July 28, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

One final title eludes Goldner in national tourney

by Keith Peters

It was only one year ago that Jessie Goldner was pondering her future as a goalie with the Stanford Water Polo Club.

"There will be a time when I need to get a real job and move on with my life," she said then. Well, that time likely has arrived.

After five years with the program, during which she helped the team win a national title and finish second twice, Goldner is looking to hang up her suit for good.

"I think it might need to be," Goldner said of ending her career. "My eligibility will end in college next spring and it will be time to go out and get a real job and get on with my life. I have to grow up sometime."

In a perfect world, the 2001 Gunn High grad ends her career with a flourish - leading her Stanford club team to another national title. That, however, did not happen in the 2004 Women's National Water Polo Championships that concluded Sunday at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton.

Despite winning six straight matches over three days, Stanford's young team finally succumbed, 9-6, in the championship match to an older and more experienced Devil Mountain team from the Concord/Walnut Creek area.

"We're so young," said Stanford coach Susan Ortwein, whose oldest and most experienced player was the 21-year-old Goldner.

Devil Mountain, meanwhile, was led by 35-year-old goalie Leigh McGuire and Melanie Von Hartitzsch, a member of the New Zealand National Team.

"Devil Mountain shot the ball remarkably well," Ortwein said. "I thought their experience took over in the last part of the game."

Stanford fell behind early in the championship match and never led. A goal by Stanford University junior Nancy El-Sakkary tied the match at 5 to open the second half. Moments later, a Devil Mountain shot bounced off the crossbar and gave the team a new shot clock that was turned into a goal and a 6-5 lead.

Stanford never got closer, failing to capitalize on numerous 6-on-5 situations as Devil Mountain pulled away to a 9-5 lead before Menlo-Atherton High junior Kelly Eaton broke a scoring drought for Stanford with a goal just 43 seconds from the final buzzer.

"They pressed us really hard and we had a hard time moving," said Ortwein, whose team had beaten Devil Mountain by 7-3 on Saturday. "We had opportunities, but we missed some 6-on-5s."

Goldner, who will finish up her college career at Indiana University next spring, had 12 saves in the final and was outstanding throughout Stanford's 6-1 effort in the three-day tournament.

Stanford University senior Hannah Luber, who along with twin sister Kelty scored six of seven goals in the first meeting between Stanford and Devil Mountain, tallied two in Sunday's finale. El-Sakkary also tallied two goals while St. Francis grad Amanda Tipton and M-A's Eaton added the other goals.

Stanford reached the finals with a 6-5 win over CHAWP (Chino Hills) on Sunday morning. Kelty Luber scored three times to lead the winners while Palo Alto High's Remy Champion and Phoebe Champion joined with Natalie O'Farriell of St. Francis for the remaining goals.

While the title-game loss ended the summer season for Stanford players like the Luber sisters, El-Sakkary and Goldner, nine team members are in Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., today for the start of the girls' National Junior Olympics that begin Thursday.

Goldner will not be among that group. Those days of playing in three straight national tournaments are over. It's time to look ahead, but not before looking back on what has been a special time in her athletic life.

"It's hard to lose your last game, especially when you win all the games leading up to the finals," she said Sunday, with a bright smile and nary a tear shed. "But it was fun to come back any play with the Lubers and Nancy. We had a young team this year, but they stepped it up."

As did Goldner. She provided the last line of defense in an opening 18-0 romp over Nordic, which was followed by a 6-3 win over Sunset and an 8-1 triumph over Sun Devil. That was just the first day.

On Saturday, Stanford knocked off Modesto/Stanislaus, 8-4, then handed Devil Mountain its first loss, 7-3. On Sunday morning, Goldner stopped numerous shots during a crucial stage of the match to help preserve that 6-5 win over CHAWP. A few hours later, it was all over for Stanford and Goldner, an elementary education major at Indiana. She hopes to teach at the K-sixth grade level some day and get into coach - you guessed it, water polo.

Goldner already has worked at the Stanford water polo camps and has ideas of helping out again next year, even if she's not playing.

"She's been so great, so loyal to our club, and so successful in college," Ortwein said. "She wants to come back and help the goalies next year."

The Atherton-based NorCal team duplicated its ninth-place finish in the 20-under tournament by beating Davis on Sunday, 7-5. The squad's other victory was 11-4 over San Jose Splash.

20-Under Championships

Their record wasn't as good as the year before, but the finish was for members of the Stanford Water Polo Club in the 20-Under National Championships that concluded Thursday at Sacred Heart Prep in Atherton.

At the 2003 tournament in Southern California, Stanford compiled a 5-1-1 record but finished fifth. On Thursday, Stanford concluded its three-day run with a 4-3 mark while finishing fourth.

Three straight losses marked Stanford's finish this summer, topped by a 4-1 setback to Golden Bear in the third-place match. Stanford, however, came within a goal of reaching the finals but dropped a 3-2 decision to unbeaten San Diego Shores in the semifinals Thursday morning.

San Diego Shores went on to win the gold medal with 7-4 triumph over previously undefeated Golden West.

NorCal, with most of its players based out of Sacred Heart Prep, finished ninth in the tournament following a 10-9 win over Navy AC. SHP grad Bailey Samuels scored four goals in the final match while former St. Francis standout Rebecca Dreyfuss added three.

In the loss to Golden Bear, Stanford fell behind by 1-0 after one quarter and trailed by just 2-0 after three periods when the Berkeley-based team scored during a 6-on-5 advantage.

Golden Bear stretched its lead to 4-0 before Stanford's Molly Hayes broke the scoreless drought with a fourth-quarter goal.

In the earlier loss to San Diego Shores, Natalie O'Farriell scored both Stanford goals, the second coming when Kelly Eaton took advantage of a 6-on-5 situation and found O'Farriell open on the outside. O'Farriell fired a rocket into the net with 44 seconds to play that brought Stanford within 3-2.

O'Farriell got loose on a late counterattack, but was caught and the final threat ended.

Stanford played great defense throughout the tournament, despite a 9-0 blowout to Golden West on Wednesday afternoon. Goalie Nikki Perlman from Castilleja was tough in the cage against San Diego Shores and Golden Bear with numerous key saves.

"We did a great job of being aggressive," said Ortwein. "All the girls gained experience playing in this tournament."

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