After the Stanford men’s soccer team was overlooked by the NCAA College Cup selection committee in 2006, despite finishing the season ranked third in the Pacific-10 Conference, no one doubted that head coach Bret Simon would return with a motivated and formidable squad. So it’s not surprising that the Cardinal seems to be picking up right where it left off at the end of last fall.

Don’t let Stanford’s 1-2-2 record fool you: it hardly reflects the closeness of the squad’s matches thus far. The Card has ended three of its five opening competitions in double-overtime nail biters against Top 25 teams.

The footballers opened their season on Aug. 31 with a 2-2 tie against No. 14 UC-Santa Barbara in two extra periods after storming back from a 2-0 deficit against the defending national champs. Although the Cardinal dropped a 1-0 loss to Wisconsin a week later, the team rebounded with a 2-0 win over the University of Pennsylvania on Sept. 9. Stanford went on to post a 1-1 draw with No. 8 Santa Clara in another double-overtime game before letting No. 25 University of San Francisco slip away 2-1 in another two overtime contest on Sunday.

The early games of the 2007 season have most notably marked the return of senior goalkeeper Andrew Kartunen, who redshirted in 2006. Kartunen’s absence last season allowed sophomore John Moore to gain some experience between the posts, but Simon is likely to return Kartunen to the goal after his performance on the U.S. Under-20 National Team.

“We are quite fortunate to have both talent and depth at the goalkeeping position [in Moore and Kartunen],” Simon said. “And, we actually have two other talented goalkeepers in Brent Stewart and Josh Nesbit. At this point, though, Kartunen has returned to the full form [and, consequently, has] gotten the majority of time in goal, but [Moore] has also gotten game time, and we’ll probably continue that pattern.”

Unfortunately, the same overabundance of talent and depth has yet to be found in the Cardinal offense. Last fall, then-senior Galen Thompson and then-junior Evan Morgan combined for nine of Stanford’s 18 goals. With Thompson’s graduation, the Cardinal was sure to be shorthanded, but the gap in Stanford’s front line was only widened over the summer when Morgan got injured.

“Morgan suffered a torn ACL during the first week of our preseason training in August,” Simon said. “We are still going through a little bit of an adjustment period without [Morgan] available to play.”

Simon, though, is optimistic that the adjustment period will pass quickly and that new attackers will perform in future goal-scoring opportunities.

“Up to this point we’ve attacked by committee,” he noted, though not disregarding individual contributions. “Senior Scott Bolkan has scored three times with his head, [twice] off set plays.”

The coach praised his experienced seniors with leading the team.

“We have a great senior group,” he said of the seasoned players. “There are seven [in the class], and all would be fitting leaders on any team. Ultimately, the group forms a leadership counsel that I rely upon to help guide our team.”

However, Simon’s high hopes do not end with his seniors. He similarly anticipates excellent seasons for many younger players, including sophomore midfielder Michael Strickland, who was elected team tri-captain with Kartunen and senior midfielder and defender Kyle Hency.

Simon predicts that even the freshmen will be integral to the team’s success.

“We have had an outstanding group of freshmen join us,” he said. “Our recruiting class was ranked in some publications as the best on the West Coast. Many have already contributed on the field, [including] Bobby Warshaw, who scored his first goal in [Sunday’s game against USF].”

Stanford faces Princeton, Davidson and the College of Charleston at home before kicking off the Pac-10 conference season with a match against Oregon State.

“I expect the Pac-10 to be tough as always,” Simon said. “There are lots of strong new players in the league, so we can’t wait to start conference games in October.”

Simon also notes that the team will thrive on the competitiveness of every opponent, as each is significant in Stanford’s attempts to garner the recognition of the College Cup selection committee.

“One of our team goals is to be back in the NCAA tournament,” he said. “I think the guys are ready for that challenge.”

With one eye on the long-term prize, the Cardinal will not to let its gaze stray too far from each remaining 90-minute hurdle.

“We’ll have many close games this season,” Simon said. “Such is the nature of men’s intercollegiate soccer, with great parity across the board. I think one of our strengths this year will be the skill and fitness level the team has shown. [But] the strongest element [will be] the team spirit and effort the guys must bring to games and practices.”