April 21, 2007
No. 1 Stanford saluted its four graduating seniors on Saturday at the Avery Aquatics Center, and then went out and defeated No. 8 San Jose State 12-8. This completed a regular season that saw Stanford finish 23-1 and a perfect 12-0 in MPSF conference play. Katie Hansen led the way with four goals in a game that was tied in the fourth quarter and was close throughout. Senior Christina Hewko added two goals and senior Alison Gregorka also scored as well. Senior Meridith McColl also played a fantastic final home game by recording eight saves in the victory.
In the first quarter both teams came out with very physical defense and goals were at a premium. Katie Hansen scored two minutes into the match but Spartan attacker Juliet Moss tied the score with a goal at the 3:08 mark in the period. Jacquelyn Gauthier scored another goal with 2:27 left in the period to complete the scoring and Stanford held a 2-1 lead at the end of the quarter.
In the second quarter goals were still tough to come by in the highly contested match. Jacquelyn Gauthier scored her second goal of the game at the 6:43 mark in the period but the Spartans responded again with a goal from Geraldine Hazlett at the 5:34 mark. Katie Hansen scored the final goal of the period off a breakaway pass from Meridith McColl and Stanford held a 4-2 lead going into the halftime break.
The teams started to open it up a little bit in the third quarter when the teams scored two goals each. Juliet Moss scored a goal at the 5:34 mark for her second goal of the game, but Alison Gregorka matched with a goal of her own at the 3:35 mark in the period. The teams traded goals again in the period with Lauren Silver getting her first goals of the game at the 1:12 mark in the period.
The teams really opened up the scoring in the very entertaining fourth period, in which Stanford outscored the Spartans 6-4. Kira Hillman scored a goal early to give the Cardinal a 7-4 lead, but San Jose State scored three goals in a row to tie the score at 7-7 with 5:30 left in the game. Christina Hewko scored a goal to break the tie at 5:15 and then Lauren Silver scored her second goal of the game the 3:59 mark. Katie Hansen followed with her third goal of the game at 3:01 and after another San Jose State goal by Juliet Moss, seniors Christina Hewko and Katie Hansen scored their final goals at the Avery Aquatics Center to give Stanford the 12-8 victory.
Meridith McColl recorded eight saves in her final game at home and San Jose State goalkeeper Kendra Adama had six saves in the loss.
Stanford now has earned the No. 1 seed in the MPSF tournament next weekend in Tempe, Arizona. With the top seed Stanford earns a bye and will next play on Friday April 27th at 12:40 PM against an opponent to be determined.
Stanford Women's Water Polo Results:
April 21, 2007
Avery Aquatics Center
Stanford University
Stanford, CA
Stanford 12, San Jose State 8
Stanford 2-2-2-6-- 12
San Jose State 1-1-2-4-- 8
Scoring: Stanford - Katie Hansen (4), Lauren Silver (2), Christina Hewko (2), Jacquelyn Gauthier (2), Kira Hillman (1), Alison Gregorka (1)
San Jose State- Juliet Moss (3), Deanna Lowry (2), Geraldine Higlett (2), Beth Harberts (1)
Saves: Stanford - Meridith McColl, STAN (8 saves, 8 GA)
San Jose State - Kendra Adama (6 saves)
Records- Stanford 23-1, 12-0 MPSF