|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
The first half of Stanford’s eventual 11-9 victory over California “felt like good water polo,” said Cardinal sophomore two-meter Aria Fischer.
From top-ranked Stanford’s perspective, it certainly appeared everything was coming up Cardinal (20-1).
“We came out strong and everybody was seeing each other,” said Fischer, who scored three goals and recorded an assist.
It was enough to withstand a determined California (16-7) rally in the second half to advance into Sunday’s 3 p.m. championship match of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament and another confrontation with No. 2 USC (25-1) at Avery Aquatic Center. USC defeated UCLA 9-4 to advance.
“We were locked in and played great,” Stanford coach John Tanner said of the first 16 minutes. “We were attacking in every facet of the offense.”
Cardinal senior Kat Klass scored 21 seconds into the contest and Stanford never looked back en route to a 9-2 halftime advantage.
Freshman Ryann Neushul scored the first of her game-high four goals a minute later and Klass added a second goal midway through the first quarter. That’s when the fourth-ranked Golden Bears finally took their first shot, which was by blocked.
Cal outscored the Cardinal 7-2 in the second half amid a wave of exclusions (a combined 31 for the game, leading to the departures of five players) and fouls that left both teams a little frustrated and out of balance. The Golden Bears just did a better job of handling it.
“I think we were still attacking and Cal had a great attack in the half,” Fischer said. “When that happens, it’s about lock down defense.”
To which Tanner expanded upon.
“I don’t think we played poorly; we did get some of their key people out,” he said. “We lost our rhythm in the third quarter, giving them extra offense. We were giving too many opportunities for the refs to make calls. You have to be mindful of the way the game is called.”
While the Golden Bears made it interesting, Stanford upped its game on power-play defense, limiting Cal to a less than 30 percent (5 of 17) success rate. The final power play goal was scored with 24 seconds remaining to play.
“Five-on-six defense is one of the most important parts of the game,” Fischer said. “But there is always room for improvement.”
Stanford and NCAA defending champion USC will be playing for the third time this season, with both team’s only losses on the year coming to each other, by a single point.
“They have incredibly talented players who have put in a lot of hours,” Klass said of the Trojans. “They are smart and know how to execute.”
“USC is just a really good team,” Tanner added. “They didn’t have their leading scorer with them last time. Now they have a full complement. We’ve had some fun games with them. I think we’ll keep a good rhythm.”
Stanford goalie Emalia Eichelberger made six saves while Makenzie Fischer scored a goal and recorded three assists. Kayla Constandse also scored.
CWPA tournament
Sacred Heart Prep grad Maddy Johnston scored twice and recorded an assist as No. 6 Michigan beat Harvard 14-7 in Providence, R.I. on Saturday to reach the championship game against Princeton with a berth in the NCAA tournament at stake.
Johnston has scored 33 goals and recorded 27 assists for the Wolverines (22-8, 3-6 vs. the MPSF), who beat Princeton 9-6 three weeks ago.
Harvard, coached by former Castilleja coach Ted Minnis and assistants Cassie Churnside, a Stanford grad, and Cory Olcott, formerly a coach at Menlo School, finished 21-7 featuring Gunn grads Sam Acker and Zoe Banks, both goalies.
The Tigers (21-8) advanced with an 11-5 win over Bucknell, with former SHP star Maddie Pendolino scoring twice and recording five drawn exclusions.
Bucknell, with Castilleja grad Georgia Lewis at goalie, finished 24-12.
The NCAA tournament will be held at Stanford beginning May 10.