Oct. 17, 2010
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - No. 4 Stanford men's water polo earned its first road victory and with it a split of its first MPSF road weekend Sunday, defeating sixth-ranked UC Santa Barbara, 8-6.
The win improves Stanford's record to 8-5 overall and keeps the Cardinal in second place in the MPSF at 2-1. Stanford will continue its four-game road stretch next Sunday, October 24, when it returns to Southern California, taking on Pepperdine for a 12 noon contest in Malibu.
UC Santa Barbara dropped to 9-5 overall and 0-1 in MPSF play.
Jacob Smith and Sage Wright each scored twice in the Cardinal's win Sunday. Ian Gamble, Travis Noll, Paul Rudolph and Jeffrey Schwimer all added a goal in the contest.
On the defensive end, Brian Pingree made eight saves and helped the Cardinal take a 5-2 halftime lead by holding the Gauchos scoreless in the second period.
Three of Stanford's goals came courtesy of five-meter penalty shots, and another two came during 6-on-5 situations.
UCSB's Milos Golic put the Gauchos ahead early on but this would end up being the only time the Cardinal trailed in the contest. Back-to-back goals from the Cardinal provided a quick answer and led to a 2-1 advantage.
After the Gauchos tied things up at 2-2, the Cardinal would add two more goals in the period and one more in the second frame while holding UCSB scoreless. The defensive stand would allow the Cardinal to take a 5-2 lead into the locker room at halftime.
Stanford started the second half with its fourth straight goal, going up 6-2. The Gauchos would mount a small comeback, getting to within a pair of goals at 7-4 by the end of the third period. Both teams, though, would have their defenses take over in the final frame, limiting each other to just one goal, as the Cardinal claimed the 8-6 win.
Stanford - 4 1 2 1 = 8
UCSB - 2 0 3 1 = 6
Stanford Goal Scorers: Smith 2, Wright 2, Gamble, Noll, Rudolph, Schwimer
UCSB Goal Scorers: Baliani, Dellinger, Golic, Gronow, Shoemaker
Goalie Saves: Pingree 8 (S); Bunn 4, Christian 5 (UCSB)