When the Stanford Cardinal hoisted the College Cup last December, it signaled the end of an era as two U.S. National Team players played their final matches under Head Coach Jeremy Gunn. With the departures of Jordan Morris to Seattle Sounders FC and Brandon Vincent to the Chicago Fire, Stanford would need to fill massive gaps in the 2016 season.
With the help of returning starters like Real Salt Lake Academy product Corey Baird, the Cardinal overcame a slow start to rocket back into the College Cup, where Stanford will meet North Carolina in Houston in the semifinal round on Friday.
The opportunity to repeat as champions is a point of pride for Baird and his Cardinal teammates.
“Last year was an unbelievable experience,” Baird said this week. “This year we’ve had guys take on bigger roles on the team, which is what you need after every season when people leave. The way our system works, everyone knows what’s expected out of every position, so not too much has changed from last year besides the personnel.”
Baird is one of three RSL Academy alums that are vying for the national championship, joined by Stanford teammate Trevor Hyman and Wake Forest freshman defender Alex Knox.
For the Cardinal, an 0-1-3 start to the season felt like a letdown after winning the NCAA title the previous year. After those four matches, the team challenged itself to turn the season around.
“We can’t just walk through this and expect to be the team we were last year,” Baird said. “It’s a credit to Gunn and what he did to change our season.”
A technical attacking player, Baird played a role in getting Stanford back on track and has helped the team to a 14-2-1 record in the 17 matches since, including three straight wins in the NCAA Tournament to earn a spot in the Final Four.
After earning All-Pac-12 Second Team honors as a freshman and sophomore, he made the All-Pac-12 First Team this season after posting three goals and six assists in 21 matches. In three seasons, he has 10 goals and 23 assists in 63 appearances, speaking to his abilities, but also how well he was prepared to make the jump to the college level after playing with the RSL Academy in Casa Grande, Arizona.
There, under now RSL Assistant Coach Freddy Juarez, he flourished in the style of play and developed along the way, earning call-ups to U.S. Youth National Teams.
Knowing that Gunn would help continue that progression and point him in the direction to become a professional made Baird’s decision to go to Stanford an easy one.
“It was a big factor. I knew Jeremy was a good coach that would push me to develop and not be content where I was. I think you can see at practice how competitive people are and how serious we take practice. I think that’s why you’ve seen the success of Jordan and Brandon now,” he said. “It was a bit of a transition going from the Academy to the college game. The change of style has helped me because I can see different ways of playing and I can look at the game from different perspectives.”
Now with a chance to repeat as national champions, Baird and the Cardinal have a tough task ahead this weekend with North Carolina on Friday in the semifinal. The experience of winning the whole thing last year fueled the team to get back to championship level performances and now on the cusp of achieving something great, the confidence is high in Stanford’s locker room.
“The guys know what it takes to be national champions. We can lean on that experience and get some help from the new guys that weren’t around last year,” Baird said.
Stanford takes on North Carolina at 6:45 p.m. MT (ESPNU) immediately following the matchup between Wake Forest and Denver at 4 p.m. MT (ESPNU). The winners will meet for the championship on Sunday at noon MT (ESPNU). All College Cup matches are being played in Houston.
