FRESNO, Calif. – It was another dominating afternoon in the pool for the No. 1 Stanford women’s water polo team at the Fresno Pacific Mini Tournament on Saturday. The Cardinal made the trip south and nabbed a pair of victories over No. 12 San Diego State, 18-6, and the host Sunbirds, 20-1.
With the wins, Stanford moves to 8-0 this season and has now won 24 straight dating back to 2014. The winning streak is the Cardinal’s longest since the program won the first 24 games of the 2011 season en route to a 28-1 record and the first in its recent run of national championships.
No. 1 Stanford 18 – No. 12 San Diego State 6
Ashley Grossman poured in a season-high six goals, Kiley Neushul added four of her own and No. 1 Stanford cruised to an 18-6 win over No. 12 San Diego State to open the FPU Mini Tournament on Saturday.
The Cardinal answered each Aztec tally with a spurt of its own to take control. After Grossman opened the scoring with one of her three first-quarter goals, SDSU’s Caroline Israels tied things up at 5:38 before the Cardinal would fire home the game’s next four.
Grossman continued her torrid start with goals at 5:21 and 3:06, giving way to an exclusion score from Lauren Norheim at 2:03, the first goal of the freshman’s career.
San Diego State rattled the cage right before the end of the frame to make it 5-2 after one, but Stanford scored all four in the second quarter to lead 9-2 at halftime. Grossman again led her squad, scoring twice in the stanza along with single marks from Gurpreet Sohi and Katie Dudley.
Kiley Neushul scored all four of her goals in the third quarter to keep SDSU at bay, as the Aztecs accounted for four scores in the period. Neushul scored her first two at even strength (7:21 and 6:25) and final two in 6-on-5 situations (6:02 and 1:04). Dani Jackovich added an exclusion goal of her own (5:05) and scored another on the power play in the fourth quarter to help Stanford close out the match with a perfect 4-0 run in the final eight minutes.
Grossman, Jamie Neushul and Rachel Johnson joined Jackovich in the scoring column and the Cardinal cruised to the 18-6 final.
Gabby Stone made eight saves in three quarters and allowed two goals. Emily Dorst made a save while manning the cage in the third.
The win was Stanford’s fifth of the season over a ranked opponent, all coming in the team’s last five games.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 12 San Diego State
Feb. 14, 2015 • Fresno, Calif.
SDSU 2 – 0 – 4 – 0 = 6
STAN 5 – 4 – 5 – 4 = 18
San Diego State Goals: Caroline Israels 2, Anique Hermann, Alex Hoetker, Makena Magro, Mikayla Vessey,
San Diego State Saves: Rachel Mitchell 10, Kate McDonnell
Stanford Goals: Ashley Grossman 6, Kiley Neushul 4, Dani Jackovich 2, Katie Dudley, Rachel Johnson, Lauren Norheim, Jamie Neushul, Gurpreet Sohi, Maggie Steffens
Stanford Saves: Gabby Stone 8, Emily Dorst 1
No. 1 Stanford 20 – Fresno Pacific 1
Eleven Cardinal scored in the team’s final game on Saturday as Stanford left Fresno with a 20-1 victory over host Fresno Pacific. It was the program’s second time reaching the 20-goal plateau this season.
Gurpreet Sohi, Kiley Neushul and Maggie Steffens cranked in goals within the first two minutes. FPU’s Alyssa Stevens scored with 5:10 on the clock in the opening quarter to account for the Sunbird’s lone goal.
The Cardinal scored six in the first, four in the second and five each in the third and fourth quarters to storm through to the win.
Season-high goal totals from Sohi (4), Rachel Johnson (3), Steffens (3) and Shannon Cleary (2) helped the Cardinal to its fifth double-digit margin of victory in 2015.
No. 1 Stanford vs. Fresno Pacific
Feb. 14, 2015 • Fresno, Calif.
FPU 1 – 0 – 0 – 0 = 1
STAN 6 – 4 – 5 – 5 = 20
FPU Goals: Alyssa Stevens
Stanford Goals: Gurpreet Sohi 4, Rachel Johnson 3, Maggie Steffens 3, Shannon Cleary 2, Ashley Grossman 2, Katie Dudley, Dani Jackovich, Jamie Neushul, Kiley Neushul, Cassidy Papa, Sophia Monaghan