Oct. 12, 2008
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Day one of the SoCal Tournament turned out to be a successful one for the No. 3 Stanford men's water polo team Saturday, as it swept to a pair of victories that secured a spot in the semifinal round. The Cardinal (12-1) opened the day at Burns Aquatic Center in Los Angeles with a 12-4 win over No. 15 Princeton before downing No. 6 Loyola Marymount, 10-8.
The Cardinal, seeded third in the draw, will now take on second-seeded UCLA at 12 p.m. Sunday at the Raleigh Runnels Aquatic Center on the Pepperdine University campus. At stake will be a spot in the tournament title game at 5:20 p.m.
Will Hindle-Katel scored twice in each of Stanford's victories, sharing the day's scoring lead with Janson Wigo, who netted four goals in the opener. Andrew Drake, Ryan Kent, Ryan McCarthy, Alex Pulido, Drac Wigo and Sage Wright all scored twice on the day to contribute to the offensive effort.
Goalkeepers Jimmie Sandman and Brian Pingree split time in the cage Saturday, with Pingree handling things in the opener against Princeton, and Sandman holding off Loyola Marymount in the evening.
The Cardinal opened Saturday's action with its second meeting of the season against the Princeton Tigers. Janson Wigo got Stanford on the board first at 2:59 of the opening period, netting what would end up being the Cardinal's only goal in the first eight minutes. The Tigers would answer with 47 seconds remaining in the period to knot things up at 1-1, which is how the opening period ended.
Stanford would re-assert itself in the second period, jumping ahead, 3-1, thanks to goals from McCarthy and Janson Wigo over the opening 1:36 of the frame. Although Princeton's Jeff Cole would halve the Stanford lead at the 4:30 mark, Hindle-Katel put the Cardinal back up by two with 2:04 to go before halftime.
Five third-period goals from the Cardinal, combined with a strong defensive effort that kept the Tigers out of the net, would effectively cinch things up in the morning contest. Jeffrey Schwimer and Kent got the ball rolling for the Cardinal with the first two goals of the period, and in net, Pingree and the defense were able to limit Princeton's opportunities.
The Cardinal would return to the Burns Aquatic Center pool later in the day against co-host Loyola Marymount, shooting right out of the gate with five first-period goals to put the Lions on their heels. Hindle-Katel netted the game's first goal just 27 seconds into the contest, followed by a 6-on-5 goal from Pulido at 5:03 and a score from Kent 56 seconds later to account for an early 3-0 advantage. The lead would swell to 5-1 in the period's final minute until LMU's Edgaras Asajavicius scored with seven seconds remaining to make it 5-2 after one period of play.
The second period would be dominated by both defenses, until Hindle-Katel managed to break through 36 seconds before halftime with his second goal of the game. But after the goal gave Stanford a 6-2 lead, Loyola Marymount would score three of the next four goals over a span of 3:33 that extended into the third period, cutting the Cardinal lead to just two at 7-5.
But that was as close as the Lions would get. The Stanford offense found its stroke once more, and the teams traded goals until Stanford led 10-8 with 5:08 to play. At that point, Sandman, who made seven saves in the contest, and the rest of the Cardinal defense took over, holding the Lions scoreless over the final five-plus minutes to secure the victory.
Along with Hindle-Katel's pair of goals, Pulido and Sage Wright all scored twice in the evening, with Drake, Kent, Jacob Smith and Drac Wigo all adding a goal apiece to the effort.
Princeton - 1 1 0 2 = 4
Stanford - 1 3 5 3 = 12
Stanford Goal Scorers: J. Wigo 4, Hindle-Katel 2, McCarthy 2, Drake, Kent, Schwimer, D. Wigo
Princeton Goal Scorers: Cole, Donahue, Parolin, Wigley
Goalie Saves: Pingree 7 (S); Hvidt 11 (P)
Loyola Marymount - 2 1 4 1 = 8
Stanford - 5 1 3 1 = 10
Stanford Goal Scorers: Hindle-Katel 2, Pulido 2, Sa. Wright 2, Drake, Kent, J. Smith, D. Wigo
LMU Goal Scorers: Asajavicius 2, Forai 2, Aki, Hummel, Lormant, Schlegal
Goalie Saves: Sandman 7 (S); Stevens 6 (LMU)