No. 2 Stanford (17-2, 4-1 MPSF) vs. No. 16 San Jose State (9-16, 0-4 MPSF)
Saturday, April 22 • 1 p.m.
Avery Aquatic Center • Stanford, Calif.
Statistics (PDF)
WHAT'S AHEADNo. 2 Stanford (17-2, 4-1) wraps up its regular season when it hosts No. 16 San Jose State (9-16, 0-4) on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.
SENIOR SATURDAYSaturday's contest against the Spartans will also serve as Stanford's Senior Day, at which Dani Jackovich, Sophia Monaghan, Jamie Neushul, Cassidy Papa, Maggie Steffens and Gabby Stone will be honored in a pregame ceremony. That group has won more than 89 percent of its games at Stanford, including a pair of national championships.
LOOKING BACKThe Cardinal dug itself out of an early three-goal hole, but was unable to complete the comeback against UCLA, dropping last Saturday afternoon's contest 10-9. Makenzie Fischer, Jamie Neushul and Kat Klass each scored twice in a game that featured four ties but zero lead changes.
SEEDING IMPLICATIONSStanford would be the MPSF Tournament's No. 1 seed with a win Saturday AND a USC win over UCLA by seven goals or less. Stanford would be seeded second with a UCLA win. The Cardinal would be seeded third with a loss to San Jose State and a USC win --OR-- if USC beats UCLA by at least eight goals. Stanford has a final tally of plus-three on goal differential with UCLA and USC.
AGAINST SAN JOSE STATEStanford and SJSU have already played once this season. The Cardinal opened its campaign with a 17-1 win at the LouStrong Invitational in Saratoga, Calif. behind a hat trick from Maggie Steffens and two-score efforts from Madison Berggren, Shannon Cleary, Dani Jackovich, Jamie Neushul and Cassidy Papa.
AT AVERYStanford is 93-7 at home since 2008.
NCAA HOSTOn Tuesday Stanford was selected to host the 2019 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championships at Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal became the first host school to win a national championship when it captured the crown at home in 2015.
WHAT HAVE YOU DONE FOR ME LATELY?Maggie Steffens has tallied hat tricks in three of Stanford's four MPSF wins, including a career-high seven goals against CSU Bakersfield on March 25, and is averaging 2.80 goals per game in conference (14 total). She has pushed her career goal total to 211, good for fifth in program history, and has been on a tear in the Cardinal's last 12 games, averaging 2.75 goals per outing (33 total).
STRONG STARTMakenzie Fischer's two-goal outing against UCLA was her ninth multi-goal performance in Stanford's last 12 contests. In the Cardinal's six games against top-5 opponents this season, its freshman leads the way with 16 goals (2.67 GPG).
SEEING THE STATSStanford is third in the MPSF in goals per game (14.47), behind USC (15.56) and UCLA (15.55), and third in goals allowed per game (4.79), with UCLA (4.10) and USC (4.19) in the top two spots. Individually, Maggie Steffens is third in goals per game (2.47), Makenzie Fischer is fifth (2.21), Jamie Neushul is 14th (1.63), Dani Jackovich is 20th (1.32) and Kat Klass 21st (1.26). Gabby Stone's 4.99 goals against average is fourth in the conference and her 9.23 saves per game are fifth. Julia Hermann is third in goals against average (4.17) and ninth in saves per game (6.96).
APPROACHING MARKSStanford boasts a trio of triple-digit goal scorers in Maggie Steffens (211), Jamie Neushul (128) and Dani Jackovich (102). Steffens is currently fifth in Cardinal history, three behind Ellen Estes (214). Earlier this season goalkeeper Gabby Stone (525) became the fourth player in Stanford history with 500 stops. With records dating back to 2001, Meridith McColl top the record book with 715, Kate Baldoni is second with 572 and Jackie Frank now fourth with 523.
IN THE POLLSStanford slipped a spot to No. 2 in the national rankings (95 points), tied with USC (95 points) behind No. 1 UCLA (98 points) in this week's CWPA Women's Varsity Top 25 Poll. Arizona State (86 points) and California (86 points) round out the top five.
LOOKING BACK TO 2016Stanford finished 23-6 overall, its 12th straight campaign with more than 20 wins, and advanced to the NCAA title game for the seventh consecutive season, but ultimately was unable to collect its third straight national championship. The Cardinal, which fell to USC on a goal in the waning seconds of the national final, finished runner-up for the seventh time (2001, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2010, 2013). Stanford has never finished lower than third at the NCAA Championships.
WHAT'S IN STOREDenied in its bid for the program's third consecutive national championship last season, Stanford has an experienced roster with a wealth of firepower as it looks to reclaim the crown in 2017. The Cardinal returns seven of its nine 20-goal scorers from a year ago, including All-Americans Jamie Neushul, Jordan Raney, Kat Klass and Dani Jackovich, along with All-American goalkeeper Julia Hermann.
OLYMPIC ADDITIONSAdded to that group are a pair of Olympians in Maggie Steffens and Makenzie Fischer. Steffens, who was the 2015 ACWPC Player of the Year in her most recent collegiate season, returns to The Farm after collecting MVP honors in Rio and captaining the United States to its second straight Olympic gold. Joining her is the freshman Fischer, who deferred her enrollment at Stanford one year and logged seven goals for Team USA at the Olympics. Goalkeeper Gabby Stone, a two-time All-American, is also back for her senior season with the Cardinal after taking off the 2016 campaign to train with the United States Women's Senior National Team.
MPSF PICKStanford collected 33 points and four first-place votes to top the 2017 MPSF Women's Water Polo Coaches' Poll, which was released by the conference on Jan. 4. It's the third consecutive year and seventh in the last eight that the Cardinal has been the league's preseason pick. USC was tabbed second with 30 points and one first-place vote, UCLA was third with 28 points and one first-place vote and California was fourth with 23 points and one first-place vote. Arizona State, San Jose State and CSU Bakersfield rounded out the poll in spots five through seven.