April 6, 2001
STANFORD, Calif. - The top-ranked Stanford women's water polo team scored three goals in the second quarter and went on to a 7-4 win over No. 2 UCLA on Friday night in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game at the Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal improves to a program-best 20-0 overall and 9-0 in the MPSF while the Bruins drop to 12-3 (7-1 in conference play).
The difference in the game was the 6-on-5 opportunities in the first half. Stanford scored three of its four first-half goals in power play situations, whereas UCLA went 0-for-4. The Bruins took a 1-0 lead on Kelly Heuchan's goal at the 3:41 mark in the first. The Cardinal would tie the game on Margie Dingeldein's 6-on-5 goal with just over two minutes remaining.
The second quarter was huge for Stanford as it outscored the Bruins 3-0 to take a 4-1 lead into halftime. Anne-Marie Keenan gave the Cardinal its first lead of the night with 4:14 left in the half with her score from 7-meters. Brenda Villa extended the lead on a power play goal to put Stanford up 3-1. Then with :20 left in the half, UCLA's Kelly Heuchan was ejected, setting up Dingeldein's second 6-on-5 goal of the night.
The Stanford defense had a huge second quarter as it held the Bruins scoreless on three 6-on-5 opportunities. Goalkeeper Jackie Frank also made five of her season-best 10 saves in the second.
The Cardinal had its biggest lead of the night after an early third-quarter score from Ellen Estes. From the two-meter set, Estes rifled a backhand goal for a 5-1 lead. Kris Koblik also found the back of the net in the third.
UCLA's Coralie Simmons closed the gap to 6-3 after scoring two power play goals. The first came midway through the quarter and the second was recorded at the :54 mark. The Bruins were 2-for-3 on 6-on-5 situations in the quarter.
The Bruins did what they could to keep the game close with Heuchan's second goal of the game at the 5:19 mark in the fourth. But after that, the Cardinal defense was too tough. Stanford had a crucial stop of UCLA's power play offense at the 3:00 mark, and the Cardinal also forced a shot clock violation with less than 2:00 minutes remaining.
Stanford scored its last goal with :13 left on the game clock. UCLA's Simmons was called for her third foul of the night and then a 4-meter penalty immediately following her ejection. Villa converted the 4-meter goal for Stanford.
Six of the game's 19 ejections came in the final quarter. The Cardinal ended up going 5-for-11 (.454) in power play opportunities while the Bruins were 3-for-9 (.333). The Cardinal is next in action on Saturday night when it hosts Loyola Marymount at 7:00 p.m.
Stanford 7, UCLA 4 Score by Quarter 1234Final #2 UCLA 10214 #1 Stanford 13217Scoring -- UCLA: Kelly Heuchan 2, Coralie Simmons 2. Stanford: Brenda Villa 2, Margie Dingeldein 2, Kris Koblik, Ellen Estes, Anne-Marie Keenan.
Saves -- UCLA: Jaime Hipp 5. Stanford: Jackie Frank 10.
Records -- UCLA 12-3 overall, 7-1 MPSF, Stanford 20-0 overall, 9-0 MPSF.