The NCAA Tournament has reached the College Cup with just four teams remaining and a star from the Real Salt Lake-Arizona Academy was pivotal in getting one team there.
Stanford midfielder Corey Baird assisted on both goals as the Cardinal outlasted Wake Forest 2-1 in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Stanford will be joined by Akron, Syracuse and Clemson in the final four, starting Friday at Kansas City’s Sporting Park.
In the 18th minute, Baird started a break up the left side, carrying to the top of the box before passing wide for Brandon Vincent, who crossed to Jordan Morris for a header at the far post for a 1-0 lead. Ian Harkes equalized on a 70th minute penalty, sending the match to golden goal overtime. There, Baird found Foster Langsdorf in the 97th minute for his second assist of the match, pinging a free kick into the box where Langsdorf lofted a header just out of reach of the goalkeeper as the Cardinal bested No. 1-seeded Wake Forest 2-1.
Baird now has three goals and 11 assists in his sophomore season at Stanford, giving him seven goals and 15 assists in two seasons. Stanford is now 17-2-2 on the year. By knocking off the top seed, the Cardinal will now meet Akron in the semifinal on Friday. In the other semifinal, Syracuse will face Clemson.
Akron arrived in College Cup by topping Creighton 3-2 in a double-overtime thriller in Akron, Ohio. RSL-AZ product Evan Waldrep did not appear in the match, ending his freshman season with two goals and two assists in 10 substitute appearances for the Bluejays, who finished the season at 19-4-0.
On the other side of the bracket, two more RSL-AZ products were eliminated when Clemson topped Maryland in a penalty kick shootout. Terrapin defender Diego Silva played 68 minutes while Amar Sejdic logged 114 minutes before being sent off for his second yellow card of the night. Both freshman finished their first seasons with productive seasons – Sejdic notching three goals and two assists while starting 21 of his 22 appearances while Silva started in 11 of his 12 appearances. Maryland finished the year at 12-5-6.
Friday’s semifinal match between Stanford and Akron kicks off Friday at 6:30 p.m. MT on ESPNU.
