Nov. 27, 2005
Los Angeles, CA - Stanford fell to top-seed USC Sunday, in the MPSF first-place match at USC's McDonald Swim Stadium, 8-5. The Cardinal came out with a bang in the championship game, with the first goal by senior Thomas Hopkins only 30 seconds into the match. The Trojans came back strong with the two remaining goals of the first period, and held the lead for the remainder of the game.
The Trojans held off Stanford in the second, scoring the only two goals of the quarter before the two teams went 1-1 in the third period. The Cardinal made a strong attempt in the last quarter, scoring three goals, including one in the first minute of the fourth period. But USC retaliated with three goals of their own to end the match, 8-5.
Thomas Hopkins scored four of Stanford's five goals in the match, and Peter Varellas captured the fifth. Stanford goalies James Sandman and Sandy Hohener combined for six saves on the afternoon.
USC will now head to the NCAA Championships next weekend, December 3-4, in Lewisburg, PA. Stanford will be a contender for an NCAA at-large berth, to be announced Monday afternoon.
Tournament Notes: Peter Varellas led the Cardinal in goals for the tournament, scoring in each of the three matches, and capturing five goals in the first-round and four in the semifinals. Varellas scored a total of 10 goals. Thomas Hopkins followed suit, scoring four of Stanford's five goals in the Championship match. Hopkins scored a total of six goals on the tournament. Michael Bury and William Hindle-Katel each had three goals in the MPSF championship tournament. Lead goalie, Sandy Hohener, was extremely instrumental in Stanford's wins, especially with his 12 saves against UC Irvine in the semifinals. Hohener had a total of 18 saves on the tournament.
Game Summary
Nov. 27, 2005
MPSF Finals
Stanford Scoring: Hopkins 4, Varellas 1.
USC Scorers: Zepfel 2, Delgadillo 2, Valovic 1, Zatovic 1, Child 1, Ligtweberg 1.
Goalie Saves: , Shilling (USC) 8, Sandman (Stan) 5, Hohener (Stan) 1.