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HOUSTON -- When Stanford goalkeeper Andrew Epstein started to lift himself off the ground after his game-winning save in penalty kicks on Sunday, all he saw were his teammates racing towards him.At first, he wasnt sure it was over.Once his teammates made it 20 yards down the field in celebration, Epstein knew they had beaten Wake Forest and were back-to-back national champions.At that point youre just so happy, said Epstein, who had four saves in regulation and two more in the shootout. Its your favorite friends walking up the field towards you. Its a pretty special sight and Im lucky to have seen that two years in a row with my teammates flying on me. Thats a great feeling.Epstein made a pair of diving stops and Corey Baird and Sam Werner scored Stanfords final shootout goals to give the Cardinal their second straight College Cup title, 5-4 over Wake Forest after the teams played 110 scoreless minutes.Stanford didnt allow a goal in the tournament, becoming the first team since Wisconsin in 1995 to accomplish the feat and win the national championship.The game was the sixth national championship to go to penalty kicks, and the first since Virginia beat UCLA in 2014.Stanford finished 15-3-5 after beginning the season 0-3-1.Going into winter something felt a little missing, like we had to take that time to encourage and develop every single one of our players into something like those guys were last year, junior Drew Skundrich said. Over time we did that. We did very well in spring, everyone trained well over summer and we got after it right away in preseason.Dropping those first few games just made us realize this is a new year, a new team, new challenges and we need to take everything we can to get back to this stage and thats what we did, he said.Wake Forest finished 19-3-3. Stanford beat Wake Forest 2-1 in overtime in the quarterfinals last season on the way to its first national title.We had the opportunity to win the game today in penalties, Wake Forest coach Bobby Muuss said. I felt comfortable and confident with the group of guys that were stepping out there but it just wasnt our day unfortunately.Cardinal coach Jeremy Gunn improved to 4-1-1 in the College Cup. Prior to leading Stanford to the national championship last season, Gunn guided Charlotte to the 2011 College Cup as well.Its an exciting journey every time a college coach starts the year with a team and weve been fortunate to be standing at the end of the season a couple of times, Gunn said.Wake Forest came out firing in the second half, recording three shots and a corner in seven minutes.Stanford answered with its attack and Wake Forest goalkeeper Andreu Cases Mundet was solid. In the 71st minute, Mundet saved a shot while on his back, somehow keeping the ball from crossing the line fully. Seven minutes later, he made a dive to the left to deflect away Adrian Alabis header.The opening 30 minutes belonged to Stanford, with the Cardinal outshooting Wake Forest 4-1 and holding a 3-1 edge in corner opportunities. Two of the corner attempts came in the opening five minutes.Wake Forest ended up outshooting Stanford 10-9, and leading 5-4 in corners.BACK TO BACK CHAMPSStanford became the first mens soccer program to win two straight titles since Indiana accomplished the feat in 2003 and 2004. The Cardinal became the fourth program to win back-to-back national titles, joining St. Louis, Indiana and San Francisco.NO FUN FIELDThe field conditions were a topic of conversation all weekend at BBVA Compass Stadium.On Friday, following Wake Forests 2-1 win against Denver, Muuss remarked it was like playing on sand and after Sundays season finale, the comments werent much better.I think its disrespectful to college soccer, Muuss said when asked about the field conditions. What happened this weekend I think its a catastrophe for our game.The field was replaced in the middle of last MLS season, which meant it isnt in prime condition yet, which Muuss believes shouldnt be the case for a match like a national championship.The field didnt lose the game for us today, it just made for pretty sloppy NCAA Final Four, which is supposed to be the pinnacle of college soccer, he said. The programs and everybody that hurts college soccer or talks badly about college soccer is the professionals and we just played soccer in a professional stadium. So the stadium had nothing to do, it was out of their control, but I feel like its a catastrophe for college soccer.Kemba Walker Jersey . Once again Jordan Cieciwa (@FitCityJordan) and I (@LynchOnSports) go head to head in our picks. Last weekend at UFC Fight Night 32 my #TeamLynch got the best of #TeamJC by a score of 9-6. Let us know which side youre on for UFC 167 use the hashtag #TeamLynch or #TeamJC on Twitter. 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Willy Hernangomez Hornets Jersey .com) - Yankee Stadium is the home of the Bronx Bombers, but on Sunday afternoon it will open its gates to host the latest addition of the Hudson River Rivalry.MILWAUKEE -- Coming from Chicago, where sold-out crowds packed Wrigley Field throughout a four-game weekend series with the NL Central champion Cubs, to Miller Park, where a handful of diehards were on hand Tuesday night to open the final home stand of the season, was certainly a bit of a culture shock for the rebuilding Milwaukee Brewers.But their job, manager Craig Counsell says, will remain the same over the final few weeks.Thats part of being a professional, Counsell said Tuesday night after the Brewers came out flat in a 6-3 loss to Pittsburgh. Thats how it works. Theres certainly a different atmosphere here than at Wrigley Field. Its a different atmosphere, but its still a competition.Even without the crowds and postseason buzz in the air, the Brewers were happy to be back at Miller Park, where they have posted a respectable 39-37 record this season.It wasnt as loud, but still, its nice to come home, first baseman Chris Carter said.Theyll try to get back to their winning ways Wednesday when they continue a three-game series with the Pirates, who are still clinging to slim hopes of gaining a wild-card spot for the third consecutive season.Pittsburgh will take the field 4 1/2 games behind St. Louis for the second NL spot, with two teams in between.Right-hander Chad Kuhl takes the mound for his 12th major league start looking to close that gap; he has faced Milwaaukee once already this season, allowing two runs over 6 1/3 innings but taking no decision in Pittsburghs 3-2 victory on Aug.dddddddddddd 25 at Miller Park.That loss snapped a nine-game losing streak at Milwaukee; since then, the Pirates have won five in a row at Miller Park, their longest winning streak in Milwaukee since taking six in a row there in 2002.You cant really make it too big, Kuhl said. You just have to treat it like another day; and, once you get out there, its just you vs. the hitter. You dont make any park or any player bigger than it is.The Brewers counter with right-hander Jimmy Nelson, who is hoping to finish an up-and-down season on a high note.He began the year 5-3 with a 2.88 ERA through his first 11 appearances but has gone 3-11 with a 5.57 ERA over his last 19 outings.Nelson showed signs of improvement Thursday, holding the Cubs to just three runs despite giving up eight hits while striking out seven over six innings in a 5-4 victory that prevented Chicago from clinching the Central Division crown.Even with the current losing streak to the Pirates, the Brewers have dominated the series with their divisional rivals: Since 2007, Milwaukee is 64-22 against the Pirates at Miller Park and 103-61 against them overall. ' ' '