BERKELEY, CA., Nov. 23. TOP-ranked Stanford (21-3) closed out its regular season men's water polo schedule today with an 8-7 win over No. 2 California (16-6) in the annual "Big Splash." <\/p>\n
The game took place at Cal's Spieker Aquatics Complex prior to the 105th "Big Game" football matchup that saw the Golden Bears prevail, 30-7. <\/p>\n
In the closely contested polo match, the game-winner was scored with five seconds left by sophomore Greg Crum as Stanford claimed its first Heaston Trophy (which was introduced in 1999). <\/p>\n
With six ties during the game, the Cardinal and the Golden Bears each had an opportunity at the win. But on the strength of four goals and a pivotal assist by sophomore Tony Azevedo, the top-ranked team in the nation claimed its 21st victory of the season. <\/p>\n
Stanford jumped out to the biggest lead by either team during the third quarter with a 7-5 margin. Senior Jeff Nesmith got a pass into Peter Hudnut in the hole to go up 6-5 with 4:22 remaining in the third period, Azevedo, last season's Player of the Year, scored his fourth goal of the day as he beat Cal goalie Russell Bernstein one-on-one for the two-point margin. <\/p>\n
The Golden Bears rallied in the fourth, scoring two goals to even out the match at 7-7. Both Bernstein and Cardinal keeper Nick Ellis recorded important saves in the waning moments of the game, but with five seconds remaining, Azevedo flicked a pass in front of the Cal goal to Crum who got the ball in his left hand and fired it into the back of the net for the game-winner. Stanford finished off Cal with a steal by junior Mike Derse as the clock hit zero to give Stanford the 8-7 win. <\/p>\n
Stanford and California will both travel to Los Alamitos, CA, this weekend for the three-day MPSF Tournament on Nov. 29-Dec. 1 at the U.S. Water Polo National Training Center. Stanford secured the second seed and will be taking on No. 7 Pacific at 5 p.m. on Friday. Cal will be the third-seeded team in the conference tournament and will face UC Irvine at 2:30 p.m. The conference champion will earn an automatic bid to the NCAA Championship, which will be hosted by Loyola Marymount in Los Angeles on Dec. 7-8. <\/p>\n
Game Summary
\nStanford 2 3 2 1 8
\nCalifornia 2 2 1 2 7 <\/p>\n
Stanford Scoring:
\nTony Azevedo 4, Peter Hudnut 2, Greg Crum 1, Jeff Guyman 1.<\/p>\n
California Scoring:
\nAndrew Stoddard 2, Attilah Banhidy 1, Todd Hylton 1, Will Quist 1, Chris Lathrop 1, Greg Panawek 1.<\/p>\n
Goalie Saves:
\nNick Ellis (Stan) 5
\nRussell Bernstein (Cal) 12<\/p>\n
6-on-5:
\nStanford 3-5
\nCalifornia 3-8<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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