Water Polo Wednesday: Stanford Puts Together Strong Weekend

One of the more ideal spots to take a spring break vacation would be Hawaii. And that's exactly what several California teams did–take a trip to Honolulu to compete in the University of Hawaii's Spring Break Tournament.

Several other squads–third-ranked Arizona State, fifth-place California, No. 11 Loyola Marymount, No. 13 Cal State Northridge, No. 14 Princeton and 20th-ranked Hartwick–took the weekend off to prepare for future contests and upcoming conference championships.

Here's a recap of what took place last week:

Hawaii Spring Break Tournament, March 29 and 30
Coming over the Pacific Ocean to compete were second-ranked Stanford, No. 6 San Diego State, No. 15 UC San Diego, No. 17 UC Santa Barbara and Sonoma State.

No. 2 Stanford
Stanford had no problem in any of its four contests, winding up with a perfect 4-0 record for the weekend. They now hold a 10-game winning streak and a 24-1 record.

The Cardinal cruised to 17-4 victory over No. 15 UC San Diego. Annike Dries and Melissa Seidemann scored a hat trick each. Ashley Grossman and Lexie Ross added two each. Stanford scored six goals in the first period and three more in the second. Sarah Lizotte scored the first of her two goals for the Tritons during the third quarter.

Stanford next enjoyed a 12-3 triumph over No. 17 UC Santa Barbara. Fueled by Kiley Neushul's hat trick and a 5-0 run, the Cardinal jumped out to a 6-1 lead by halftime. Stanford enjoyed another 4-0 run after Samantha Murphy put the Gauchos on the board, putting the game out of reach for the Gauchos.

The next day, Stanford cruised to a 20-3 rout of No. 6 San Diego State. Grossman put five balls in the net to lead the Cardinal, with Neushul adding a hat trick and Kaley Dodson and Anna Yelizarova putting in two apiece. The Cardinal opened up a 14-0 lead on the Aztecs before Juliana Matos, Taelor Moreno and Emily Whalen put the only goals in the net for San Diego State during the third period.

A match with eighth-ranked Hawaii ended the weekend activities for Stanford. Cardinal players scored four straight goals to lead the Rainbow Wahine 4-2 after the first period and 9-3 at the half. Maggie Steffens recorded four goals to lead the Cardinal, with Dries, Grossman and Yelizarova scoring a hat trick each. Amarens Genee was the leading Hawai'I scorer with two.

No. 6 San Diego State
Before their defeat at the hands of Stanford, the Aztecs put together a 9-5 victory over No. 15 UC San Diego and 10-7 triumph over Hawai'i.

Taelor Moreno, Amber Pezzolla and Emily Whalen each scored a hat trick in the game against the Tritons. Rachel Mitchell earned 10 saves for San Diego State, while Courtney Miller saved nine shots. The two San Diego-based teams tied at the end of the first quarter, and then the Aztecs scored three goals to UCSD's one to make it 5-3 at the half. Each team scored two goals during the third period, and San Diego State added two more and prevented the Tritons from scoring in the fourth.

San Diego State moved into sole possession of the Big West Conference with their 10-7 victory over Hawai'i. The Aztecs, taking the Stanford game into account, now have a 20-8 record (4-1 Big West). Hawai'i lost for the first time in conference action this season and fell to 12-8 (3-1 Big West). The two teams were tied at the half; San Diego State players put five balls in the net during the third period to put the game out of reach for the Rainbow Wahine. Pezzola scored five goals to lead all players; Alex Ford (San Diego State), plus Monika Eggens and Paula Chillida Esforzado (Hawaii), scored two each.

No. 8 Hawaii
Before the Rainbow Wahine lost to San Diego State, they earned a Big West win over No. 17 UC Santa Barbara. Eggens scored six goals and sparked a Hawaii seven goal streak in the second quarter. That enabled the Rainbow Wahine to have a 6-3 lead at halftime. The Gauchos put together a 4-0 fourth quarter, but by then the damage had been done. Seven different UCSB players scored a goal during the game.

Hawaii also defeated No.15 UC San Diego, 9-6. The score was close for much of the game, with Hawaii leading 2-1 after the first period. The Tritons stormed back with a three-goal second period to tie the score at 4-4 at halftime. With the score 5-5 with about two minutes left in the third quarter, Hawaii's Eggens and and Caity Lopes da Silva scored goals to take a two-goal lead into the final period. Amy Carlson racked up 11 saves to aid in the Hawaii defense.

No. 15 UC San Diego
The Tritons were upset by No. 17 UC Santa Barbara, 12-9. The Gauchos were down 3-1 after the first period, but were able to pick things up in the second period with from Jolene Guiliana and Alexis Wieseler in the first two minutes. After back-to-back action, the Gauchos scored three straight goals to make it 7-4 at halftime. That proved to be the difference, as both teams scored five goals in the second half.

No. 17 UC Santa Barbara
The Gauchos also took on Sonoma State and, thanks in large part to a four-goal second period, defeated the Seawolves 11-7. UCSB's Jessie Porter and Kacey Creek opened scoring in the first minute of play with a goal each. Creek scored another goal, but Sonoma State players were able to tie it up 3-3 after the first period. Besides Porter and Creek, Lauren Martin, Bryn Hudson and Samantha Murphy each scored twice for the Gauchos' Alexa May and Noelle Herrera collected two goals each for the Seawolves.

INDIVIDUAL CONTESTS

CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 1 USC, March 30
Brown vs. No. 1 USC, March 30
USC went north to Bakersfield, Calif., for two matches March 30. They first defeated CSU Bakersfield, 19-6, to improve their MPSF conference record to 4-0. Overall, the Trojans are 18-0 this season.

Elk Daube scored a career-high five goals to lead the Trojans past the Roadrunners. Hannah Buckling contributed four goals, and both Monica Vavic and Kaleigh Gilchrist put in hat tricks. Jessica Browning scored two goals for the Roadrunners. USC jumped out to a 6-0 lead and was ahead 10-1 at the half.

USC went out to a 3-1 lead against the Bears and, thanks to a four-goal second period, the Trojans were on top, 7-3, at the half. The Trojans put the game away with a six-goal third period. Daube made it eight goals on the day as she scored a hat trick against Brown, with Hannah Buckling, Olivia Cummins and Colleen O'Donnell each putting two in the net. Brown received scores from Emma Dodd, Madison Pepper, Sarah Present, Katharine Booher and Emily Klein.

No. 9 San Jose State vs. No. 4 UCLA, March 29
Santa Clara vs. No. 4 UCLA, March 29
UCLA also went to northern California, staying on the coast to play No. 9 San Jose State. Emily Donohoe scored a career-high six goals to lead the Bruins past the Spartans, 15-8. UCLA earned its fourth straight victory and snapped San Jose's two game winning streak. San Jose led 1-0, but UCLA wound up the first period with a 4-2 lead. The Bruins held the Spartans to just one goal in the second period and, with their 7-3 halftime lead, were well on their way to victory. Alexa Tielmann and Rachel Fattal scored twice each for UCLA. Timi Molnar scored a hat trick for San Jose State, and Anna Natalizio put in a pair of goals.

The Bruins are currently 21-3 with their 16-6 non-conference win over Santa Clara. UCLA leaped out to a 4-0 first period lead and scored two in the second, with five each in the third and fourth periods. Danielle Ferraro led the Bruins with four goals; Donohoe added three and Erica Beebe, Kelly Ronimus and Victoria Kent put in two each. Elle Surber and Elizabeth Anderson scored a pair of goals for the Broncos.

No. 7 UC Irvine vs. No. 15 UC Davis, March 29
No. 7 UC Irvine vs. No. 18 Pacific, March 30
It does not get any closer than this: With one second left in regulation, Cambria Shockley sent a lob shot that tipped off of Riane Woods' hand, went off the far post and in the net for the game winner. UC Irvine defeated UC Davis in Big West conference action, 7-6. It was pretty much a back-and-forth game, with the Anteaters enjoying a 3-2 lead after the first period and UC Davis jumping ahead 4-3 at halftime. Each team scored a goal in the third period, with UC Irvine putting it away with a 3-goal fourth period to the Aggies' lone goal. McKenna Mitchell (Irvine) and Carmen Eggert (UC Davis) scored two goals each for their respective teams.

The next day, the Anteaters traveled to Stockton, where they defeated the University of the Pacific 8-5. UC Irvine's five goal first period pretty much put things away for the Anteaters. Hannah Croghan scored six goals, becoming the fifth UC Irvine player to do so in a single match. Croghan joined Kelsey Klatt in scoring four goals in a single quarter in a game this season. Taylor Adair scored four goals for the Tigers.

No. 9 Long Beach State vs. No. 18 Pacific March 29
No. 9 Long Beach State vs. No. 15 UC Davis, March 30
The Tigers were held scoreless in the final period, enabling Long Beach State to hold onto their 8-6 victory. Christina Kotsia scored her sixth hat trick this season for the 49ers, while Chelsea Parks and Kayla Robert contributed two each. Taylor Adair claimed a hat trick for the tigers. Long Beach State got its first victory in Big West competition, and its fourth 20-win season in 49ers history.

The 49ers relied on Kotsia and Parks for clutch goals in the second half to give Long Beach State a 9-8 triumph over UC Davis. Melissa Matheson scored three times for the 49ers, with Parks contributing a pair each. UC Davis' Carmen Eggert scored a natural hat trick for the Aggies in the first quarter. Matheson scored twice to bring the first period to a close with Long Beach State up 3-2. The Beach trailed 6-5 at the half. Both teams had several chances to score, but the ball kept hitting the cross bar. Kotsia's game winning shot came at 1:43 of the fourth period.

No. 18 Michigan vs. No. 12 Indiana, March 30
Michigan's Audrey Pratt scored the only goal of the overtime period to give the Wolverines an 8-7 upset victory over Indiana–despite Mary Campbell's career 15-save effort on 30 shots on goal for the Hoosiers, and Jakie Kohli's two goal, one assist and three steal game. Kohli is now just 16 goals short of breaking the all-time Indiana scoring record (55 season, 231 career). Indiana led 2-1 at the half, and both teams were held scoreless in the second period. The game was tied 4-4 at the half and 7-7 at the end of regulation.

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