May 11, 2007
Stanford was looking to rebound from their loss to UCLA in the MPSF Conference Championship game, with a first round match against Wagner. They did so in grand style by starting the NCAA Championships off Friday afternoon with a 25-8 victory. This victory pushed Stanford's record to 26-2, and was able to be victorious behind five goals by Jacquelyn Gauthier and Kelsey Holshouser. Those two in fact didn't miss a single shot attempt the entire match. Kate Heddleston had 12 saves in the victory.
Stanford took control early by racing out to a 5-0 first quarter lead. Jessica Steffens scored a goal one minute into the game and Alison Gregorka followed about another minute later. Katie Hansen also got on the board at the 5:04 mark and Gregorka got on the board with a penalty goal at 3:21. With only 38 seconds left in the quarter, Kelly Eaton found the net and the Cardinal held their 5-0 lead.
The second quarter was dominated by Jacquelyn Gauthier, who was able to find the net four times in the period. Kelsey Holshouser also scored her first goal of the match to go along with goals by Kira Hillman and Koree Blyleven in the quarter. Wagner's leading scored Billy Hoelck scored in the period as well as two goals by Stacy Travous. Stanford was able to convert 12 of 21 shots in the half and their defense limited the Seahawks to only three goals in 11 attempts. After the busy quarter, Stanford held a 12-3 lead going into the break.
The second half provided lots more offense for Stanford as they were able to find the net again six times in the third quarter. Lauren Silver scored her only goal of the match at the 5:25 mark and Katie Hansen also found the net for the second time. Kelsey Holshouser scored her second and third goals of the match in the third quarter en route to her career high. Alison Gregorka and Kelly Eaton also scored in the third quarter to help the Cardinal extend their lead to 18-5 after three quarters.
In the final quarter the Cardinal found the net seven more times in the victory. Kelly Donahue and Kelly Eaton scored twice each in the quarter and Jacquelyn Gauthier also scored her fifth goal of the afternoon. Alex Koran scored her only goal of the game to finish off the 25-8 victory. Wagner got another goal from scoring leader Billy Hoelck in the quarter.
John Tanner was pleased with the performance, but realizes more challenges are going to lie ahead. "Today's win was a good way to start the tournament. Wagner is a good team with great tenacity", said Tanner. "Our players played with a lot poise and zeal. This year's club is very competitive and we look forward to playing whatever team we have next." Wagner head coach Patrick Beemer was also very impressed with the No. 1 seeded Cardinal and was proud of his team to making it to the Championships. Beemer stated "I'm real proud of my girls of the way they played, especially playing the number one team. We knew it would be an uphill battle for us as a number eight seed because no one has heard of us, so we knew it would be a challenge."
Cardinal student-athletes Jacquelyn Gauthier and senior Alison Gregorka also know that there is still business to take care of in southern California. "This win today is the first step of three", said Gregorka. Everyone is excited this weekend and is focused and ready to go to achieve our goal of winning the championship." Gauthier also stated that any team that makes it this far is formidable, and the Cardinal can't overlook teams. "You can't overlook any team in this tournament or else you'll start making mistakes. We'll try to find out what the other players go where and try to match up the best we can to win the game."
Stanford returns to the pool tomorrow at 5:00 PM against San Diego State in the first of two national semifinal matches at the Joint Forces Training Base.
Stanford Women's Water Polo Results:
May 11, 2007
National Quarterfinal
Joint Forces Training Base
Long Beach State University
Los Alamitos, CA
Stanford 25, Wagner 8
Wagner- 0-3-2-3 - 8
Stanford- 5-7-6-7 -- 25
Stanford: Gauthier (5), Holshouser (5), Eaton (3), Blyleven (2), Hansen (2), Gregorka (2), Donahue (2), Koran (1), Steffens (1), Silver (1), Hillman (1)
Wagner: (3) Travous; (2) Tomlinson, Hoelck; (1) Wolkenhauer
Saves: Stanford - Kate Heddleston (12 saves)
Wagner - Hauck (7 saves)
Records- Stanford 26-2, 12-0 MPSF, 3-1 Postseason