Cardinal Comes Out With Split On Day One Of Stanford Invitational

Feb. 7, 2009

STANFORD, Calif. - The Stanford-USC rivalry is alive and well in the pool as the two women's water polo teams battled in yet another thrilling overtime contest, but unfortunately for the second-ranked Cardinal, it was the top-ranked Women of Troy who prevailed, 12-10, on the first day of the Stanford Invitational at Avery Aquatic Center. Stanford (3-1, 1-0 MPSF) earned a split Saturday, opening the day with an 11-2 victory over No. 18 Indiana.

Freshman Melissa Seidemann led the Cardinal with six goals on the day, including a four-goal effort in the morning victory over Indiana. Fellow freshman Pallavi Menon scored three goals over the two games, as did junior Kelly Eaton.

Kim Hall and Amber Oland split the two contests in the Stanford cage Saturday. Hall made four saves and allowed Indiana just two goals in the morning, while Oland faced off against USC and stopped four shots in the contest.

In the day's most anticipated meeting, the No. 2 Cardinal and No. 1 Women of Troy faced off in the late session's second contest. Stanford got out to a 3-2 lead after the opening eight minutes, and would hold a 5-4 advantage at halftime.

Yet the Women of Troy evened things up by the end of the third period, sending the contest into the fourth period tied at seven. The final eight minutes of regulation did nothing to change the stalemate, as two goals from each side left the contest tied 9-9 and headed into overtime.

In the first extra session, the Women of Troy posted a pair of goals against just one for the Cardinal, and in the second session the Cardinal could not find the back of the cage and surrendered a score to USC, providing the final margin.

In addition to a pair of goals from Eaton, Menon and Seidemann, Stanford got goals from Koree Blyleven, Kira Hillman, Alex Koran and Heather West.

In the morning contest, Stanford jumped all over Indiana, as Seidemann scored on each of the Cardinal's first three possessions to make it 3-0 within the first 2:01 of the contest. From there, the momentum just kept building as Stanford took a 6-1 halftime lead and cruised to the 11-2 victory.

Besides Seidemann's four goals in the win, Stanford also received goals from Blyleven, Eaton, Kelsey Holshouser, Kim Krueger, Alyssa Lo, Menon and West.

At 1-1 in Bracket B, Stanford will face Arizona State at 8 a.m. Sunday morning to complete group play. With a victory tomorrow, Stanford will advance to the tournament's third-place game at 3:15 p.m., to face an opponent to be determined.

Indiana - 0 1 0 1 = 2
Stanford - 3 3 2 3 = 11

Stanford Goal Scorers: Seidemann 4, Blyleven, Eaton, Holshouser, Krueger, Lo, Menon, West
Indiana Goal Scorers: Hannon, Kohl
Goalie Saves: Hall 4 (S); Wyckoff 5, Carson 2 (I)

USC - 2 2 3 2 2-1 = 12
Stanford - 3 2 2 2 1-0 = 10

Stanford Goal Scorers: Eaton 2, Menon 2, Seidemann 2, Blyleven, Hillman, Koran, West
USC Goal Scorers: Stein 4, Bekhazi 2, Dronberger 2, Craig, Dan, Lucas, Tomiuk
Goalie Saves: Oland 4 (S); Anae 2 (USC)