The No. 4 Stanford men’s water polo team dropped a pair of decisions Sunday, the last an 11-10 defeat to No. 3 Pacific, and finished fourth at the UC Irvine Invitational in Irvine.
The Cardinal (10-4) lost 10-5 to No. 1 UCLA in Sunday morning’s semifinal. Stanford will face the Bruins at Avery Aquatic Center next Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. in a contest that will air on tape-delay on the Pac-12 Network Sunday, Oct. 20 at 9:30 a.m. The Cardinal will also host UC Davis Sunday at noon.
Bret Bonanni scored five goals to lead the Cardinal Sunday, followed by three apiece from Alex Bowen and Forrest Watkins. In goal, freshman Drew Holland made a combined 15 saves over the two contests.
Stanford took a quick 3-0 lead within the opening 2:16 Sunday afternoon against Pacific behind two goals from Bowen and one from Bonanni. Pacific pulled one back thanks to Balazs Szabo with 5:21 left in the period then cut the Stanford lead to one when Aleksandar Petrovic scored two seconds before the horn.
Balazs Erdelyi pulled the Tigers even 52 seconds into the second period, but Stanford’s offense would respond with back-to-back goals from Bonanni and Conner Cleary, making it 5-3 with 3:49 to go in the half. However, Erdelyi would halve the Cardinal lead just over a minute later and another final-minute goal, this one from Ben Stevenson, knotted the score at 5-5 at the break.
Goran Tomasevic gave Pacific its first lead of the game with 5:39 to go in the third frame but BJ Churnside would answer for the Cardinal 26 seconds later. The Tigers would score twice to take an 8-6 lead but Bonanni and Forrest Watkins would each score either side of the third-period break to tie it up at eight-apiece.
Tomasevic and Bonanni would trade goals with just under four minutes to go in the fourth period before Alex Obert gave Pacific a 10-9 lead with 2:56 to go. The defenses would hold for the next two minutes but Obert would score a back-breaking goal for the Tigers with 35 seconds to play, putting them ahead 11-9. Although Bonanni would score 10 seconds later, Pacific was able to run out the clock and capture the win.
Holland made 10 saves in the contest while Alex Malkis stopped 13 shots for the Tigers. Bonanni scored five times for the Cardinal, Bowen twice, and Churnside, Cleary and Watkins each added a goal.
In the morning, Stanford trailed 2-1 to the top-ranked Bruins following Connor Stapleton’s goal with 1:45 left in the first period. But the Cardinal offense would suffer a scoring drought of 19:01 after Stapleton’s goal while UCLA would go on a five-goal run to take a 7-1 lead with 7:04 remaining in the contest.
The Cardinal would break its cold spell when Watkins scored with 6:44 to play and added a second 51 seconds later. But UCLA would shut down the comeback attempt, as Chris Wendt and Gordon Marshall each scored to make it 9-3. Bowen and Jackson Kimbell would add goals for the Cardinal but it would be too late as UCLA took the 10-5 decision.
Holland made five saves in the contest.
Field hockey
No. 13 Stanford claimed its seventh consecutive home victory and second shutout in a row Sunday, defeating Yale 4-0 at the Varsity Turf.
The Cardinal (10-3, 3-1 NorPac) utilized a balanced scoring attack that included two goals each half by four players. Stanford capitalized on penalty corner opportunities, converting on all three of its attempts with Kelsey Harbin, Lauren Becker and Kasey Quon each finding the back of the cage.
Stanford controlled a majority of the play throughout the game and held strong defensively during spurts of high pressure from Yale (4-7, 1-2 Ivy League).
Dulcie Davies made seven saves, including three in a row from close-range with five minutes to play, to earn the win and preserve the shutout. It was Davies’ sixth shutout on the season and 13th of her career.
Stanford scored its first three goals in a span of just less than 12 minutes bridging the first and second halves.
Harbin got the Cardinal on the board in the 28th minute, drilling a feed from Hope Burke to the bottom right corner of the cage on a penalty corner. Harbin and Burke lead Stanford with 17 and 18 points on the season, respectively.
Becker gave Stanford some breathing room before heading into halftime, scoring on the Cardinal’s second penalty corner from Jessica Chisholm and Harbin at 33:21.
Stanford held a 2-0 penalty corner advantage and outshot Yale 7-3 in the first half.
Elise Ogle scored her second goal of the year less than five minutes into the second half, redirecting a pass at the center of the goal from Burke. It was Burke’s second assist of the day, marking her fourth consecutive multi-point game.
The Cardinal added a fourth goal in the 60th minute when Quon finished a nifty set play off a penalty corner. After inserting the initial pass, Quon stationed herself just outside the left goalpost. She received a hard pass from Harbin who was at the top of the circle and elevated her shot over the sprawling Yale goalkeeper.
It was Quon’s second goal of the season and Harbin’s second assist of the game. Harbin finished the day with a team-high four points and leads the Cardinal with five assists on the season.
Stanford will look to carry its momentum on the road as it heads to No. 15 Wake Forest and No. 7 Duke next weekend.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics