DAVIS, Calif. – Eight Cardinal found the back of the cage led by Bret Bonanni’s season-high five goals, Drew Holland made eight saves and the No. 2 Stanford men’s water polo team won its sixth straight with a 17-5 victory over No. 11 UC Davis at Schaal Aquatics Center on Sunday afternoon.
Stanford is now 12-1 overall and off to its best start since winning 19 of its first 20 games in the 2009 season.
After getting off to a somewhat slow start offensively against No. 9 UC Irvine in Saturday’s home opener, the Cardinal returned to form at that end of the pool on Sunday and opened up a five-goal lead midway through the second quarter, 6-1.
Bonanni (5:53), Nick Hoversten (3:13) and Jackson Kimbell (0:05) scored for Stanford in the first while Holland stopped four Aggie attempts and only allowed one through. Adam Abdulhamid scored his first of two goals early in the second quarter (7:14) and was backed up with tallies from Bonanni (4:31), Cody Smith (3:46) and Bonanni again (0:18).
At halftime, Stanford held a 7-2 edge and further distanced itself from UC Davis by outscoring its opponent 6-1 in the third. BJ Churnside (7:04) and Bonanni (6:26) took advantage of a pair of 6-on-5 opportunities to widen the lead to 9-2. UC Davis scored once at 4:31 before the Cardinal reeled off the period’s final four scores.
Smith converted a penalty at 4:13 before Connor Stapleton added a goal at full strength (2:30). Churnside and Bonanni (science, technology and society major) ended the frame as it started, scoring at 1:34 and 0:02, respectively.
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Showing some love for Women's Field Hockey while they dominate the Aggies #GoStanford
Abdulhamid (electrical engineering major) added his second with 2:58 until the final horn to give Stanford its first double-digit lead of the day, 14-4. Senior utility Alex Bowen (product design major) closed out the match by firing home three goals in rapid succession in the fourth, at 2:16, 1:22 and 0:29.
Holland faced 22 shots and made the eight saves. On the weekend, he totaled 25 saves and allowed a combined 11 goals to the ninth and 11th-ranked teams in the country. He has 289 career saves and needs just 11 for 300.
Bonanni’s five goals were a season high after he had reached the four-score mark on four separate occasions in 2014. His eight goals this weekend moved him one ahead of Jody Campbell (1978-81) for fourth on Stanford’s all-time list (212). The junior also became the fourth Cardinal to score five times in a game this season, joining Bowen, Smith and Sam Pfeil.
Coupled with his game-high four goals yesterday, BJ Churnside (electrical engineering major) scored six on the weekend and now has 96 in his career. Four more would make him the third active Cardinal to hit triple digits along with Bonanni and Bowen.
Stanford returns to tournament action next weekend in Southern California on the campus of UCLA. The Cardinal opens the SoCal Tournament on Saturday, Oct. 11 at 8 a.m. against Loyola Marymount.
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 11 UC Davis
Oct. 5, 2014 • Davis, Calif.
STAN 3 – 4 – 6 – 4 = 17
UCD 1 – 1 – 1 – 2 = 5
Stanford Goals: Bret Bonanni 5, Alex Bowen 3, Adam Abdulhamid 2, BJ Churnside 2, Cody Smith 2, Nick Hoversten, Jackson Kimbell, Connor Stapleton
Stanford Saves: Drew Holland 8
UCD Goals: Sean Grab 2, Chris Richardson 2, Austin Beckwith
UCD Saves: Spencer Creed 11