May 9, 2009
National Collegiate Championship Central
Postgame Quotes
COLLEGE PARK, Md. - Stanford's quest for a second women's water polo national championship came to a cruel end Saturday at the University of Maryland's Eppley Recreational Center, as the UCLA Bruins scored the deciding goal as time expired to claim a 12-11 victory over the Cardinal in the semifinals of the National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship.
Stanford (25-4) will now play for third place Sunday at 2 p.m. PT (5 p.m. ET), facing the No. 4 seed Hawai'i.
Lauren Silver led Stanford with four goals in the contest, including a game-tying five-meter penalty shot with 27 seconds remaining that tied the game up at 11-11. Kelly Eaton scored three times while additional goals were added by Kira Hillman, Kim Krueger, Pallavi Menon and Jessica Steffens.
Amber Oland made three saves in the contest.
After Silver's penalty shot tied things up, UCLA took possession with the shot clock off and 27 seconds remaining. Heather West would be ejected with 5.53 seconds on the clock, giving UCLA a 6-on-5 and a small window to work with to attempt to score the game-winner.
The Bruins would end up getting that goal, as Megan Burmeister got free at the near post, and with a clear, point-blank look at the net tossed in the game-winning score as the final horn sounded.
Stanford looked to have the momentum when Hillman's goal with 4:38 to play gave the Cardinal a 10-8 advantage. The goal came just 1:14 after Eaton's 6-on-5 goal gave Stanford the lead at 9-8.
Yet UCLA would abandon all caution over the final four and a half minutes, driving at Stanford and scoring four of the last five goals of the game. The Bruin rally started with a Tanya Gandy goal on a five-meter penalty shot just 15 seconds after Hillman's goal, then, just under two minutes later, UCLA would equalize as Kelly Easterday scored with 2:37 to play.
UCLA would re-take the lead at 11-10 thanks to Anne Belden's third goal of the contest with just over a minute remaining. Stanford would jockey for an open look in the ensuing possession, and would catch a major break with 28 seconds remaining that set up Silver's tying penalty shot.
With the shot clock winding down on the Cardinal, the team frantically attempted to get a shot away when UCLA's bench discharged its airhorn, signaling for a timeout. Yet in water polo, a team must have possession in order to call time, and since UCLA was on defense when the horn was sounded, Stanford was awarded a five-meter penalty shot, which Silver converted to set up UCLA's final possession.
The final goal spoiled what had been a gutsy effort by Stanford to fight back from an early deficit. After conceding the game's first two goals, and trailing by a pair after both the first and second periods, the Cardinal opened the second half with a chip on its shoulder, winning the sprint and a few minutes later cutting the deficit in half thanks to Silver's goal on a five-meter penalty shot.
UCLA would re-establish its two-goal cushion on the ensuing possession with 4:56 left in the third period, but Stanford would put together its best offensive stretch of the contest, scoring three straight goals over a stretch of 1:54 to grab its first lead of the game at 7-6 with 1:35 left in the period.
Krueger started the run with a shot from the wing at the 3:29 mark, and after the defense forced a shot-clock violation from UCLA, some deft Stanford passing around the perimeter allowed Menon to knot things up at 6-6 with a strike from the left side.
Steffens would complete the run after another UCLA turnover, scoring a 6-on-5 goal after Stanford called timeout to set up its offense for the power play.
Yet just as quickly, UCLA would end the period with a two-goal flurry, as Gandy scored with 1:22 on the clock, followed by Katie Estrada's strike with 17 seconds remaining that swung the lead back to UCLA at 8-7.
The Cardinal then opened the fourth period with a goal from Eaton to even things up at 8-8, as the offense got a second chance when Hillman secured the rebound of a Silver shot that barred out.
Stanford converted on four of its nine extra attacker situations, while also converting both of its five-meter penalty shots.
UCLA - 3 2 3 4 = 12
Stanford - 1 2 4 4 = 11
Stanford Goal Scorers: Silver 4, Eaton 3, Hillman, Krueger, Menon, Steffens
UCLA Goal Scorers: Gandy 4, Belden 3, Burmeister 2, Rulon, Easterday, Estrada
Goalie Saves: Oland 3 (S); Fullen 6 (UCLA)