Nov. 8, 2009
IRVINE, Calif. - The No. 3 Stanford men's water polo team put the finishing touches on a perfect week Sunday as Ryan McCarthy and Jacob Smith each posted hat tricks to lead the Cardinal to a 12-5 victory over No. 7 UC Irvine at Anteater Pool.
Stanford (19-1, 6-0 MPSF) won its eighth game in a row and remained perfect in MPSF play to keep alive its quest for the conference's regular-season title. The Cardinal will return to Southern California next Saturday for an 11 a.m. contest against No. 1 USC. Next Saturday's contest will be the first meeting of the two schools in 2009.
Along with the three goals apiece from McCarthy and Smith, Stanford also got a pair of goals from Paul Rudolph and Drac Wigo. Travis Noll and Alex Pulido rounded out the scoring with goals of their own.
On the defensive end, Cardinal goalie Jimmie Sandman stopped nine shots.
UC Irvine opened the scoring Sunday, as Greg Enloe found the back of the cage with 3:34 left in the opening period. Yet the goal only served to wake up the Stanford offense, as it scored the next four goals, with two coming from the hand of Smith.
A successful five-meter penalty shot from UCI's Sam Figueroa cut the Stanford lead to 4-2 in the second period, but consecutive goals from Smith and McCarthy in the final five minutes of the frame put the Cardinal back in control with a 6-2 lead.
Stanford would tighten its grip on the contest in the third period, outscoring UC Irvine 4-1, then using a McCarthy goal to start the fourth period to take its largest lead of the day at 11-3.
Stanford - 3 3 4 2 = 12
UC Irvine - 1 1 1 2 = 5
Stanford Goal Scorers: McCarthy 3, J. Smith 3, D. Wigo 2, Rudolph 2, Noll, Pulido
UC Irvine Goal Scorers: Kruip 2, Bielskis, Enloe, Figueroa
Goalie Saves: Sandman 9 (S); Evered 13 (UCI)