STANFORD, Calif. – In a matchup of two of the top men’s water polo programs in the nation, top-ranked UCLA edged fourth-ranked Stanford, 8-7, in the Championship Game of the Kap7 NorCal Invitational Sunday evening at Avery Aquatic Center.
Trailing 6-3 in the middle of the third quarter, the Cardinal (8-1) used a pair of goals from senior Bret Bonanni and a score from redshirt freshman Mitchell Mendoza in a span of 1:59 to tie the game at 6-6. Bonanni opened the scoring run with a shot from five meters out that was deflected and found the back of the net. Mendoza then put the ball in the top right corner of the cage 44 seconds later. Bonanni tied it up with 2:30 to play in the third, scoring from the corner.
UCLA’s Ryder Roberts ended the Cardinal run, scoring with 50 seconds left in the period to give the Bruins (9-0) a 7-6 edge heading into the final quarter.
Chancellor Ramirez then gave UCLA a two-score lead, corralling a loose ball off a rebound and scoring with 4:52 to play.
Bonanni registered his third goal of the game with 43 seconds left to make it 8-7, but the Bruins held off the Cardinal to take the win.
Junior goalie Drew Holland posted 12 saves against the Bruins, giving him 24 for the day. The Cardinal keeper recorded 12 stops against No. 2 USC earlier in the day.
Goal Stanford! Cody Smith with the score for the Cardinal in the 2nd quarter to cut UCLA's lead to 3-2 pic.twitter.com/Mm3Is268a3
— Stanford Water Polo (@StanfordMWP) September 21, 2015
(Cody Smith scored early in the second quarter for Stanford.)
Stanford will return to action next Saturday and Sunday (Sept. 26-27) as the Cardinal competes in the Aggie Shootout in Davis, Calif. Stanford will face Concordia at noon and host UC Davis at 4 p.m. PT next Saturday. The Cardinal will meet Santa Clara at noon and San Jose State at 4 p.m. PT next Sunday in the two-day tournament.