Nov. 10, 2007
IRVINE, Calif. - Fourth-ranked Stanford held off a late rally Saturday afternoon to record an 8-6 road victory over fifth-ranked UC Irvine in an MPSF men's water polo contest. The victory lifts the Cardinal over .500 in conference play with a 4-3 mark, and improves its overall record to 14-6.
The Cardinal got solid efforts on both sides of the pool in the win, as Janson Wigo scored four goals to lead the team on offense, and goalkeeper Sandy Hohener made 16 saves and allowed just six goals on the defensive end to preserve the win.
Wigo scored three of the Cardinal's four goals in the first half as the visitors used three second-period goals to break a 1-1 tie and go up 4-1 before halftime.
Stanford kept up the pressure in the second half, as Sage Wright's goal with 5:55 left to play gave the Cardinal an 8-4 lead. The Anteaters, though, got a pair of goals from Cole Bitter and Colin Mello to cut the Stanford lead in half, but Hohener and the defense remained firm and kept UC Irvine out of the net over the final 3:10.
Additional Stanford goals were scored by Will Hindle-Katel, Ryan McCarthy, and Drac Wigo.
The Cardinal returns home to begin its regular-season ending two-game homestand Sunday afternoon. Stanford hosts a 12 p.m. non-conference battle against No. 15 Santa Clara at Avery Stadium Sunday, before closing out the regular season Friday night, Nov. 15, with the annual Big Splash battle against the top-ranked California Golden Bears at 7 p.m.
Stanford - 1 3 3 1 = 8
UC Irvine - 1 0 3 2 = 6
Stanford Goal Scorers: J. Wigo 4, Hindle-Katel, McCarthy, D. Wigo, Sa. Wright
UC Irvine Goal Scorers: Mello 3, Bielskis, Bitter, Johnson
Goalie Saves: Hohener 16 (S); Garcia 8 (UCI)