Nov. 24, 2001
Berkeley, Ca - The top-seeded Stanford Cardinal water polo team trailed Long Beach State for the first nine and a half minutes of the match and did not take its first lead until nearly the end of the first half. But eventually Stanford came away with the victory, besting the Long Beach State 49ers 7-4 on Saturday at Berkeley's Spieker Aquatics Complex.
Cardinal freshman sensation Tony Azevedo, who was averaging 3.1 goals per contest entering this weekend's tournament, matched the scoring output of the entire Long Beach team. The 49ers, despite long odds, entered the fourth period down by only a goal to the Cardinal, but were unable to contain Azevedo to come away with what would have been a stunning upset.
In goal for Stanford, Nick Ellis came away with 8 blocked shots on the day. Four different players scored for Long Beach, and Brett Adolph stopped 9.
Stanford will meet fifth-ranked California for the MPSF championship and an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships on Dec. 1-2 at Stanford. The Golden Bears upset second-ranked UCLA, 9-7, in the other championship semi-finals.
Long Beach State1021=4
Stanford0313=7
LBS scorers: Kewell 1, Allard 1, Millsa 1, Holloway 1
Stanford scorers: Azevedo 4, Hudnut 2, Koelman 1
Goalie saves: Ellis (S) 8, Adolph (LBS) 9
Saturday's Results at the MPSF Tournament Stanford 7, Long Beach State 4 California 9, UCLA 7 Pepperdine 14, UC Irvine 9 USC 12, UC Santa Barbara 8
Sunday's Games 11:00 a.m. - UC Sanbta Barbara vs UC Irvine 12:30 p.m. - USC vs Pepperdine 2:00 p.m. - UCLA vs Long Beach State 3:30 p.m. - championship game - Stanford vs California