Feb. 29, 2004
SANTA BARBARA - The Stanford Women's Water Polo team took second place in the Gaucho Invitational, on the campus of UC Santa Barbara. After winning the first two games on Saturday, the Cardinal were in the winner's bracket come Sunday and they came out with a come from behind 6-5 win over UCLA to advance to the title game. They lost the title game though, 8-5, to USC after allowing the Trojans to score 3 unanswered goals in the final period.
In their semifinal match up, the Cardinal and Bruins played like teams tied for second place in the polls by jockeying for the lead over three intense periods of play. In the end, though, the Cardinal pulled away for the 6-5 win after scoring two goals in the fourth period of their match. The Cardinal were lead by Hannah Luber's 2 goals and also received one score each from Katie Hansen, Wendy Watkins, Kelty Luber, and Christina Hewko.
In the big finale, Stanford and USC met up for the second time this season. The Cardinal kept pace with the top-ranked Trojans for the first three periods. They would have to wait, however, to avenge their earlier 10-8 home loss as USC shredded the Cardinal's usually stagnating defense for 3 goals in the final period. USC's Erika Figge had four goals for the Trojans, tying the highest allowed by the Cardinal to one player all season. Seniors Lauren Faust and Wendy Watkins combined for 3 of Stanford's 5 goals (2 and 1, respectively), with freshman Katie Hansen and junior Hannah Luber also adding a score each. The loss dropped Stanford's season record at 8-2.
The Cardinal women return to action on Friday, March 5 when they visit the fourteenth ranked UC Davis Aggies in Davis, CA.
Semifinal1234TOTAL
Stanford12126
UCLA21205
Stanford scorers: Hannah Luber 2, Katie Hansen, Wendy Watkinds, Kelty Luber, Christina Hewko
UCLA scorers: Katherine Bolden 2, Lauren Helneck, Brittney Bowlus, Kristina Kunkel
Title Game1234TOTAL
USC12238
Stanford02215
USC scorers: Erika Figge 4, Mariah Van Norman 3, Lauren Wenger
Stanford scorers: Lauren Faust 2, Wendy Watkins, Katie Hansen, Hannah Luber
Stanford Tournament Leaders:
Hannah Luber 8, Lauren Faust 4, Wendy Watkins 4, Christine Hewko 3, Katie Hansen 3,Laurel Champion 2, Kelty Luber, Nancy El-Sakkary