Feb. 22, 2003
Stanford, Calif. - The U.S. National team, the second-ranked women's water polo team in the world, visited The Farm tonight for a matchup against Stanford, the top-rated college program, for the first-ever pairing of the National Team against a collegiate program during the regular season. The U.S., aided by three 2002 Stanford graduates (Margie Dingeldein, Ellen Estes and Kate Pettit), posted a 7-3 decision over the Cardinal tonight at the Avery Aquatic Center.
Team USA got the night started with a score by Estes on a man-up goal. Heather Moody tagged on the National Team's second goal as the clock expired in the first period for the 2-0 lead after seven minutes. 50 seconds into the second quarter, senior Julie Gardner took a pass from Lauren Faust and lobbed it over the keeper into the far side - cutting the Cardinal deficit to one. The U.S. came back with Estes and Moody each scoring their second goal of the evening before sophomore Kelty Luber tallied Stanford's second goal with just over two minutes remaining in the half. For the second time in the game, the U.S. scored as time expired to bump its lead up to 5-2 heading into the break.
Both teams increased their defensive pressure in the third quarter and neither team managed to score during the period, but in the final quarter, Luber netted her second goal to bring the Cardinal within two with 3:32 remaining. The National Team added two goals in the final 1:03 for the 7-3 victory as Kate Pettit and Catharine von Schwarz each chalked up one goal.
Stanford keeper Jackie Frank spent the offseason with the National Team as she and Brenda Villa helped Team USA to a second place finish at the 2002 FINA World Cup in December, but both returned to the pool in Cardinal tonight. Frank collected nine saves while Nicolle Payne and Bernice Orwig combined for 10 saves in the National Team net.
Stanford will return to collegiate action next weekend as the Cardinal host UCLA and UC Santa Barbara in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation contests. The Bruins will visit Avery on Friday, Feb. 28th at 3 p.m. and the Gauchos will arrive for a game on Saturday, Mar. 1st at 1 p.m.
Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Total |
Stanford Scoring: Kelty Luber 2, Julie Gardner 1.
USA Scoring: Ellen Estes 2, Heather Moody 2, Thalia Munro 1, Kate Pettit 1, Catharine von Schwarz 1.
Goalie Saves: Jackie Frank (Stan) 9; Nicolle Payne (USA) 5, Bernice Orwig (USA) 5.
6-on-5: Stanford 0-2; US National Team 4-9.