May 2, 2010
MPSF Tournament Central
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Still smarting from a semifinal upset the day before at the MPSF Tournament, No. 1 Stanford took out its frustrations in Sunday's third-place game against California, crushing the Golden Bears, 10-3.
With the win, Stanford (24-2) takes third place at the MPSF Tournament, and will await word on its National Collegiate Championship fate Monday at 3 p.m.
Melissa Seidemann and Kelly Eaton each posted hat tricks with three goals in the win, while Annika Dries scored twice and Cassie Churnside and Kim Krueger each added a goal.
Amber Oland started and made three saves in the contest, while freshman Kate Baldoni came in to mop up and stopped a pair of shots.
The Cardinal set the tone right away, netting three goals in the first period to take a 3-0 lead. Seidemann struck with her fifth goal of the tournament at the 6:02 mark, while Churnside and Krueger followed up with goals of their own to give Stanford its early cushion.
Stanford upped its lead to 4-0 as Dries scored from inside in the opening minutes of the second period. California finally got on the board with 5:20 to go in the frame but Seidemann shut down the response 1:09 later to put the Cardinal in front, 5-1, which is how the first half would end.
While California got the first goal of the second half just 37 seconds into the frame, Stanford answered with three consecutive scores to take a 9-2 lead and put the game out of reach. Dries would put the finishing touches on the Cardinal win with 1:36 remaining, scoring the team's 10th goal and closing out the scoring.
The selection show for the National Collegiate Championship will take place Monday, May 3 at 3 p.m. The 2010 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship will take place May 14-16 at San Diego State.
California - 0 1 1 1 = 3
Stanford - 3 2 1 4 = 10
Stanford Goal Scorers: Eaton 3, Seidemann 3, Dries 2, Churnside, Krueger
California Goal Scorers: Csikos, McLaren, Oreglia
Goalie Saves: Oland 3, Baldoni 2 (S); Peckham 9 (C)