NCAA Men’s Water Polo: Stanford Drowns Pacific, 14-6

STANFORD, CA., October 12. TOP-ranked Stanford (13-2) returned to The Farm with a 14-6 win over Mountain Pacific Sports Federation foe Pacific (6-8) this afternoon at the Avery Aquatic Complex.

The Cardinal (2-1 in MPSF play) dominated the first half, owning a 7-1 lead at the break and finished the game with an eight-point margin to earn its second conference victory of the season. The Stanford defense was impressive while the offense put up big numbers.

The Cardinal goalies were unstoppable this afternoon as senior Nick Ellis (featuredd in this week's Sports Illustrated's "Faces in the Crowd" section) and redshirt freshman Chad Taylor combined for 14 saves. Ellis collected 12 and left the game in the fourth quarter to be relieved by Taylor who grabbed two saves in the final minutes.

Each goalies made strong saves against a 4-meter penalty shot (Ellis in the second quarter and Taylor in the fourth). Ellis allowed only one goal in the
first half, which came on an ejection. With the Cardinal a man down at the end of the second quarter, freshman Peter Varellas got into the defense making two back-to-back blocks to maintain Stanford's 7-1 lead.

On the offensive side, sophomore Tony Azevedo led the way for the Cardinal with three goals while seniors Peter Hudnut and Jeff Nesmith each chalked up two goals. Seven other Stanford players got into the scoring action with Greg Crum, Reed Gallogly, Jeff Guyman, Thomas Hopkins, Matt Moser, Varellas and Trent Wiesen all notching one goal.

Stanford was a perfect 5-for-5 on man-up opportunities and held the Tigers to one goal on ten 6-on-5 plays in addition to blocking both of the Tigers' 4-meter shots.

Stanford is back in action on Sun., Oct. 13 for a noon game against No. 19 UC Davis. The Cardinal remain on The Farm next weekend with matches against Long Beach State (coached by Azevedo's father) on Sat., Oct. 19 and UCLA on Sun., Oct. 20. Both game times are set for noon.

Stanford Scoring:
Tony Azevedo 3, Peter Hudnut 2, Jeff Nesmith 2, Greg Crum 1, Reed Gallogly 1, Jeff Guyman 1, Thomas Hopkins 1, Matt Moser 1, Peter Varellas 1, Trent Wiesen 1.

Pacific Scoring:
Brady Norvall 3, Eddie Wisniewski 2, Sasha Maese 1.

Goalie Saves:
Nick Ellis (Stan) 12, Chad Taylor (Stan) 2;
Laurie Trettel (UOP) 5

6-on-5:
Stanford 5-5;
Pacific 1-10.

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