Oct. 6, 2002
Berkeley, Calif. - Stanford claimed third place at the 2002 NorCal Tournament today, while improving to 12-2 on the season. The Cardinal faltered with an 8-6 semifinal loss to No. 3 USC in its first game on Sunday morning, but recovered for the next game and handed second-ranked UC Irvine a 9-6 decision to claim third place. No. 7 UCLA took the top spot at the tournament with a 6-3 victory over the Trojans in the championship match.
The Cardinal headed into today's semifinal with two victories on Saturday, a 22-4 win over UC Santa Cruz and a 15-6 win over Loyola Marymount. Stanford owned a 2-1 first quarter lead against USC, but the Trojans fought back over the remainder of the first half and held a 4-3 halftime lead. Stanford stayed close, with sophomore Tony Azevedo posting three goals and seniors Peter Hudnut, Jeff Guyman and Jeff Nesmith each putting up one goal, but the Trojans slipped past taking an 8-6 victory in order to advance to the first place match.
With the loss, the Cardinal headed into the bronze medal game and faced a strong UC Irvine team. In the physical contest, Stanford came out on top with the 9-6 decision. Azevedo chalked up four more goals while five other Cardinal players tallied one goal. The Anteaters scored the first goal of the game, but Stanford was quick to rally and took a 5-3 margin into the second half. UC Irvine challenged throughout the game as Stanford keeper Nick Ellis dominated the cage with 14 saves, a season-high performance by the three-time All-American. The Anteaters fell to 8-4 on the year, while USC ended the day at 12-3 with the loss to UCLA.
Stanford will return to The Farm on Thurs., Oct. 10 for a 5 p.m. MPSF game against No. 6 Pacific. The Cardinal will stay at home for the next two weekends, facing UC Davis on Sun., Oct. 13 at noon before hosting Long Beach State and UCLA on Oct. 19 and 20. Complete results for the 2002 NorCal Tournament can be found at www.calbears.com.
Game # 27 (Semi Final)
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Stanford Goals: Tony Azevedo 3, Peter Hudnut 1, Jeff Guyman 1, Jeff Nesmith 1
USC Goals: Hewko 3, Zatovic 2, Lipinski 1, Hadar 1, Damjanov 1
Saves: Ellis (Stan) 5; Damjanovic (USC) 5
Game #31 (3rd place)
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Stanford Goals: Tony Azevedo 4, Reed Gallogly 1, Jeff Guyman 1, Thomas Hopkins 1, Jeff Nesmith 1, Mike Derse 1
UC Irvine Goals: Fisher 2, Barry 2, Power 1, Gentry 1
Saves: Ellis (Stan) 14; Finfrock (UCI) 11