April 24, 2009
HONOLULU, Hawai'i - The No. 2 Stanford women's water polo team got the MPSF Tournament started just right Friday, registering a 13-6 quarterfinal victory over No. 7 San Diego State at Hawai'i's Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
Alex Koran scored four times to lead Stanford, which improved to 23-2 on the season and advanced to the semifinals of the draw. The Cardinal will take on No. 3 UCLA Saturday at 10:30 p.m. PT in the second semifinal.
Along with Koran's scoring, the Cardinal also got plenty of offense from Alyssa Lo, Pallavi Menon and Lauren Silver, who each scored twice, and Kelly Eaton, Kim Krueger and Melissa Seidemann, who each chipped in with a goal.
Amber Oland and Kim Hall each saw time in the cage in the victory, with Oland making seven saves and Hall stopping five shots of her own.
For the first time in four games, Stanford netted a goal in the first period on Friday, making up for lost time by racking up five straight scores in the opening period. Lo scored both of her goals in the opening eight minutes, while Silver, Koran and Eaton each added one.
Koran scored her second goal to up Stanford's lead to 6-0 early in the second period, before Hawai'i scored the next two goals of the half to cut Stanford's lead to 6-2 at halftime.
Yet the Cardinal would take control of the contest early in the second half, as Koran netted the first two goals of the third period to make it 8-2 Stanford. From there, the Cardinal would score five more goals to cement its advantage and cruise to the victory.
San Diego State - 0 2 1 3 = 6
Stanford - 5 1 3 4 = 13
Stanford Goal Scorers: Koran 4, Lo 2, Menon 2, Silver 2, Eaton, Krueger, Seidemann
San Diego State Goal Scorers: Schuster, Ford, Gonzales, Keach
Goalie Saves: Oland 7, Hall 5 (S); Campoli 6 (SDSU)