STOCKTON, Calif. – Following an 11-8 semifinal victory over No. 4 California in the morning, the No. 1 Stanford men’s water polo team came up short for the first time in 2014 in the evening, falling to No. 2 UCLA, 9-7, to finish second at the Kap7 NorCal Classic in Stockton.
With the results, the Cardinal is now 6-1 and will cross the Bay again next weekend when it heads to Davis, Calif. for the Aggie Shootout with matchups scheduled against Chapman and Occidental on Saturday and No. 16 Navy and No. 20 Whittier on Sunday.
No. 1 Stanford 11 – No. 4 California 8
In the semifinals, the Cardinal’s defense held Cal scoreless for nearly 20 minute spanning the first to third quarters to take a four-goal lead it would never relinquish.
Cal started off the scoring one minute in and the two sides traded goals until Nick Hoversten evened things up, 4-4, on an exclusion goal with 1:23 on the clock in the opening frame. From that moment on, the Golden Bears wouldn’t get one past Drew Holland until there was 1:12 left in the third period, but by that point it was too little, too late.
Hoversten’s goal started a 5-0 run for Stanford as Bret Bonanni closed out the first half with a power play score of his own (0:12). Bonanni put home both goals for Stanford in the third at even strength before Reid Chase capped off the run with 2:30 left before the final stanza.
Stanford opened its led as large as five, 10-5, on a man-up goal from Alex Bowen in the fourth with 5:12 to go. The 11-8 final was the Cardinal’s fourth straight over Cal. Drew Holland made 10 saves in the win.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 4 California
Sept. 21, 2014 • Stockton, Calif.
CAL 4 – 0 – 1 – 3 = 8
STAN 5 – 2 – 1 – 3 = 11
Cal Goals: Luca Cupido 3, Colin Mulcahy 2, Aleksa Saponjic, Pedro Stellet, Chandler Jarrels-Stickney
Cal Saves: Jon Sibley 5
Stanford Goals: Bret Bonanni 3, BJ Churnside 2, Nick Hoversten 2, Adam Abdulhamid, Alex Bowen, Reid Chase, Sam Pfeil
Stanford Saves: Drew Holland 10
No. 2 UCLA 9 – No. 1 Stanford 7
The tournament championship pitted two undefeateds, No. 1 vs. No. 2, as UCLA attempted to defend its NorCal Classic title.
UCLA jumped out to an early 2-0 lead on goals from Ryder Roberts (6:42) and Chris Fahlsing (5:32), but Alex Bowen answered with his first of a game-high three at 4:44. The Bruins’ Gordon Marshall extended his squad’s lead with a power play goal at 4:05 in the first, but the Cardinal’s Griffin Bolan and Connor Stapleton evened things up with a pair of man-up scores at 3:01 and 1:39.
The seesaw battled continued to 4-4 early in the second. Bowen’s 6-on-5 goal (7:14) responded to Ryder Roberts’ successful penalty that rattled the cage with seven seconds left in the first quarter.
UCLA would score the game’s next three to take a three-goal lead midway through the third. Anthony Daboub scored from the front court to put UCLA up 5-4 (1:57) and then Paul Reynolds extended it to 6-4 with a counter attack strike with 30 seconds left in the second period.
The Bruins got the first score of the third period, a low skip shot by Reynolds, his second of the game, to put UCLA up 7-4 (5:21).
At that point, Stanford responded with three unanswered to knot things up, 7-7, heading into the fourth. Bowen (3:36) and Bret Bonnani (1:42) scored two at even strength before Bowen capped the mini spurt with an exclusion goal just 32 seconds before the horn at the end of the third period.
Stanford was shut out in the fourth and unsuccessful on three power plays. Cristiano Mirarchi got the game-winner at the 4:36 mark and Chancellor Ramirez added an insurance goal (:35) with an exclusion goal to seal things for UCLA.
No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 1 Stanford
Sept. 21, 2014 • Stockton, Calif.
UCLA 4 – 2 – 1 – 2 = 9
STAN 3 – 1 – 3 – 0 = 7
UCLA Goals: Paul Reynolds 2, Ryder Roberts 2, Anthony Daboub, Chris Fahlsing, Gordon Marshall, Cristiano Mirarchi, Chancellor Ramirez
UCLA Saves: Garrett Danner 11
Stanford Goals: Alex Bowen 4, Bret Bonanni, Griffin Bolan, Connor Stapleton
Stanford Saves: Drew Holland 2