Nov. 28, 2004
Stanford, Calif. - Stanford (22-4) won the MPSF Championship tonight with a 7-6 victory over UCLA (23-3)at the Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal and the Bruins traded the lead throughout the game, but with 3:27 to go in the fourth quarter, Stanford senior Tony Azevedo took the ball at the top of the perimeter and fired it into the back of the net to put the Cardinal ahead for good.
Both squads showed off their defensive skills for the remainder of the game, as great shots were blocked by the two outstanding goalies and by field players. Stanford keeper Chad Taylor and UCLA goalie Joseph Axelrad combined for 10 saves in the final period, as each team managed only one goal in the last seven minutes.
Neither team led by more than one goal during the contest, and the squads were tied, 4-4, at halftime. The Bruins struck first in the second half, taking a 5-4 lead, but Stanford evened it out for the fifth time when Azevedo scored his second goal of the day just a minute later. Cardinal sophomore Tyler Drake then put Stanford ahead on a man-up goal with just one tick left in the third period. UCLA's Brett Ormsby tied the game again with his second score of the day, but Azevedo would have the final say.
As the winner of the MPSF Tournament, Stanford will receive an automatic berth to the NCAA Championship slated for Dec. 4-5 at Stanford University. Princeton, winner of the East Coast championship, and Loyola Marymount, winner of the Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) Tournament, have also advanced to the NCAA Final Four. An at-large team will be selected Sunday night to fill out the four-team national championship field, Seedings and game-pairings will also be announced during the selection show Sunday night on CSTV.
Sunday's Results
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) Men's Water Polo Tournament
Avery Aquatic Center - Stanford University
Stanford 7, UCLA 6 - 1st place
USC 7, UC Irvine 4 - 3rd place
Long Beach State 9, Pepperdine 8 - 5th place
California 8, UC Santa Barbara 7 - 7th place
California0421=7
UC Santa Barbara1122=6
Cal Scorers: Bacharach 3, Mann 2, Richardson 1, Vasiljevic 1
UCSB Scorers: Alexander 4, Bauer 1, Schoneberger 1
Goalie Saves: Bennett (C) 5; Bonafede (UCSB) 13
Recap: John Mann scored what proved to be the winning goal with 3:49 to play to lift sixth-seeded California to a 7-6 victory over eighth-seeded UC Santa Barbara. Brian Alexander, who led the Gauchos with four goals, got UCSB within one goal, 7-6, with 53 seconds remaining. Alexander gave UCSB a 1-0 led with 1:57 in the first period. But two goals by Cal's Brian Bacharach put the Golden Bears in front 2-1, and the Bears then never trailed the rest of the game.
Long Beach State1413=9
Pepperdine4220=8
LBS Scorers: Gerardi 2, Tomassi 2, McCleave 2, Bartak 1, Scoles 1
Pepperdine Scorers: Hewko 3, G. Miller 2, Acosta 1
Goalie Saves: Onyshko (LBS) 3; R. Miller (P) 6
Recap: Brett McCleave scored the winning goal with 1:19 to play to lift fourth-seeded Long Beach State to a 9-8 victory over seventh-seeded Pepperdine. With the score tied at 6-6, Pepperdine scored twice at 3:13 and 1:16 of the third period on goals by Josh Acosta and Adam Hewko. However, the 49ers outscored the Waves, 3-0, in the fourth period. The 49ers' Reid Tomassi scored at 5:01 left to cut the margin to one goal, 8-7, and then Brad Scoles tied the game at 8-8 at 3:54.
UC Irvine1102=4
USC3220=7
UC Irvine Scorers: Barry 1, Mello 1, R. Merlo 1, Noon 1
USC Scorers: Delgadillo 3, Clark 1, Cook 1, Kaiser 1, Zatovic 1
Goalie Saves: Wynne (UCI) 8; Ricci (USC) 7, Shilling (USC) 3
Recap: Juan Delgadillo scored three of the Trojan's seven goals to help USC claim third place in the MPSF Championship this afternoon. Two of his scores came in the first half, as USC took a 5-2 lead into the break. Starting goalie Don Ricci recorded seven saves before Adam Shilling replaced him in the fourth quarter and notched another three saves to keep the Anteaters away. Four different UC Irvine players scored, but an early 3-0 run by the Trojans proved the difference, as USC finished with a 7-4 victory.
Stanford2221=7
UCLA2211= 6
Stanford Scorers: Azevedo 3, Crum 2, Drake 1, Varellas 1
UCLA Scorers: Garcia 2, Ormsby 2, Hewko 1, Pietsch 1
Goalie Saves: Taylor (S) 8; Axelrad (UCLA) 13
Recap: Tony Azevedo scored three goals to lead the field, as Stanford won the MPSF Championship over UCLA 7-6, tonight at the Avery Aquatic Center. Azevedo fired in the game-winner with 3:27 left in the match to reclaim the lead, but Stanford kept the high intensity defense going as keeper Chad Taylor posted four of his eight saves in the final period. UCLA goalie Joseph Axelrad did his best to keep the Bruins in range, recording six of his 13 saves in the fourth quarter, but the neither squad could convert in the last three minutes and Stanford secured the automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.