April 15, 2005
No. 3 Stanford (15-5, 7-3) posts their fifth loss of the season to No. 1 UCLA (25-0, 10-0) in a physical game tonight at Avery Aquatic Center. Despite a season-high three goals from sophomore stand-out Christina Hewko and six phenomenal saves from goalie Meridith McColl, Stanford couldn't overcome the 6-2 lead the Bruins posted at the half.
UCLA began the game with a goal from Olympic alternate Gabrielle Domanic just :40 seconds into the first quarter, following an ejection from 2-M against Stanford's Laurel Champion. Stanford posted another ejection on Katie Hansen just 1:52 into the first quarter that gave UCLA a one-up advantage which they converted to yet another goal. Stanford's Hannah Luber was ejected with 2:20 left in the 1st quarter, and UCLA again capitalized on their physical offense, garnering a third goal with 2:10 left in the first quarter.
In the second quarter, Stanford made several poor defensive decisions, which resulted in yet another two goals from UCLA, bringing the score to 5-0 with 3:54 left in the second quarter. Following a time-out called by Stanford Head Coach John Tanner, the Cardinal regained focus and confidence, and scored their first goal of the game on a 6-on-5 opportunity with a shot from Nancy El-Sakkary at 2:46 to go in the quarter. The pivotal moment of the game came seconds later, when UCLA Head Coach Adam Krikorian was red-carded at 2:03 in the quarter, effectively prohibiting his presence on the pool deck any further.
UCLA managed to capture one more goal with 1:15 left in the quarter, but Stanford quickly responded with a brilliant goal on a spin from Christina Hewko, off an assist from Kelty Luber. That ended the first half with the score at 6-2.
Stanford's play changed dramatically in the beginning moments of the second half, challenging physical moves from UCLA with finesse and confidence. Sophomore goalie Meridith McColl made two clutch saves with cat-like reaction time and perfect anticipation of forceful shots from UCLA's Natalie Golda and Kelly Rulon. Senior Hannah Luber also made a beautiful block for the Cardinal from mid-field, also helping to keep UCLA scoreless in the third quarter. Sophomore Christina Hewko garnered yet another goal with 4:15 to go in the third quarter, scoring the lone goal of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter remained at an impasse offensively until Stanford's Scotti Shafer scored a lob shot immediately after swimming in to replace Nancy El-Sakkary. Shafer's shot was soon countered by a powerful outside shot from UCLA's Kristina Kunkel at 1:08 left in the game.
Stanford's Christina Hewko still had more left to give, capturing a crisp outside shot in a 6-on-5 opportunity that brought the final score to 5-7 for the Cardinal.
"Christina played one of the best games I've ever seen her play tonight, and demonstrated the agility and talent we all know she has as one of the top defensive threats on our team," commented Coach Tanner following the game. "We knew we were going to rely on Meridith for some awesome shot blocks tonight, considering the arm-power of UCLA's Olympian-heavy roster, and she came through for us in a huge way," Tanner added.
Next up for the Cardinal is a game against the UC Davis Aggies on Sunday, April 17th at 1:00 pm here at Avery Aquatic Center.
Stanford vs. UCLA Scoring & Saves:
Stanford: Hewko (3), El-Sakkary, Shafer.
UCLA: Rulon (3), Munro (2), Kristina Kunkel, Domanic.