Nov. 2, 2003
Stanford, Ca - Tony Azevedo scored a game-high five goals to lead the third-ranked Stanford men's water polo team to a come-from-behind 10-8 victory over fifth-ranked Pepperdine in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game on Sunday afternoon at the Avery Aquatic Center.
Down 6-4 with 33 seconds left in the second period, the Cardinal scored four straight goals to take a 8-6 lead with 38 seconds left in the third period. Two goals each by Azevedo and Peter Varellas accounted for the Cardinal surge in the second half.
At 6:11 of the final period, Pepperdine's Scott Harvey cut the margin to 8-7. Azevedo, who leads the team in scoring with 56 goals, then pushed the Cardinal lead to two goals, 9-7, at the 5:05 mark of the final period. John Ashby scored at 3:30 for Pepperdine to make it 9-8, but then again Azevedo, a two-time NCAA Player of the Year, gave Stanford the insurance goal at 2:48, 10-8.
Azevedo open the Stanford scoring at 4:21 of the first period.
Michael Hausmann scored three goals for Pepperdine.
The Stanford-Pepperdine game was filled with fouls. Six players (4 Pepperdine, 2 Stanford) were ejected because of fouls.
It was the second time this year that the Cardinal has had to battle back from a deficit against the Waves. On Oct. 5, Stanford exploded for seven goals in the fourth period to score a 10-9 victory over the Waves in the semifinals of the NorCal Tournament.
The victory upped Stanford's record to 14-3 overall and 3-1 in the MPSF. Pepperdine fell to 14-5 overall and 3-3 in conference play.
On Nov. 22, Stanford hosts top-ranked California.
Pepperdine (14-5, 3-3 MPSF)2402=8
Stanford (14-3, 3-1 MPSF)3142=10
Stanford Scorers: Azevedo 5, Varellas 3, Hopkins 1, Tyre 1
Pepperdine Scorers: Hausmann 3, Harvey 2, Smith 1, Barth 1, Ashby 1
Goalie Saves: Taylor (S) 6; Tait (P) 10