It took 114 years for Stanford to win a national championship in men’s soccer. It took 12 months to double that total.

In dramatic fashion Sunday in Houston, the Cardinal defended its College Cup title by beating Wake Forest in penalty kicks after neither team scored in regulation or double overtime.

Two days earlier, Stanford (15-3-5) also prevailed in a PK shootout after a scoreless draw, becoming the third team to win College Cup, the sport’s version of the Final Four, without allowing a goal in the NCAA Tournament. Related Articles Stanford men’s soccer rides Epstein’s goalkeeping to title repeat

Stanford men’s soccer keeps clean sheet on path to College Cup

Guarding the cage for the Cardinal was redshirt junior Andrew Epstein, named the most outstanding defensive player of the College Cup. The 6-foot goalkeeper stopped a penalty kick that would have clinched the title for Wake Forest, then came through again on the next try with another stop to turn Stanford into a back-to-back champion.

On Tuesday, the 20-year-old took a break from his studies during finals week to answer a few questions from Daily News sports reporter Vytas Mazeika.



Q: Forty-eight hours removed, has it sunk in that you are a back-to-back NCAA champion?

A: It hasn’t just quite yet, because we all rushed back to campus and are taking finals, so kind of a whirlwind of 48 hours. Maybe it sunk a little bit, but it’s going to take a little bit of time before you fully feel the weight of it.

Q: What’s more stressful, PKs at the College Cup or finals week at Stanford?

A: (Laughs.) They’re both stressful, but in different ways. Because in the PKs at least you get to just focus on the moment and it goes quick and you’re involved in it, whereas with finals it’s kind of drawn out over a couple of days and you have to put a lot more time and effort into it. So, I don’t know, I think the way the PKs went, I enjoyed that a little more than finals right now.

Q: It took 10 rounds to win the shootout in the semifinals, with every PK converted until North Carolina sailed one over the crossbar. Then against Wake Forest, the first four attempts got past you. How big did it feel to finally stop one yourself when you needed it the most in the fifth round to prevent the loss?

A: I was definitely due for one because it had been 13 shots, or whatever. It felt pretty good, to be completely candid. It’s a great feeling when you stick one of those, especially at a big moment like that. That’s your world in that moment, nothing quite like it.

Q: What’s going through your mind, because you can put a lot of pressure on yourself when you realize that if you don’t stop this one that you’ve lost and it’s a do-or-die situation for Stanford at that point?

A: I was just trying to think about how even if the stakes are different, the action is still the exact same. It’s not like the PK changes, so you can only do what you’ve been doing the whole way through. And I think if you focus on the mechanics of it, or the moment of like, ‘OK, I’m going to go out there and do my best to stop it,’ then you can put aside all of the pressure that might weigh on you if you were thinking about different outcomes or what if. If you just really just focus on the moment and what you can do to affect it, then it becomes a lot easier.

Q: Did you guess on either one, or did you have a good sense of which side you needed to dive each time?

A: The first that I faced, I had a good sense just based on how I saw him approaching the ball. But then the second one, it was more of a gut feeling than anything.

Q: Was it scary to see an entire soccer team running at you and trying to mob you?

A: Nah, it’s the best part of the whole thing. Because they’re all my best friends and to see them running across the field at me, it makes me so happy.

Q: What was the reception when you returned to campus?

A: The athletic department showed up at the field when the bus pulled up and had some banners and music and they were all cheering, so that was a really wonderful reception. And then when we got back to the house that some of us live in, some of our friends who live on the floor with us were very congratulatory and had signs on our rooms. It was really awesome to see the support of so many people. Even people who you don’t know super well reach out and say, “Hey, it was really cool to watch that,” “That was really impressive,” or “I’m really proud of guys for what you’ve accomplished.” So those sorts of sentiments are pretty meaningful, to see how many people have tuned in and followed.

Q: Is it too early to talk three-peat?

A: No, I think that people approach it the same way. There’s going to be a lot of success and obviously there’s a high expectation heading into next season, but like we’ve proven this year and last year, it’s doable. And if you stick to your guns and really just take care of business each game you step out on the field, then it’s really totally within your power to go out there and make it happen.