April 26, 2003
Session I Results|Semifinals Results
Stanford, Calif. - After the second day of competition at the 2003 MPSF Women's Water Polo Championship Tournament, top-seeded Stanford and third-seeded UCLA remain as the only undefeated teams. The Cardinal and the Bruins were victorious in today's semifinal matches and advance to the Championship match on Sunday at 3:15 p.m. at the Avery Aquatic Center on the campus of Stanford University.
In the first Semifinal match, Stanford posted a 9-1 victory over Long Beach State to earn a spot in the championship game. The Cardinal took a 7-0 lead before the 49ers scored with 1:53 left in the contest. Cardinal senior Julie Gardner scored two quick goals for the early lead while Brenda Villa added a penalty shot to give Stanford a 3-0 first quarter lead. Sophomore Kelty Luber tacked on the fourth goal of the day as Stanford took a 4-0 margin into halftime. After Gardener scored her third goal of the match, Long Beach head coach Ricardo Azevedo was awarded a red card in the third period. Roberta Stewart added the 49ers only goal.
Stanford will face UCLA in the Championship game tomorrow after the Bruins fought for a 7-6 sudden victory overtime win over the USC Women of Troy tonight in the second Semifinal match. UCLA held a 2-1 lead after the first seven minutes, but USC stayed close and tied the game for the third time in the third period as Lauren Wenger scored her second goal to even the match at 4-4. In the fourth quarter, both teams added one goal to send the match into overtime. 45 seconds into the first overtime session, Katrin Dierolf gave USC the 6-5, but UCLA's Natalie Golda tacked on her third goal of the night to keep the Bruins alive. With a 6-6 tie, the game headed into sudden victory overtime and 37 seconds into the period, UCLA's Jessica Lopez scored the game-winner on a man-up goal to advance her team to the MPSF Championship.
Long Beach State and USC will face off in the third place match tomorrow at 2 p.m.
Earlier in the day, UC Irvine beat Pacific 9-2 placing the Tigers in 11th place. UCI scored four goals in the first quarter as they converted both of their first quarter man-up goals. The Anteaters will take on San Jose State for ninth place on Sunday at 9:30 a.m.
Also this morning, California posted a 6-4 victory over UC Santa Barbara as the Golden Bears converted all four of their last 6-on-5 opportunities. San Diego State took an 8-7 win over Hawai'i as the Aztecs went 3-for-3 on four-meter penalty shots. UCSB and Hawai'i will face off at 10:45 a.m. in the 7th place match, while San Diego State and California will square off in the fifth place match at noon.