Feb. 25, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 1 Stanford women's water polo cruised into the semifinals of the UCI Invitational Saturday, sweeping No. 19 UC San Diego and No. 9 San Diego State at Corona del Mar High School.
The Cardinal (10-0) downed UC San Diego, 14-3 in the morning then claimed a 10-3 win over San Diego State four hours later to advance.
Freshman Kiley Neushul led the Cardinal barrage with six goals over the pair of wins, highlighted by four goals in the morning win over UCSD. Kaitlyn Lo scored four times including a hat trick against the Tritons in the morning, while Alexis Lee also notched a hat trick in the victory.
Emily Dorst started the morning contest in the cage for Stanford, making six saves, then made a pair of saves over the final minutes of the afternoon win. Junior Kate Baldoni started the afternoon's win over San Diego State and stopped 13 shots through three-and-a-half quarters of action.
Stanford shot right out of the gate against the Tritons in the morning, scoring five times in the first period and four times in the second to take a 9-2 halftime lead.
Dorst, who made six saves in the contest, and the Cardinal defense would allow just one goal in the third frame to cap a strong effort against the Tritons.
The offense continued to roll, scoring four goals in the third period to go up 13-3 before adding a final tally in the fourth frame.
Along with the hat tricks from Neushul, Lee and Kaitlyn Lo, the Cardinal got goals from Monica Coughlan, Kaley Dodson, Alyssa Lo and Kelsey Suggs.
The nearly four-hour break before the afternoon contest against San Diego State didn't faze the Cardinal, as three first-period goals led to a 3-1 advantage.
The goalies for each squad were called upon often, as Baldoni stopped 13 shots. Dorst played the final 3:30 of the game for the Cardinal, making two saves and holding the Aztecs scoreless.
Aztecs goalie Kelly Campoli faced great pressure from the Cardinal attack, having to make 15 saves.
The relentless Stanford offense would score thrice more before halftime, leading to a 6-2 Cardinal edge. Each team scored once in the third period before Stanford broke the game open with three fourth-period goals.
Nueshul, Alyssa Lo and Ashley Grossman each scored twice, with Coughlan, Cassie Churnside, Kaitlyn Lo and Suggs each netting a goal.
UC San Diego - 1 1 1 0 = 3
Stanford - 5 4 4 1 = 14
UC San Diego Goal Scorers: Bates, Holbrook, Lizotte
Stanford Goal Scorers: Neushul 4, Lee 3, K. Lo 3, Coughlan, K. Dodson, A. Lo, Suggs
Goalie Saves: Dorst 6 (S); Taylor 8 (UCSD)
San Diego State - 1 1 1 0 = 3
Stanford - 3 3 1 3 = 10
Stanford Goal Scorers: Grossman 2, A. Lo 2, Neushul 2, Churnside, Coughlan, K. Lo, Suggs
San Diego State Goal Scorers: Hermann, Long, Matos
Goalie Saves: Baldoni 13, Dorst 2 (S); Campoli 15 (SDSU)