Nov. 4, 2012
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Nine different players scored, including six with hat tricks, as third-ranked Stanford men's water polo finished off a non-conference weekend sweep Sunday with a 24-7 win at No. 19 Santa Clara.
The Cardinal (14-4) extended its season-best winning streak to six and posted a season high in goals Sunday. Stanford will return to MPSF play next Friday, traveling to No. 2 UCLA for a critical conference matchup at 7 p.m.
Freshmen Bret Bonanni and BJ Churnside each scored a team-high four goals while Alex Bowen, Michael Carter, Ian Gamble and Nick Hoversten netted three goals apiece. Travis Noll scored twice while Alex Avery and Robert Dunlevie each added a goal.
Clayton Evans and Hunter Ploch each played a half in the cage, making a combined three saves.
Just as in Saturday's win at UC Davis, the Cardinal jumped all over the Broncos Sunday, scoring the game's first six goals within the opening 6:45. Churnside netted two of the goals, one on the 6-on-5, while Carter capped the run with an even-strength effort with 1:15 to go in the frame. Garrat Johnson would score with 1:01 to go to get the Broncos on the board.
Hoversten and Noll would score 38 seconds apart within the opening minutes of the second period, while Carter and Bonanni would net their second goals of the game later in the frame as Stanford enjoyed a comfortable 10-3 halftime lead.
The Cardinal would score six more times in the third period before outscoring the Broncos 8-1 in the final frame to account for the final result.
Stanford - 6 4 6 8 = 24
Santa Clara - 1 2 3 1 = 7
Stanford Goal Scorers - Bonanni 4, Churnside 4, Bowen 3, Carter 3, Gamble 3, Hoversten 3, Noll 2, Avery, Dunlevie
Santa Clara Goal Scorers - Johnson 3, Moore 2, Nadel, Nichols
Goalie Saves - Evans 0, Ploch 3 (S); N/A (SCU)