Oct. 30, 2004
Los Angeles, Ca. - Tony Azevedo scored all of Stanford's goals but it wasn't enough as the second-ranked Cardinal men's water polo team was beaten by top-ranked UCLA, 7-4, on Saturday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center.
It was UCLA's second victory over the Cardinal in three games this season. The Bruins upped their season record to 16-2 overall and 4-0 in the MPSF, while Stanford fell to 15-3 overall and 3-1 in conference action.
Azevedo tied the score at 1-1 when he netted an extra-man goal at 5:12 in the second quarter. But the Bruins' Michael March charged back with a score of his own 12 seconds later to give UCLA a 2-1 lead heading into halftime.
UCLA then scored four unanswered goals to take a 6-1 lead to open the third quarter. Seven different UCLA players scored at least one goal in the game.
UCLA goalkeeper Joe Axelrad collected a career-high 14 saves while Stanford's Chad Taylor netted five saves.
This was a rough game between the nation's top two teams. Stanford's Ryan Fortune and UCLA's Chris Pulido were both hit with with game ejections after Pulido was called for a brutality penalty and Fortune received a game misconduct.
Azevedo's four goals gives him 300 for his career, a school record.
Stanford travels to fourth-ranked UC Santa Barbara on Sunday (noon).
Stanford (15-3, 3-1 MPSF)0112=4
UCLA (16-2, 4-0 MPSF)1141=7
Stanford Scorers: Azevedo 4
UCLA Scorers: March 1, Belden 1, Hewko 1, M. Jacobs 1, Zider 1, Peck 1
Goalie Saves: Taylor (S) 5; Axelrad (UCLA) 14
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