April 20, 2007
No. 1 Stanford hasn't had much trouble with teams outside of top three in the national rankings, but that changed Friday night as Stanford held off a California team 10-8 who was honoring its All-American senior Elsie Windes. This MPSF conference game was played at the Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, CA and raised the Cardinal record to 22-1 and 11-0 in conference play. California dropped to 10-10 overall and 6-6 in MPSF play.
California jumped out to a 2-1 first period lead, but Christina Hewko brought them back with three second quarter goals and going into the break the two teams were tied 5-5. Alison Gregorka also scored a goal in the period with just 17 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Stanford took control in the third period 2-0 behind goals by Katie Hansen with 6:55 left and Lauren Silver, with 3:33 left in the quarter. After three quarters Stanford held a 7-5 lead in the match.
When the match seemed to be going Stanford's way, Meghan Corso of the Bears scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter. This tied the game at 7-7 with just over seven minutes remaining in the match. Stanford responded with a 3-0 run of their own keyed by Kira Hillman, who scored two goals in the run and Stanford held a 10-7 lead that they would not give up. Katie Hansen also followed with a goal in the period.
The win clinched Stanford the top seed in the MPSF Championships next weekend in Tempe, Arizona. This also was the 20th consecutive win for Stanford, who plays in their final regular season match tomorrow at 1:00 PM against the San Jose State Spartans. This match will be held at the Avery Aquatics Center.
Stanford Women's Water Polo Results:
April 20, 2007
Spieker Aquatics Complex
University of California-Berkeley
Berkeley, CA
Stanford 10, California 8
Stanford 1-4-2-3-- 10
California 2-3-0-3-- 8
Scoring: Stanford - Christina Hewko (3), Alison Gregorka (2), Katie Hansen (2), Kira Hillman (2), Lauren Silver (1)
California - Meghan Corso (3), Elsie Windes (2), Darby Anderson, Grace Reynolds, Julie Oreglia
Saves: Stanford - Meridith McColl, STAN (6 saves, 8 GA)
California - Heather Stuart (5 saves)
Records- Stanford 22-1, 11-0 MPSF