Sept. 19, 2010
NorCal Invitational Central
BERKELEY, Calif. - It was a tough day in the pool for No. 4 Stanford Sunday, as the Cardinal dropped both of its contests to finish fourth at the NorCal Invitational at California's Spieker Aquatics Complex.
The day opened with a narrow 10-9 loss to No. 2 UCLA in the semifinals, then concluded with an 11-8 defeat at the hands of tournament host and top-ranked California.
Stanford will return to action two weeks from now, traveling to Los Angeles for the SoCal Invitational from Oct. 2-3.
Peter Sefton notched a hat trick in the Cardinal's opener against UCLA, while Paul Rudolph and Jacob Smith each scored three goals over the two games.
Brian Pingree went the distance in each contest, making a combined 12 saves.
In the opener, the Cardinal and Bruins participated in a well-balanced battle, as the score was even after each of the first three periods. The difference came in the fourth and final frame, a wild eight minutes which saw the teams combine for nine goals. But it was the Bruins that held the hammer, scoring five of the nine goals to capture the decision.
Along with Sefton's hat trick, Smith scored twice and additional goals were tallied by Rudolph, Ryan Kent, Travis Noll and Jeffrey Schwimer.
Pingree stopped four shots in the contest.
Despite playing in the third-place game, Stanford still had a chance to make a statement, facing top-ranked California. The Golden Bears, though, would start fast, scoring three times in each of the first two periods and taking a 6-4 lead at halftime.
Although the Cardinal would score three times in the third frame, the Golden Bears would get four of their own to take a 10-7 lead into the final eight minutes. There, both defenses would clamp down, as each team could manage only a goal apiece, and California took the 11-8 decision.
Rudolph and Wright led the Cardinal with two goals apiece, while Schwimer, Smith, Alex Avery and Alex Pulido found the back of the net as well.
In the cage, Pingree would make eight saves.
Stanford - 2 2 1 4 = 9
UCLA - 2 2 1 5 = 10
Stanford Goal Scorers: Sefton 3, Smith 2, Kent, Noll, Rudolph, Schwimer
UCLA Goal Scorers: Mirarchi 5, Hohl 2, Hennessy, Murphy, White
Goalie Saves: Pingree 4 (S); Mesesan 8 (UCLA)
Stanford - 1 3 3 1 = 8
California - 3 3 4 1 = 11
Stanford Goal Scorers: Rudolph 2, Wright 2, Avery, Pulido, Schwimer, Smith
California Goal Scorers Nasoff 3, Rackov 3, Short 2, Bergeson, Dudley, Smith
Goalie Saves: Pingree 8, Toppen 12