Oct. 29, 2011
LOS ANGELES, Calif. - In a battle of the top two defenses of the MPSF, it was No. 2 USC that came out on top with an 8-4 win over No. 3 Stanford Saturday in Los Angeles.
Stanford (14-4, 3-2 MPSF) returns to Southern California next weekend, visiting Long Beach State on Saturday and UC Irvine Sunday for a pair of MPSF contests.
USC improved to 14-2 and 5-0 in the MPSF.
A slow start coupled with three first-period USC goals put the Cardinal on the back heel right away Saturday. The Cardinal didn't get on the board until the second frame, and would only score once over the opening 16 minutes while falling behind 5-1 by halftime.
The Cardinal defense recovered in the second half, while the offense found the back of the net as well. But the teams would play to a 3-3 draw in the second half and Stanford would suffer its second conference loss.
Alex Bowen scored three of the four Cardinal goals Saturday, with Peter Sefton accounting for the fourth. Defensively, goalie Brian Pingree stopped seven shots.
USC goalie Joel Dennerley made 14 saves as the Trojans withstood Stanford's attack to hold the Cardinal to a season-low four goals.
Stanford - 0 1 1 2 = 4
USC - 3 2 2 1 = 8
Stanford Goal Scorers: Bowen 3, Sefton
USC Goal Scorers: Boswell 2, Kurzeka 2, Davie, Plaga, Rosnethal, Siri
Goalie Saves: Pingree 7 (S); Dennerley 14 (USC)