Publication Date: Wednesday, November 23, 2005
MEN'S WATER POLO
Getting to NCAAs is next
Getting to NCAAs is next
(November 23, 2005) Stanford heads into MPSF tourney after a big win over Cal
by Rick Eymer
Stanford senior Peter Varellas knows the task at hand when the Cardinal men's water polo team open play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament on Friday at USC's MacDonald pool.
"We certainly have to make the final game and depending on who we play, we may have to win it," Varellas said following Stanford's emotional 7-4 victory over visiting California on Saturday in the Big Splash. "Nothing is for sure."
Stanford (6-2, 17-5) has usually played well enough in the past to secure at least an at-large bid into the NCAA tournament, which accepts a mere four teams among the three leagues in the nation, even without reaching the conference championship.
This year is much different, which made Stanford's victory over Cal all that more important. The win gave Stanford the third seed in the tournament, setting the team up for another showdown with top-ranked USC.
The Cardinal open with Pepperdine on Friday at 11:30 a.m.
"We know we can play with USC," Varellas said. "We've played them three times and lost by a goal each time. In a couple of those games we got bad bounces. We're at their level. It's only a matter of time before we put a great game together and put them down."
Although USC has only dropped one game all year - to Cal - there's more to the MPSF than the Trojans. Cal and defending national champions UCLA are also capable of winning the tournament and UC Irvine holds a win over Stanford. Three of the nation's top five teams won't be at Bucknell University for the Final Four.
Varellas, along with Thomas Hopkins, is looking to play in his fourth consecutive NCAA title game and for the first time without two-time Olympian Tony Azevedo. Varellas and Hopkins, who have scored a combined 92 goals this season, have helped remake the Cardinal into their own image.
The two seniors played in their final game at Stanford and they made it memorable. The Cardinal took the early lead and kept its stranglehold on Cal throughout.
"You know coming in that the atmosphere is what sets this game apart," Varellas said. "It's the Cal-Stanford rivalry, it's scheduled for the last weekend on Big Game day, and when you look up it's literally all red and blue. So many fans come from both sides and there's a competitive feel to the whole day. It's unlike any other water polo event I've been to in my life."
Stanford rewarded the home fans with a brilliant display of defense, highlighted by the play of sophomore goalie Sandy Hohener, who emerged from a group of talented goaltenders to earn the starting nod most of the year.
Hohener made a remarkable save on a point-blank shot in the game's first minute, setting the tone for the rest of the afternoon.
"We have the luxury of knowing we can put in three other goalies who are totally capable," Hohener said. "I feel fortunate to get to play. I just want to play the best I can so the coach will keep putting in."
Stanford coach John Vargas was more animated than usual, realizing the importance of the game and how his team responded.
"We were too tentative the last time we played Cal and they handled us," Vargas said. "I thought if we came out in a press we could establish ourselves. Sandy stepped up and played very well. He's played some great games this year and this was certainly right up there."
The season now boils down to the conference tournament. Should the Cardinal reach the title game against USC, it would clinch a spot in the NCAA tournament, with wins over Cal and UCLA as its main assets, regardless of the outcome.
The Trojans have likely clinched a spot in the Final Four already, so if two other teams reach the title match, only the winner would advance.
"It's everything," Vargas said of the MPSF tournament. "But who knows, we may be playing Cal again."
Hohener won the starting job from a pool that includes freshman James Sandman, who helped Menlo School win the CCS title.
"He has come so far from the two years he's been here, even the past four months," Varellas said. "He's a great success story."
Palo Alto grad Ryan Fortune assisted on Stanford's second goal and added a score late in the second period that put the Cardinal up 4-1 at halftime.
Early in the second period, Fortune fired a cross-pool pass to Tyler Drake, who found Michael Bury, open in front of the net. Bury's quick shot from the hole gave Stanford a 2-1 edge.
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