today’s final.

“Our goal at the start of every year is just play as many games as possible, so we’ve kind of had those expectations for ourselves to get back to the Final Four each year,” Stanford center midfielder Drew Skundrich said. “And it’s just become reality the past three years.”

“It’s crazy,” said Stanford center back Tomas Hilliard-Arce, who provided the game-winner with a header last week to knock out top-seeded Wake Forest on the road in the quarterfinals, 2-0. “I still don’t think the feeling has really hit us. I think when you’re in the midst of the season you kind of go from game to game. And just kind of taking a step back and realizing where we are and how many games we have left to achieve that goal is really exciting.”

Not too long ago the likelihood of Stanford reaching such heights seemed like a pipedream, considering the Cardinal ended a 13-year drought by advancing to the College Cup in 2015.

Stanford avoided numerous pitfalls to get here, including a penalty kick shootout in the second round after a scoreless draw. They topped Akron 2-0 in the semifinals on Friday. That’s two of 11 consecutive shutouts in the postseason for the Cardinal, which is an NCAA record.

Not allowing goals has turned into a trademark for the back-to-back NCAA champion.

“We just kind of fine tune everything week by week to just keep improving steadily throughout,” Skundrich said. “Once we get in a groove, it usually is around this time period, towards the end of the season, where we start jelling as a team the best.”

With a win, Indiana can become the first unbeaten champion since Santa Clara in 1989.

But they aren’t attempting a three-peat, which would make additional history on The Farm after the events that transcended on Sunday in Orlando, Florida, in the Women’s College Cup.

A 67th minute goal by Stanford midfielder Jaye Boissiere proved to be the difference in a 3-2 victory over UCLA in the championship game.

The Cardinal can become the first school to ever hold both the men’s and women’s titles in the same season - a feat that could be more than just mere coincidence.

“I don’t think it’s random at Stanford,” Gunn said. “And I do think that we say all along that culture continually develops and creates even stronger culture. When you put people in the right environment with the right parameters it will constantly breed stronger and stronger ethics and stronger and stronger values.”