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The fifth-ranked Stanford men's water polo team completed a SoCal weekend sweep Sunday, beating No. 8 Pepperdine, 11-6, in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contest.

Freshman Bret Bonanni and sophomore Alex Bowen each scored three times to pace six Cardinal goal scorers as the win, combined with Saturday's 9-7 victory over No. 2 UC Santa Barbara, improved Stanford to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in MPSF play.

The Cardinal returns to action Saturday in Berkeley at the Big Splash against California, with the opening sprint set for 9:30 a.m. The contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.

Redshirt junior Forrest Watkins scored twice while BJ Churnside, Andrew LaForge and Travis Noll each added goals to the winning effort.

Goalie Scott Platshon from Menlo School made seven saves, anchoring a defensive effort that held the Waves (8-6, 1-1 MPSF) to two goals over the second and third periods while the Cardinal offense turned a 2-2 first-period stalemate into a 9-4 advantage by the end of the third frame.

Bonanni scored both first-period goals for the Cardinal, bookending a pair of Wave goals as the opening frame ended with the teams knotted a 2-2.

Pepperdine would take its second lead of the game at the 5:56 mark as Spencer Hamby found the back of the cage. That lead was short-lived, though, as the Stanford offense found its groove.

Watkins scored the equalizer just 1:11 later, while Bowen gave the Cardinal the lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way with a 6-on-5 goal at the 2:57 mark.

Bonanni made it a two-goal halftime lead with his third goal coming 12 seconds before the end of the half.

Field hockey
No. 13 Stanford suffered a hard-fought 1-0 loss at No. 4 Connecticut on Sunday afternoon, wrapping up its most challenging road trip of the year.

Two days after staying competitive in a 4-1 loss to No. 1 Syracuse in a neutral-site game, Stanford (9-6, 3-0 NorPac) nearly knocked off the nation's only unbeaten team on its home field.

Instead, Connecticut (15-0, 5-0 Big EAST) managed to hang on for the shutout, thanks to a goal from Sophie Bowden in the 40th minute.

There was little separation between the two squads, with Connecticut owning slim advantages in shots (9-7) and penalty corners (4-3).

After a scoreless first half, the Huskies took control five minutes in the second period. Marie Elena Bolles dribbled into the circle and dished a pass to Bowden, who found the cage for a 1-0 lead on her first goal of the year.

The Cardinal continued to push offensively but was unable to score the equalizer.

Seven different players registered a shot for Stanford, with Becky Dru recording the lone attempt on goal.

Dulcie Davies kept the Cardinal within striking distance, making two saves.

Sunday's contest represented Stanford's seventh against a top-25 opponent this year. The Cardinal is 2-5 in those games, three of which have come against the nation's No. 1 team.

Stanford is back in action on Friday, Oct. 19, hosting Pacific at 4 p.m.

Men's soccer
Stanford suffered a 2-0 loss at Washington in a Pac-12 contest on Sunday.

The Cardinal (2-2-1, 5-6-1) played the final 36 minutes a man short because of a red card on Brandon Vincent and yet still managed to keep the Huskies out of the net until the 80th minute.

Stanford outshot Washington, 10-4, though only two were on goal. The Cardinal took a shot on goal in the 73rd minute, the first scoring opportunity for either team.

Stanford hosts Oregon State on Thursday at 5 p.m.

— Stanford Athletics

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