CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

JORDAN MORiSS-MANIA

College soccer is unique to the American sporting culture. Much of youth soccer’s growth has been built around the promise of earning a college scholarship to play the sport, an attribute that is unique to both the game and higher education in the United States. Often, that puts it at conflict with the development pathways most commonly used to build strong national team programs in other countries. And, yet, college soccer itself doesn’t generate significant revenue or fan interest. That leaves college soccer in the unenvious place of having a misunderstood identity.

However, in 2014, Jordan Morris emerged on the senior national team scene while still playing at Stanford. He stayed and helped lead the Cardinal to an NCAA national championship, just months after scoring his first USMNT goal against Mexico. His national team popularity brought attention to mens’s college soccer like never before.

Jeremy Gunn coached Morris during his time at Stanford and joined the show to talk about the players impact on the program and soccer in America. He recounts how Morris caught the attention of Jurgen Klinsmann during a scrimmage between the national team and Stanford, and the call-up that followed. Gunn reflect on the reasons Morris stayed at Stanford when he could have left, and so much more.