Feb. 26, 2011
CORONA del MAR, Calif. - Top-ranked Stanford women's water polo ran its perfect record to start the season to 11-0 Saturday, clocking in with a pair of victories over CS Bakersfield and No. 9 Arizona State in UCI Invitational play at Corona del Mar High School.
Stanford (11-0) will now head into Sunday's semifinal round to take on No. 5 Hawai'i at UC Irvine's Anteater Pool at 10:30 a.m. The winner will advance to Sunday's title game at 5:15 p.m.
Saturday, the Cardinal outscored its opponents by a 34-10 margin. The day started with a 19-3 victory over CS Bakersfield, then closed out with a 15-7 win against the ninth-ranked Sun Devils.
Alyssa Lo and Melissa Seidemann led the Cardinal with five goals apiece Saturday, while freshman Kaley Dodson netted four goals over the two wins. Kim Krueger got all three of her goals in the afternoon win over Arizona State.
All three Stanford goalies saw action over the two games. Kate Baldoni started in the morning, making four saves in the opening period against the Roadrunners before turning things over to Kim Hall, who made six saves and allowed just two goals over the final three periods.
Amber Oland started against the Sun Devils in the afternoon, stopping nine shots in three periods of play before Baldoni came in for the fourth period to make three saves.
After CS Bakersfield netted the game's first goal Saturday morning, Stanford answered with five goals in the frame to take the 5-1 lead. That run began what would become an incredible run of 19 straight goals that ran into the fourth period before the Roadrunners scored again.
Seven second-period goals essentially put things away in the form of a 12-1 halftime lead, and the Cardinal added seven more in the second half.
Dodson and Seidemann each tallied hat tricks in the win. Lo, Monica Coughlan, Vee Dunlevie and Jillian Garton each scored twice, and individual goals were scored by Alexis Lee, Pallavi Menon, Lexie Ross and Kelsey Suggs.
The afternoon meeting with Arizona State featured much of the same as Stanford shot out of the gates with nine first-half goals. Those goals, combined with a strong defensive effort, propelled the Cardinal to a 9-2 halftime lead over the Sun Devils.
The Cardinal onslaught continued into the third frame, in which Stanford netted four more goals to take a 13-4 lead and seize firm control of the contest.
Hat tricks were registered by Krueger and Alyssa Lo, while Seidemann and Annika Dries each scored twice. Dodson, Le, Menon, Victoria Kennedy and Kaitlyn Lo each added a goal in the win.
CS Bakersfield - 1 0 0 2 = 3
Stanford - 5 7 6 1 = 19
Stanford Goal Scorers: Dodson 3, Seidemann 3, Coughlan 2, Dunlevie 2, Garton 2, A. Lo 2, Krueger, Lee, Menon, Ross, Suggs
CS Bakersfield Goal Scorers: Browning, Hanson, Shead
Goalie Saves: Baldoni 4, Hall 6 (S); Pezzolla 5, Morisaki 3 (CSB)
Arizona State - 1 1 2 3 = 7
Stanford - 4 5 4 2 = 15
Stanford Goal Scorers: Krueger 3, A. Lo 3, Dries 2, Seidemann 2, Dodson, Kennedy, Lee, K. Lo, Menon
Arizona State Goal Scorers: Harris 2, White 2, Haas, Morrison, Young
Goalie Saves: Oland 9, Baldoni 3 (S); Hutchinson 10 (ASU)