Oct. 13, 2007
IRVINE, Calif. - The third-ranked Stanford men's water polo team had no problem advancing to the semifinal round of the SoCal Tournament Saturday, cruising to a pair of wins over No. 16 Princeton and No. 8 UC Irvine. Stanford opened the day with a 16-5 victory over the Tigers, and completed the day's action in the evening with a 12-5 triumph over the host Anteaters.
With the wins, Stanford improves to 7-3 on the year, and heads into Sunday's semifinal clash with second-ranked California, set to start at 12 p.m.
Andrew Drake scored five goals on the day for the Cardinal, including a hat trick in the opening win. Drac Wigo also scored five times Saturday, with all five of his goals coming in the evening's win over UC Irvine. The Cardinal got a fine all-around team effort, as 12 different players netted goals on Saturday.
In the morning, the Cardinal rolled to an 8-1 lead heading into the break, and never looked back, scoring eight more times in the second half to coast to the 16-5 win over the Tigers. Jeffrey Schwimer and Michael Bury added hat tricks to go with Drake's, while Ryan McCarthy and Will Hindle-Katel each netted a pair of scores. Additional Cardinal goals in the morning were scored by Janson Wigo, Cody Wiesen, and Steven Wright.
In the cage, Sandy Hohener made three saves before giving way to Brian Pingree, who stopped seven shots the rest of the way.
The six-hour break between games didn't hamper the team's momentum, either, as Stanford burned the Anteaters for five goals in the opening period on the way to another 8-1 halftime lead. Drac Wigo's five goals in the contest carried the Cardinal to victory, while Drake and Ryan Fortune each scored twice. Alex Pulido, Janson Wigo, and Sage Wright all found the net as well.
Hohener and Pingree split time once again against the Anteaters, with Hohener making seven saves in the contest and Pingree stopping a pair of shots.
Should the Cardinal win tomorrow's semifinal, it will advance to the tournament's title game, set to be played at 5:20 p.m. If Stanford falls, it will then play the third-place game at 4 p.m. Both contests will be held at Anteater Pool in Irvine.
Princeton (10-7) 1 0 2 2 = 5
Stanford (6-3) 4 4 5 3 = 16
Stanford Goal Scorers: Drake 3, Schwimer 3, Bury 3, McCarthy 2, Hindle-Katel 2, J. Wigo, Wiesen, Steven Wright.
Princeton Goal Scorers: Beckmann 2, Horstmeyer, Zalewski, Edmunds.
Goalie Saves: Hohener (S) 3, Pingree (S) 7; Syverson (P) 4, Hvidt (S) 1
Stanford (7-3) 5 3 2 2 = 12
UC Irvine (7-5) 0 1 4 0 = 5
Stanford Goal Scorers: D. Wigo 5, Drake 2, Fortune 2, J. Wigo, Sage Wright, Pulido.
UC Irvine Goals Scorers: Bitter 2, Dunn, Enloe, Johnson.
Saves: Garcia (UCI) 9, Johnson (UCI) 2; Hohener (S) 7, Pingree (S) 2.