What's Ahead
No. 4 Stanford (9-1) returns to action this weekend in Irvine, Calif. at the UC Irvine Invitational. The Cardinal opens with No. 14 Loyola Marymount on Saturday, Feb. 27 at 10:30 a.m. A win would move Stanford on to face the winner of No. 5 UC Davis and No. 13 UC San Diego at 4 p.m. The losers of the two games will meet in the consolation quarterfinals at 5:15 p.m. All but one of the 16 teams in attendance are ranked in the CWPA Women’s Varsity Top 20.
UC Irvine Invitational History
Now in its 10th year, Stanford is 30-6 all-time at the UC Irvine Invitational and was tournament champion in 2007, 2009 and 2011. Last season, the Cardinal advanced to the event’s championship before falling in overtime to then-No. 2 UCLA, 7-6.
Looking Back
The Cardinal swept Sunday action at the Davis Shootout on Feb. 21. Stanford beat UC Davis to start things off, 14-5, behind four-goal efforts from Jamie Neushul and Anna Yelizarova. The Cardinal returned to the pool in the afternoon and toppled Brown, 17-0, thanks to 13 saves from Julia Hermann and hat tricks from Dani Jackovich, Sophia Monaghan and Gurpreet Sohi.
MPSF Player of the Week
Goalkeeper Julia Hermann earned her first career MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week honor when the conference announced its weekly awards on Tuesday afternoon. The redshirt sophomore lowered her goals against average by a full point with a pair of stellar performances in the cage at the Davis Shootout on Sunday, making 21 total saves and allowing just five goals in eight quarters. Hermann, seeing the first extended action of her career, lowered her goals against average to 5.83 and upped her saves per game to 8.69 in the wins.
Strong Start
Stanford freshman Kat Klass, named MPSF/Kap7 Newcomer of the Week on Jan. 19, is among the league’s top freshman field players. Klass, the daughter of Cardinal men’s water polo All-American and 1986 NCAA Player of the Year Craig Klass, leads MPSF first-year players with 1.90 goals per game. She’s seventh in the conference overall in goals per game and tied for fifth in total goals (19).
Rewind To 2015
The Cardinal won 25 games for the ninth consecutive season in 2015 and made history by becoming the first host institution to win the NCAA Women’s Water Polo Championship. The national crown was the fifth in program history and the Cardinal’s fourth in the past five seasons.
A photo posted by Stanford Women's Water Polo (@stanfordwwaterpolo) on Nov 15, 2015 at 10:30am PST
World University Games
Stanford had an early start to building a cohesive unit heading into this season. Over the summer, the Cardinal represented the United States at the World University Games in Gwangju, South Korea. After going 1-2-1 in pool play, the U.S. went 2-1 in its final three games to come in fifth out of the 10-team field. Jamie Neushul led the U.S. at the World University Games in goals, scoring 18 (2.6 per game) and freshman Kat Klass joined her in double figures rattling the cage 11 times (1.6 per game). Defensively, Raney contributed five field blocks in South Korea, while Cassidy Papa and Shannon Cleary added four each. Gabby Stone and Jamie Neushul had nine steals apiece, Dani Jackovich added seven and Kat Klass five.
Gyeongbok Palace, built in 1395. Final adventure of the trip. #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/ieQtg22GDB
— Stanford Water Polo (@Stanfordh2opolo) July 15, 2015
Junior Worlds
Stanford All-Americans Jamie Neushul and Jordan Raney helped the United States repeat as FINA Junior World Champions with an undefeated run to the title in Volos, Greece in August. Team USA outscored its opponents 106 to 46 over the six games, which were capped with a 13-10 victory over Spain in the championship. Neushul, who served as captain for the United States, scored 14 goals, including three hat tricks, while Raney, the reigning MPSF Newcomer of the Year, added six.
Congrats Jordan & @Jneushul8 on bringing home the Gold. #Volos2015. Jr Worlds. pic.twitter.com/PF8Ajkvjoe
— Stanford Water Polo (@Stanfordh2opolo) August 23, 2015
Seeing The Stats
Stanford finds itself second in the MPSF in goals per game (13.50), trailing USC (15.57) but ahead of UCLA (10.67), and fourth in goals allowed per game (5.30) behind USC (4.00), Cal (4.79) and UCLA (5.22). Individually, Jamie Neushul leads the Cardinal and is fourth in the conference in goals per game (2.10). Kat Klass is seventh (1.90), Anna Yelizarova is 12th (1.60), Dani Jackovich is 19th (1.30) and Gurpreet Sohi is 22nd (1.20). Julia Hermann’s 5.83 goals against average is sixth in the conference and her 8.69 saves per game are fifth.
Defense Wins Championships
The Cardinal’s defense has been a constant ingredient in its success. Stanford’s 16-10 season-opening win over No. 10 Pacific snapped a streak of 44 consecutive games holding its opponent to less than 10 goals. The team has led the MPSF in goals allowed per game four out of the past six years.
MPSF Pick
Stanford collected 32 points and three first-place votes to top the 2016 MPSF Women’s Water Polo Coaches’ Poll, which was released by the conference last week. USC was tabbed second with 31 points and three first-place votes while UCLA was third with 29 points and one first-place vote. California, Arizona State, San Jose State and CSU Bakersfield rounded out the preseason picks. The Cardinal has not lost an MPSF game since 2009, a stretch of 39 straight regular season conference outings.
In The Polls
Stanford remained fourth in the national rankings (88 points), behind No. 1 USC (100 points), No. 2 UCLA (96 points) and No. 3 Cal (92 points) in this week’s CWPA Women’s Varsity Top 20 Poll. UC Davis (80 points) rounds out the top five.