April 18, 2003
Stanford, Calif. - Stanford, Calif. - Third-ranked Stanford women's water polo (17-2, 9-1 MPSF) posted an 11-2 win over tenth-ranked San Jose State (15-14, 3-7 MPSF) tonight at the Avery Aquatic Center to secure the top seed for next week's Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Tournament. The Cardinal finished its conference schedule with a 9-1 record to tie for first with USC, but Stanford earns the top spot because of the league win over the Women of Troy on March 29th.
Stanford honored its four seniors as they took the pool for their final regular season home game tonight. The three field players combined six goals while goalie Jackie Frank picked up nine saves. Brenda Villa posted a hat trick while Julie Gardner added two in the second quarter and Nicole Huszcz completed the feat with a goal in the third quarter. Frank also collected three assists in the first half as she set up fast-breaks for her teammates and held the Spartans scoreless during her 22 minutes of play.
The Cardinal held an 8-0 lead at the half and extended their margin to 10-0 before the Spartans netted two goals in the final six minutes of the match. San Jose State scored its first goal with 5:55 left in the game and Laura Scott added a penalty goal 46 seconds later. Eight different Cardinal players scored tonight as Stanford converted six of its eight 6-on-5 opportunities tonight.
Stanford will host the MPSF Championship on Friday, April 25 through Sunday, April 27. Ticket information is available through the Official Website, www.gostanford.com, or through the ticket office at 1-800-STANFORD.
Game Summary
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Stanford Scoring: Brenda Villa 3, Julie Gardner 2, Lauren Boreta 1, Laurel Champion 1, Lauren Faust 1, Nicole Huszcz 1, Hannah Luber 1, Kelty Luber 1.
San Jose State Scoring: Mary Beth Cox 1, Laura Scott 1.
Goalie Saves: Jackie Frank (Stanford) 9, Amanda Matuk (Stanford) 1; Nichole Lipman (SJSU) 6.
6-on-5: Stanford 6-8; San Jose State 0-1.
Penalty Shots: San Jose State 1-1.