May 13, 2007
LOS ALAMITOS, Calif. - Stanford was ranked in the number one spot for most of the season, but just couldn't figure out UCLA again on Sunday afternoon when they lost a 5-4 decision at the Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, CA. Lauren Silver led Stanford with three goals in the loss and also got a goal from Kira Hillman. In her last game in the Stanford uniform, goalie Meridith McColl recorded five saves.
In the first quarter, UCLA goalie Emily Feher made things difficult for Stanford as the Cardinal went scoreless in the quarter. With 3:11 on the clock, Courtney Mathewson of UCLA scored a goal and UCLA held the 1-0 lead. Soon thereafter Jillian Kraus extended the Bruin lead to 2-0 after she hit a long range shot. UCLA led the match 2-0 after one quarter.
Defense held strong for both sides in the second quarter as each team was only able to find the goal once. Jillian Kraus scored another goal off a Katie Rulon steal, which gave the Bruins a 3-0 lead. Stanford finally got on the board when Lauren Silver scored a goal with 1:30 left before halftime. Silver launched a long shot at the halftime buzzer, but Feher was able to turn it away and UCLA held a 3-1 lead at halftime.
Stanford once again was shutdown in the third quarter when only Lauren Silver could find the net for the Cardinal. This goal was countered by Courtney Mathewson's second goal of the game and UCLA led 4-1 after three quarters. Stanford had great shot attempts by Lauren Silver and Katie Hansen in the period but the superb goaltending by Feher thwarted the attempts.
With the season on the line the Cardinal made a furious comeback in the final quarter with three goals in the frame. Lauren Silver scored a goal with 7:29 left in the game when she lobbed a shot into the top right corner of the net to cut the lead to 4-2. Then Silver scored another goal at the 6:42 mark when she hit a shot in the bottom left corner past Feher. Courtney Mathewson quickly countered with a goal at 6:29 to give the game a 5-3 score. Stanford quickly was on the power play again and Kira Hillman converted with a goal with 5:29 left in the game. Unfortunately for the Cardinal, that was the rest of the scoring in the title game. Lauren Silver and Christina Hewko had very good looks in the final minutes, but weren't able to find the net and the game ended with a 5-4 final score.
Seniors Katie Hansen and Christina Hewko were named to the 1st Team All-Tournament and the other two seniors; Meridith McColl and Alison Gregorka were named to the 2nd Team All-Tournament.
John Tanner was obviously disappointed with the result, but still praised his team for the great season they had. "We knew going into this game that we needed to get a lead. UCLA is a very emotional team that plays great with a lead and we play with such great solid defense and if we could of gotten of to a good start we could of really squeezed people. I felt like that our defense was stellar in the second half", said Tanner. "Courtney Mathewson's two goals were terrific shots, cleary the MVP of the tournament in my mind. I was extremely proud of our defensive effort and our tenacity in the second half. I'm very proud of the way we played in the second half."
Senior Alison Gregorka also talked about how the Cardinal had a great year. "This was a great season and it was unfortunate on how it finished our year, but I've made a lot of friendships throughout my career and everyone covers each others backs" said Gregorka. "We played a tough game and we fought until the end and it came out at the wrong end of the pool.
Sophomore Lauren Silver, who had three goals in the match, praised the goalkeeping of Emily Feher. ""Emily (UCLA goalie) is just a great goalie and she's solid all the way around. She had some amazing blocks and she deserves a lot of credit.".
Stanford Women's Water Polo Results:
May 13, 2007
National Championship
Joint Forces Training Base
Long Beach State University
Los Alamitos, CA
UCLA 5, Stanford 4
UCLA 2-1-1-1--5
Stanford 0-1-0-3--4
UCLA Goals: Mathewson-3, Kraus-2
Stanford Goals: Silver-3, Hillman
Saves:
Feher, UCLA-9;
McColl, Stanford-5
Records- Stanford 27-3, 12-0 MPSF, 4-2 Postseason
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAMS
FIRST TEAM
Kelly Rulon, UCLA-MVP
Katie Hansen, Stanford
Christina Hewko, Stanford
Erika Figge, USC
Kacy Kunkel, UCLA
Courtney Mathewson, UCLA
Jillian Kraus, UCLA
SECOND TEAM
Meridith McColl, Stanford
Anna Gonzales, San Diego State
Kami Craig, USC
Patty Cardenas, USC
Dora Szabolesci, LMU
Brittany Hayes, USC
Kristen Hudson, Hartwick
Alison Gregorka, Stanford