Nov. 17, 2002
Stanford, Calif. - Top-ranked Stanford (20-3) closed out its home season this afternoon with a 10-9 victory over sixth-ranked UC Irvine at the Avery Aquatic Center. The game marked the last home match for the seniors who combined for four goals on offense and posted six saves in the net.
The Anteaters challenged the Cardinal throughout the day, keeping the score tied at the end of every period. Stanford took an early 2-0 lead, but UC Irvine rallied back for the tie at 3-3 before taking its first lead in the second quarter. Stanford closed out the first half at a 5-5 tie, but both teams scored once during the third period to keep it even at 6-6 with seven minutes to go.
In the final period, junior Mike Derse scored first with a goal at 5:25 to put the Cardinal up 7-6, but UC Irvine's Jeff Powers came back with a goal 19 seconds later for the fifth tie of the day. Stanford took the lead again on a man-up goal by senior Peter Hudnut but UC Irvine was not to be deterred and Powers scored his fifth goal of the afternoon to bring the Anteaters into the 8-8 tie.
With 2:44 remaining in the game, senior Jeff Nesmith fired a shot past the keeper for his second tally of the match. With two minutes to go, sophomore Tony Azevedo intercepted a pass from Rick Merlo to set up a score by Derse, which give Stanford a two-point cushion with 1:46 remaining. With only 52 seconds left in the game, the Anteaters managed one more goal on a 6-on-5, but the Cardinal controlled the ball on offense and then earned an ejection with 22 seconds to secure the 10-9 victory.
Seniors Nick Ellis posted six saves and Jeff Guyman tallied one goal in their final home game. The Stanford senior class was honored before the game and will be remembered as one of the most successful classes in school history with three 20-plus win seasons in their four years on The Farm.
The Cardinal will close out the regular season on Saturday, Nov. 23rd in Berkeley at 10:00 am with the Big Splash against California. Stanford has secured the second seed for the MPSF Championship, which will be held in Los Alamitos, Calif. on Nov. 29th-Dec. 1st.
Game Summary
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Stanford Scoring: Tony Azevedo 3, Mike Derse 3, Jeff Nesmith 2, Jeff Guyman 1, Peter Hudnut 1.
UC Irvine Scoring: Jeff Powers 5, Dreason Barry 2, Garrett Gentry 1, Rick Merlo 1.
Goalie Saves: Nick Ellis (Stan) 6; Doug Finrock (UCI) 8.
6-on-5: Stanford 4-5; UC Irvine 4-5.