Feb. 17, 2008
STANFORD, Calif. - The No. 2 Stanford women's water polo team completed its weekend sweep with a 10-5 victory over No. 11 UC Davis (6-3) Sunday afternoon at Avery Stadium. Seven unanswered goals spanning the second through the fourth periods broke open a close contest and allowed the Cardinal (6-1, 1-0 MPSF) to coast to its sixth win of the season.
Junior Lauren Silver scored four goals, including three in the second period, to post her second hat trick of the weekend. Kelly Eaton and Jacquelyn Gauthier each added a pair of goals, while Amber Oland made seven saves in the contest.
Stanford's success in 6-on-5 situations played a key role in Sunday's win, as the Cardinal managed to net goals on four of its seven extra-attacker sitiuations. The Cardinal also converted on both of its 6-on-5 advantages in the pivotal second period, in which Stanford turned a 2-2 contest into a 6-3 halftime lead.
After the Aggies got the game's opening score from Christi Raycraft in a 6-on-5 situation with 6:30 to play in the first, the Cardinal answered with goals from Eaton and Heather West just 54 seconds apart midway through the period. But UC Davis evened things up on its next extra-attacker situation, as Jessica Soza converted.
The teams traded goals to start the second period, with Gauthier getting her first of the game in that span, before Stanford began its surge. Silver added her 6-on-5 goals just 48 seconds apart from each other, then bagged her hat trick by scoring with just 22 seconds remaining in the half.
The Stanford defense, highlighted by Oland's seven saves in the cage, held the Aggies scoreless for 15:39 from the second period to the fourth, allowing the offense to widen the gap. Third-period goals from Silver, Koree Blyleven, and Gauthier made it 9-3 after three, while Eaton's 6-on-5 goal 25 seconds into the fourth capped the Cardinal's scoring on the day.
UC Davis - 2 1 0 2 = 5
Stanford - 2 4 3 1 = 10
Stanford Goal Scorers: Silver 4, Eaton 2, Gauthier 2, Blyleven, West
UC Davis Goal Scoers: Mohr 2, Patronas, Raycraft, Soza
Goalie Saves: Oland 7, Hall 0 (S); Hines 8 (UCD)