No. 6 Stanford men’s water polo visits No. 3 California in the Big Splash at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley on Saturday at 11 a.m.
Stanford has won two of the last three matches in the Big Splash. Cal recorded a 13-8 victory at Avery Aquatic Center last season. The Cardinal posted come-from-behind victories in each of the previous two contests. Stanford leads the series, 9-8, since the Steve Heaston Trophy was established for the winner.
Stanford enters the match 12-5 overall, on the heels of an 11-10 setback to No. 4 Pacific at home last Saturday.
Sophomore Blake Parrish leads the Cardinal offensively with 40 goals on the season, while fellow sophomore Mitchell Mendoza and junior Cody Smith have scored 29 goals each on the year.
Junior goalie Oliver Lewis has averaged 10 saves per match to go along with a 6.83 goals-against average in the cage for the Cardinal.
As a team, Stanford has produced most of its goals on the season in the first (56) and fourth (58) quarters. In total, 114 of the Cardinal’s 201 goals on the year have come in those two periods.
Cal is coming off a 9-6 win over UC Irvine in Irvine and a 12-7 victory over Pepperdine in Malibu last weekend. The Golden Bears are 17-3 on the season.
The Big Splash marks the regular-season finale for both teams. Both schools will join USC and UCLA, and Penn State Behrend for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships, Nov. 18-20, in Los Angeles.
Saturday’s match will be televised live on the Pac-12 Networks with a pair of Stanford alums — Chris Dorst and Kevin Danna — on the call.
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics
By Stanford Athletics