Oct. 28, 2007
STANFORD, Calif. - Andrew Drake posted a hat trick and brothers Drac and Janson Wigo found the net two times apiece Sunday afternoon to carry the fourth-ranked Stanford men's water polo team to an 11-7 victory over the fifth-ranked Pepperdine Waves at Avery Stadium. The win snaps Stanford's three-game conference losing streak, and improves the Cardinal's record to 10-6 overall and 2-3 in the MPSF, while the Waves drop to 21-6 and 1-3 in the MPSF.
Stanford got on the board first once more, as Drac Wigo netted his first goal on an extra-man opportunity just 30 seconds into the contest. Pepperdine equalized with a 6-on-5 goal of their own, coming from Caleb Hamilton, who also posted a hat trick Sunday. Stanford's Michael Bury, though, came up with a fine effort at the four-minute mark, grinding his way to the team's second goal and a 2-1 lead after a period of play.
Janson Wigo's first goal at the 5:07 mark of the second period and Drake's score with 3:12 to go brought the Cardinal to a 4-1 lead. Hamilton halved the lead with his second goal of the game 25 seconds later, but Sage Wright and Ryan McCarthy sandwiched a pair of goals around Hamilton's third at the 1:09 mark, giving the Cardinal a 6-3 lead at the break.
The teams traded two goals each in the third period, but then the Cardinal stretched its lead to 10-5 in the fourth as Drake and Forrest Schwartz netted goals just 28 seconds apart to put the Waves in a hole from which they could not escape.
Despite the Waves scoring two unanswered goals from Clayton Snyder and Brett Auer, Drake completed his hat trick with an extra-man score with 1:21 remaining to salt away the contest.
Sandy Hohener made eight saves in the cage for the Cardinal, while his Pepperdine counterpart, Travis Stachowski, also stopped eight shots.
Stanford returns to action with three contests next week, first hosting the UC Santa Cruz Banana Slugs Thursday night, Nov. 1, at 7 p.m, then finishing up the homestand with a 1 p.m. contest Saturday, Nov. 3, against the No. 8 UC Davis Aggies. The Cardinal then resumes MPSF play Sunday, Nov. 4, on the road with a 12 p.m. battle at No. 13 Pacific.
Pepperdine - 1 2 2 2 = 7
Stanford - 2 4 2 3 = 11
Stanford Goal Scorers: Drake 3, D. Wigo 2, J. Wigo 2, Bury, McCarthy, Schwartz, Sage Wright
Pepperdine Goal Scorers: Hamilton 3, Auer, Hewko, MacDonell, Snyder
Goalie Saves: Hohener 8 (S); Stachowski 8 (P)