STANFORD, Calif. - Winners of six of its last seven games, No. 5 Stanford travels to Los Angeles to compete in the 2015 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships this weekend. The Cardinal is the No. 5 seed in the tournament and will face No. 4 seed and hosts USC at 11:30 a.m. on Friday (Nov. 20) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
HOW TO FOLLOW: Every game leading up to the third-place and championship game of the MPSF Championships will be available to watch through a live stream by clicking here. The third-place and Championship Game on Sunday will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
FAMILIAR FOE: Friday’s matchup against USC in the MPSF Championships will be the third time this season the two teams have met in the pool. Highlighted by three goals from Mitchell Mendoza and 12 saves by Drew Holland, Stanford won the first meeting, 6-5, in the semifinals of the NorCal Invitational on Sept. 20 at Avery Aquatic Center. USC won the next two matchups, defeating the Cardinal, 12-8, in overtime in Los Angeles on Oct. 3 and 9-6 in the semifinals of the SoCal Invitational in Malibu, Calif. on Oct. 11.
MPSF CHAMPIONSHIPS: Stanford has won the MPSF Championships five times since 1992, most recently capturing the title last season as the No. 2 seed with a 9-8 victory over Long Beach State. The Cardinal also won the MPSF crown in 1994, 1998, 2001 and 2004. Stanford has also turned in three runner-up finishes at the event (2005, 2010, 2013), one third-place effort (2008) and finished fourth five times.
20-WIN SEASON: The Cardinal has posted three straight 20-win seasons, earning its 20th victory on Nov. 10 against Santa Clara. It’s the ninth 20-win campaign in 14 years for head coach John Vargas.
SCORING CHAMP: Senior Bret Bonanni is the new Stanford and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation career scoring leader. He scored six goals against Long Beach State on Oct. 31 to pass Tony Azevedo (332 goals from 2001-04). Bonanni is coming off a two-goal performance against California in the regular-season finale and enters the MPSF Championships with 350 career scores. After concluding his junior season with a conference-leading 96 goals, he has a team-leading 84 goals in 27 games this year. The senior recorded a career-best nine goals in the victory over MIT Sept. 5. Bonanni is the only Cardinal in history to post multiple 90-goal seasons. He has scored in 26 of Stanford’s 27 games with multiple goals in 22 contests this season. Bonanni has recorded 92 career multiple goal games and 66 career hat tricks.
51 STRAIGHT: Bret Bonanni scored at least one goal in 51 straight games from Oct. 13, 2013 to Sept. 20, 2015. His streak was snapped when he was held scoreless in Stanford’s 6-5 victory over No. 2 USC in the semifinals of the NorCal Invitational on Sept. 20. Bonanni has scored in each of Stanford’s 18 games since. Bonanni has netted multiple goals in 16 of the last 18 contests.
A LOOK AT THE POLLS: The Cardinal remained at No. 5 in the Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll for the fourth straight week in the latest national poll released on Nov. 18. Stanford has been in the top five of the national poll every week this season.
THIRD QUARTER FURY: Stanford has out-scored its opponent by 63 goals (111-48) in the third quarter this season. The Cardinal posted a season-best 10 goals in the third period against Pepperdine and recorded seven scores in the third quarter against Santa Clara on Nov. 10.
SENIOR SALUTE: In the regular-season finale on Nov. 15, Stanford honored seniors Bret Bonanni and BJ Churnside. The duo has combined to score 501 goals and, more importantly, have been a part of 85 wins. They have helped guide the Cardinal to a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances and the 2014 MPSF Championship.
MPSF LEADER: Senior Bret Bonanni (84) leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in scoring, averaging 3.1 goals per game. Redshirt junior Adam Abdulhamid (54) ranks eighth in the league, averaging 2.0 goals per game. Senior Drew Holland ranks fourth in the MPSF in goals against average at 7.38. As a team, Stanford ranks second in scoring (14.7 Goals/Game) and third in defense (allowing 6.6 Goals/Game).
CHASING THE CAGE: After totaling 31 goals in his first two seasons (15 as a freshman, 16 as a sophomore), junior Reid Chase already has 36 goals this year alone. He ranks third on the team in scoring. Chase has netted goals in five of the last six games, including a pair of scores in each of the last three contests.
RECORD-SETTING DAY FOR HOLLAND: Drew Holland registered an MPSF single-game record 23 saves in No. 5 Stanford’s 7-0 shutout of No. 7 UC Irvine Nov. 1. The Cardinal junior totaled 36 saves for the week, also posting 13 stops in the 12-8 victory over No. 8 Long Beach State on Oct. 31 to earn MPSF Player of the Week honors on Nov. 2. The Cardinal junior has recorded double-digit saves in 12 games this season. The shutout of UC Irvine was only the second time during the regular season an MPSF team was held scoreless (UCLA defeated San Jose State, 10-0, on Oct. 18). Prior to Nov. 1, UC Irvine had not been held scoreless in a game since at least 2002.
SMITH SCORING: Sophomore Cody Smith has posted 11 goals in Stanford’s last seven games. He has recorded three scores in a game three times season, against Harvard (9/5), San Jose State (10/25) and Pepperdine (11/6).
ABDULHAMID 2014 TO 2015: Redshirt junior Adam Abdulhamid is second on the team with 54 goals. The 54 goals in 27 games is 23 more than his 31 goals in 30 games during the 2014 season. Abdulhamid has scored in seven of Stanford’s last nine games, totaling 14 goals over those nine contests. Of the 21 games Abdulhamid has scored in this season, the redshirt junior has registered multiple scores in 14 of those contests.
FRESHMAN SCORING: Seven student-athletes have seen their first action for the Cardinal this season, totaling 78 goals on the year. Redshirt freshman Mitchell Mendoza leads the group with 25 goals, while true freshman Blake Parrish has recorded 19 scores.