Nov. 6, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Fourth-ranked Stanford men's water polo withstood a physical contest and hit back harder in an 11-6 MPSF victory over No. 8 Long Beach State Saturday at Avery Aquatic Center.
Junior driver Jacob Smith fought his way to a game-high four goals in the win, while Jeffrey Schwimer tallied three goals of his own in just the Cardinal's second home game of the year. The win keeps Stanford in the MPSF regular-season race with a 4-1 conference record, and ups its overall mark to 11-5.
Stanford closes the weekend Sunday afternoon at Avery Aquatic Center, hosting UC Irvine at 12 p.m. in another MPSF contest.
While Smith and Schwimer combined for seven goals, Sage Wright added a pair and additional goals were scored by Ryan Kent and Paul Rudolph. In the cage, junior Brian Pingree made eight saves while going the distance.
Stanford took a 4-2 lead after a physical first period that had a combined 11 penalties and exclusions. Long Beach State used the first of the two penalties in the frame to take a 1-0 lead at the 6:03 mark, as Alexsandr Petrovic converted from five meters.
The period's second penalty went Stanford's way, drawn by Wright. Smith stepped up and went lower-corner to even things up at 5:49, then on the next trip down, Schwimer converted off of a Smith feed to score a 6-on-5 goal and make it 2-1 Cardinal.
Shane Luth equalized for Long Beach 20 seconds later, but Wright answered a few possessions later in transition to put the Cardinal ahead for good at 3-2. Two minutes later, after another Long Beach exclusion, Kent scored from up close to make it 4-2.
The Cardinal lead got up to 5-2 48 seconds into the second frame as Smith converted his second penalty shot of the day. Wright drew the penalty once more, this time by out-hustling 49er goalie Matthew Kubeck to a loose ball behind the defense and drawing contact.
The teams traded a pair of goals apiece the rest of the half, with Stanford getting scores from Wright and Rudolph to make it 7-4 at the break.
The Cardinal defense took the spotlight in the third period, holding the 49ers off the board. Pingree's defensive play allowed his offense to put up two more goals from the hands of Smith and Schwimer, giving Stanford a 9-4 advantage.
Each team would score twice in the final frame, as Stanford built its lead to 11-5 before Long Beach State scored the game's last goal with 3:35 remaining.
Long Beach State - 2 2 0 2 = 6
Stanford - 4 3 2 2 = 11
Stanford Goal Scorers: Smith 4, Schwimer 3, Wright 2, Kent, Rudolph
Long Beach State Goal Scorers: Rascon 3, Luth, Petrovic, Snyder
Goalie Saves: Pingree 8 (S); Kubeck 4 (LBSU)