BERKELEY, Calif. – Bret Bonanni scored five goals for the second consecutive game and the junior combined with Alex Bowen to score Stanford’s four in the final quarter, as the No. 2 Cardinal men’s water polo team overcame a 8-7 deficit entering the fourth to defeat No. 5 California, 11-9 in the Big Splash in Berkeley on Saturday morning.
The win was Stanford’s second in a row in Big Splash action and the Cardinal (20-3, 6-1 MPSF) is now ahead 9-7 in the series since the Steve Heaston Trophy was established for the winner. Saturday’s win also tipped the balance on the season in favor of Stanford, as the two schools had split the year’s two previous meetings.
A photo posted by @stanfordmwp on Nov 11, 2014 at 12:03pm PST
With Cal (20-5, 4-3 MPSF) leading 8-7 heading into the final quarter, Stanford’s potent combination of Bowen and Bonanni powered the Cardinal to victory in the fourth. The former scored his first of the game with 7:08 on the clock and not long thereafter fired another one home at 6:26 to give the Cardinal its first lead since early in the third.
Bonanni then followed his fellow ACWPC First Team All-American with his fourth and fifth on the day at 5:26 and 2:39. His first of the fourth quarter, which came on the break after Cal hit the post at the other end, gave Stanford a 10-8 advantage and its first two-goal lead of the match. His last came on another breakaway, this time from goalkeeper Drew Holland. Cal’s Colin Mulcahy scored with just 23 seconds before the final horn, the Bears’ only goal of the final period.
The game featured six ties and four lead changes. Cal was in control for much of the opening half and never trailed despite the 6-6 tie at the break. The Cardinal’s first and only lead before the heroics in the fourth came when Bonanni scored with 6:49 on the clock in the third quarter to put Stanford up 7-6.
Cal tallied two more from Farrel South (3:33) and Blake Kelly (1:39) to close out the penultimate period and take that one-goal edge, 8-7, heading into the final frame.
Stanford has a mid-week matchup at Santa Clara on Wednesday beginning at 6 p.m. before closing out its regular season at Avery Aquatic Center next Saturday when it hosts Pacific (13-10, 1-5 MPSF) at noon.
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 5 California
Nov. 8, 2014 • Berkeley, Calif.
STAN 3 – 3 – 1 – 4 = 11
CAL 4 – 2 – 2 – 1 = 9
Stanford Goals: Bret Bonanni 5, Alex Bowen 2, Adam Abdulhamid, Connor Stapleton, Cody Smith, BJ Churnside
Stanford Saves: Drew Holland 9
Cal Goals: Colin Mulcahy 4, Farrel South 2, Luca Cupido, Blake Kelly, Aleksa Saponjic
Cal Saves: Jon Sibley 12