The No. 5 Stanford men’s water polo team scored early and often, opening the season strong with a pair of double-digit victories on Saturday at the Triton Invitational on the UC San Diego campus.
The Cardinal began the day and the season with a 15-5 victory over UC San Diego, before posting a 15-3 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps in the afternoon.
Sophomore Mitchell Mendoza scored five of his team-best eight goals on the day in the Cardinal’s victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Junior Cody Smith posted three of his four goals on the day in Stanford’s win over UC San Diego in the morning.
Freshman Bennett Williams posted his first collegiate scores in his first collegiate game, registering a pair of goals in the win over UCSD and adding a score in the victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Redshirt freshman Nelson Perla-Ward recorded his first collegiate score against the Stags.
The Cardinal posted the first six goals of the match and took a 6-1 advantage into halftime in its win over the Tritons. A pair of scores from Justin Roberto, and single goals from Smith, Williams, Blake Parrish and Sam Pfeil accounted for Stanford’s early lead. The Cardinal outscored the Tritons, 9-4, in the second half to cruise to the season-opening win.
Stanford scored the first 10 goals of the game and never looked back, en route to the win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Mendoza posted four of his five scores in the contest as part of the Cardinal’s 10-goal run.
Junior goalie Oliver Lewis played all 32 minutes, posting 11 saves in the win over UCSD. He started the second match as well, before handing it over to freshman Andrew Chun, who made his collegiate debut against the Stags.
Stanford continues its play in southern California on Sunday, competing in the UCLA Invitational, also held in San Diego. The Cardinal will face Chapman at 10:20 a.m. and Redlands at 1 p.m. at Cathedral Catholic High School.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics