Sept. 18, 2011
STOCKTON, Calif. - Stanford men's water polo dropped decisions to USC and California Sunday to finish fourth at the NorCal Invitational in Stockton. The day opened with a 12-5 loss to the top-ranked Trojans, then closed with a narrow, one-goal defeat at the hands of the second-ranked Golden Bears.
The Cardinal will return to the pool in two weeks, traveling to Long Beach for the SoCal Tournament from Oct. 1-2.
Jacob Smith scored four times for the Cardinal Sunday, including a hat trick against California. Freshman Alex Bowen continued his solid debut weekend with two goals while senior Peter Sefton notched a goal in each contest.
Brian Pingree made a total of 15 saves on the day to pace the defensive effort.
The Cardinal found itself on the back heel right away in the morning semifinal against USC, conceding three goals in the opening 3:05. The Trojans would add a fourth almost three minutes later while their defense bottled up the Cardinal attack for a 4-0 first-period lead.
Bowen got the Cardinal on the board 55 seconds into the second frame to cut the deficit to 4-1, but USC's offense would reassert itself with a 6-on-5 goal a minute later and follow that with three more goals over a span of 3:20 to go ahead 8-1.
Despite goals from Smith and Watkins in the final two minutes, USC's Peter Kuzeka and Forest Monroe would net the fifth and sixth goals of the frame for the Trojans and a 10-3 halftime lead.
Stanford opened the second-half scoring but USC would add a pair in response. The Cardinal would only manage a goal in the fourth frame and would be relegated to the third-place game.
Along with the goals from Bowen, Smith and Watkins, Ryan Kent and Peter Sefton added scores against the Trojans.
In the third-place game, Stanford faced off against cross-bay rival California. Smith would give the Cardinal an early before California's Luka Saponjic equalized. The teams would trade goals before California pulled ahead, 3-2, by the end of the frame.
The Golden Bears would get a fourth from Ivan Rackov to take a 4-2 lead just 44 seconds into the second period, but the Cardinal would answer with goals from Smith, Bowen and Alex Avery to take a 5-4 lead just over two minutes before halftime.
The teams traded goals in the third frame, and the Cardinal held a slim 6-5 advantage heading into the final period. However, California would take the lead with two straight goals inside of the first two minutes of the frame.
Smith pulled the Cardinal even with 4:05 to go, but Rackov's third goal of the game put California ahead with 2:23 to play, and the Golden Bears would hold off the Cardinal for the win.
Stanford - 0 3 1 1 = 5
USC - 4 6 2 0 = 12
Stanford Goal Scorers: Bowen, Kent, Sefton, Smith, Watkins
USC Goal Scorers: Davie 2, Genidounias 2, Rosenthal 2, Virjee 2, Kuzeka, Monroe, Plaga, Rapsey
Goalie Saves: Pingree 6 (S); Dennerley 12 (USC)
Stanford - 2 3 1 1 = 7
California - 3 1 1 3 = 8
Stanford Goal Scorers: Smith 3, Bowen 2, Avery, Sefton
California Goal Scorers: Rackov 3, Greenwood, A. Saponjic, L. Saponjic, Smith, Steffens
Goalie Saves: Pingree 9 (S); Parsons 11 (C)