It was a big day for a pair of Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy alums on Sunday as Corey Baird and Trevor Hyman hoisted the College Cup as Stanford routed Clemson 4-0 at Sporting Park in Kansas City in the NCAA Championship match.
Baird capped off an outstanding sophomore season with two assists in 67 minutes and Hyman made a late cameo as the Cardinal rolled to an 18-2-3 record to lift the College Cup for the first time in school history.
The game got off to a fast start for the Cardinal as Baird raced up the sideline to keep a ball in play then cut a great ball across the edge of the box. Eric Verso then played Jordan Morris into the box for the first of his two goals in the match as the junior sensation thumped his shot past the Clemson goalkeeper for the 1-0 lead just 87 seconds into the match.
The 1-0 score would hold until halftime, but wouldn’t last long into the second half.
In the 51st minute, Morris buried his second goal, this time finishing a through ball from Baird to make it 2-0.
Stanford added to the lead through a penalty scored by Brandon Vincent and another goal from Verso as it piled on for the 4-0 final.
For Baird, it ended a sensational sophomore season that saw the RSL-AZ Academy product tally three goals and 14 assists, giving him seven goals and 18 assists in two seasons at Stanford. In four NCAA Tournament matches he notched one goal and four assists as the Cardinal won the College Cup for the first time after previously reaching the championship match in 2002.
Hyman, a junior, made just his fourth appearance of the season when he came on for the final six minutes of the match.
The Cardinal finished the season on a tear, going 8-1-1 in the final 10 matches to earn the national championship.
