Nov. 7, 2010
STANFORD, Calif. - Playing for a second consecutive day, fourth-ranked Stanford men's water polo flexed its defensive muscle as goalie Brian Pingree anchored an effort that held No. 5 UC Irvine to just two goals in the Cardinal's 7-2 MPSF victory Sunday at Avery Aquatic Center.
Stanford (12-5, 5-1 MPSF) will return to action next Friday, Nov. 12, visiting UC Davis for a 6 p.m. contest. The Cardinal will then return home to host Pacific in an MPSF contest at 12 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 14.
Jacob Smith and Sage Wright each scored three times Sunday, while Jeffrey Schwimer added a goal.
Pingree made 11 saves on a day in which he and the rest of the Cardinal defense held the Anteaters scoreless into the third period. UC Irvine finally got on the board with 3:37 left in the third period, ending a scoring drought of 20:23 to start the game.
By the time of the goal, Stanford had already built a 7-0 lead on the strength of three goals in each of the first two periods and a Sage Wright score just 1:47 into the second half.
Stanford started off the day's scoring at the 5:24 mark of the first period, as Jacob Smith buried a five-meter penalty shot which was drawn by Jeffrey Schwimer. Wright would go on to fire home at the 1:58 mark, going near post off a feed from Peter Sefton.
With nine seconds remaining in the period, Smith got his second with a textbook skip shot into the upper 90, giving Stanford a 3-0 lead.
Pingree, meanwhile, made four saves in the frame to give the Cardinal its cushion. Two more saves in the second period went a long way in helping Stanford build its 6-0 lead on the strength of three more goals.
Smith got the first of those goals by converting his second penalty shot of the game, after Sefton got behind the defense to draw the penalty. Two minutes later, Wright notched a 6-on-5 goal, sneaking a shot inside the near post from a tough corner angle.
The final goal of the half came from the hand of Schwimer, one-timing a centering pass from Smith while Stanford had the extra man.
After Wright's goal to open the second half, UC Irvine cracked the scoreboard on Tom Kruip's goal in transition. The Anteaters would draw a five-meter penalty shot at 4:25 of the fourth period, and Doug Lindsey would convert to complete the scoring.
UC Irvine - 0 0 1 1 = 2
Stanford - 3 3 1 0 = 7
Stanford Goal Scorers: Smith 3, Wright 3, Schwimer
UC Irvine Goal Scorers: T. Kruip, Lindsey
Goalie Saves: Pingree 11 (S); Johnson 3 (UCI)