Oct. 7, 2011
Top-ranked Stanford men's water polo's quartet of seniors all made an impact Friday night as the Cardinal cruised past No. 8 Pepperdine, 9-5, at Avery Aquatic Center.
Ryan Kent netted a hat trick to pace the Cardinal (8-2, 1-0 MPSF), while Jacob Smith and Peter Sefton each added goals. Senior goalie Brian Pingree made six saves and coordinated a strong defensive effort that limited the Waves (7-6, 0-2 MPSF) to just one first-half goal.
Paul Rudolph added a pair of goals while Forrest Watkins and Alex Bowen each found the net as well.
Stanford did most of its damage in the first half, outscoring the Waves 6-1. Watkins opened the scoring just 1:47 into the game and Kent netted his first five minutes later to double the Stanford advantage.
Pepperdine halved the deficit behind the arm of Andrew Milcovich, who would go on to record a hat trick of his own, but the Waves' momentum took a huge hit in the frame's final second. Bowen was fouled on the right wing with a second remaining, and on the restart fired home past Pepperdine goalie Bence Valics for the 3-1 lead.
Kent scored on the 6-on-5 two and a half minutes into the second period, followed two minutes later by Rudolph's first score. Sefton brought the Cardinal lead to 6-1 1:43 before halftime and the Waves were fully on the back heel when the halftime buzzer went off.
Stanford needed only 24 seconds to extend its run to 5-0 as Kent completed his hat trick. Although the Waves would score twice in the frame to make it 7-3, Stanford would score twice in the opening three minutes of the fourth period to put the game away.
The Cardinal continues its weekend homestand Sunday afternoon, hosting No. 5 UC Santa Barbara at 12 noon at Avery Aquatic Center.
Pepperdine - 1 0 2 2 = 5
Stanford - 3 3 1 2 = 9
Stanford Goal Scorers: Kent 3, Rudolph 2, Bowen, Sefton, Smith, Watkins
Pepperdine Goal Scorers: Milcovich 3, Castillo, DeTrane
Goalie Saves: Pingree 6 (S); Valics 6 (P)