Girls March on Deck at Speedo Cup

COLUMBIA, Missouri, November 11. DAY 2 of the 2006 Speedo Cup was full of excitement and full of people. Spectators filed in bright and early to the Student Recreation Complex on the campus of the University of Missouri, to watch some good boys and girls water polo. It was separation Saturday for the boys, while the girls were just getting things started.

One of the most intriguing games of the day on the girl's side of the pool was between the number one seed Diablo and the number nine seeded Commerce. Diablo won the Speedo Cup a year ago and was looking to repeat this year. Having the top seed, Diablo wasn't slated to play their first game until the early afternoon, while Commerce got their game one jitters out of the way early, defeating Baytown, TX. The game was extremely tight the entire way through with neither team pulling a head by more than two goals. Commerce had the lead late in the fourth quarter, 8-7. Diablo had two different chances to net a goal in the closing minute, but couldn't convert and Commerce ran the last few seconds off the clock to claim the victory by that same score.

For the boys, the game of the day was between Aliso Viejo, CA and Stanford, CA. Both teams were 3-0 coming into the match. Aliso Viejo's offense was hot coming into the game, outscoring its opponent by nearly ten points a game. Stanford reached this stage of the tournament by playing solid defense and scoring some timely goals. The score was tight going into half-time with Stanford on top, 5-3. The same Aliso Viejo offense, that had been so powerful in the first three games, was held in check by Stanford only scoring seven goals. Stanford added three more goals in the second half, to secure the lead and the win, 8-7.

"This was a really good win," said Stanford Coach Jon Barnea. "We knew they were going to make a run late in the game, so we needed to stand tough and minimize the damage and we did that."

Coach Barnea also said that he couldn't be happier with the support of the Stanford community and having the honor to bring a Stanford team to Speedo Cup for the fifth year in a row.

A great example of a clubs support for one another was in the Stanford vs. Santa Barbara girl's game. Both teams had big cheering sections. The biggest part of those groups came from poolside, with Stanford and Santa Barbara's boy's team yelling loud and clear.

"This atmosphere has been great for the kids," said Barnea. "Hands down, Speedo Cup is USA water polo's best tournament."

Assistant coach Jacob Medina of Vista, CA is also excited for his girl's team to be here at this year's Speedo Cup.

"This tournament is awesome for them," said Medina. "Last year was our first year at Speedo Cup and we had the deer in the lights look throughout the entire tournament. This year I think we have a little better feel of things."

In the first game they played on Saturday, instead of being the deer looking at the head lights, they were the one's driving the car toward the deer in their first game.

"This is a great place," said Medina. "The girls love it because they can hang out with each other through team meals and the plane rides. It's a really good thing for them."

With two days down and two more to go, day 3 looks to be a blast, starting with the boy's semi-finals at 8 a.m. The stands will be packed and ready for a high level of intensity in the pool and in the stands.

BOYS DAY 2 STANDINGS
San Diego, CA 4-0
Stanford, CA 4-0
Aliso Viejo, CA 3-1
Santa Barbra, CA 3-1

Sammamish, WA 2-2
Tustin, CA 2-2

Clovis, CA 1-2
Oak Park, IL 1-2
Ft. Lauderdale, FL 1-3
Greenwich, CT 1-3

Chicago, IL 1-3 (11th place)
Baytown, TX 0-4

SUNDAY'S KEY MATCH-UPS

Stanford, CA vs. Santa Barbara, CA @ 8:00 am.
San Diego, CA vs. Aliso Viejo, CA @ 8:50 am.

GIRLS DAY 1 STANDINGS

Commerce, CA 2-0
Laguna Beach, CA 2-0
Los Alamitos, CA 2-0
Santa Barbara, CA 2-0

Diablo, CA 1-1
Miami, FL 1-1
Stanford, CA 1-1
Vista, CA 1-1

Baytown, TX 0-2
Chicago, IL 0-2
Greenwich, CT 0-2
Lincoln Park, IL 0-2

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