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Men's Water Polo

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No. 4 Stanford (6-3)
No. 18 San Jose State (5-5) | Saturday • 11 a.m. (PT)
Avery Aquatic Center • Stanford, Calif.
Television » Stanford Live Stream
Game Notes » Stanford
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WHAT'S NEXT: No. 4 Stanford welcomes No. 18 San Jose State to Avery Aquatic Center on Saturday in its home opener. The Cardinal meets the Spartans at 11 a.m. PT two hours before the Stanford football game against Arizona State at Stanford Stadium. Admission is free to Avery Aquatic Center. 

 
HOW TO FOLLOW: Saturday's match will be available via a live stream courtesy of Cardinal Channel on GoStanford.com. Veteran broadcaster and Stanford alum Kevin Danna has the call of Saturday's contest. 

HOME SWEET HOME: After playing its first nine games on the road, which included trips to Massachusetts, Rhode Island and two stops in Los Angeles, Stanford will play its first home match of the season when it hosts San Jose State on Saturday. Last season, the Cardinal had already hosted UC Irvine and USC before the final day in September. Three years ago, Stanford didn't play its first game at Avery Aquatic Center until Oct. 4, a 12-6 win over UC Irvine.

 
FOURTH AT MOUNTAIN PACIFIC INVITATIONAL: Stanford took fourth place out of 16 teams in the Mountain Pacific Invitational, featuring the nation's top men's water polo programs. The Cardinal earned wins over No. 19 Pomona-Pitzer (20-7) and No. 6 Long Beach State (9-6), before dropping a semifinal match in the final minute to No. 2 USC (11-10) and the third-place game to No. 1 California (11-9). Stanford recorded 48 goals in the four-match tournament, with Ben Hallock (7), Connor Stapleton (7), Blake Parrish (6) and Bennett Williams (6) accounting for 26 scores. Senior goalie Drew Holland posted double-digit saves in three of the four contests, including a 17-stop performance against the Trojans.   
 
LIGHTING UP THE SCOREBOARD: The Cardinal is averaging 15.4 goals per game this season, topping the 20-goal mark in four of its nine matches on the year. Freshman Ben Hallock leads the way offensively with 20 goals, with junior Blake Parrish adding 19 and sophomore Bennett Williams contributing 18 scores. 
 
HALLOCK HONORED: Freshman Ben Hallock has lived up to his billing as one of the top players in his class coming out of high school. He earned Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week honors in his first week of collegiate competition, totaling 11 goals in four games at the Bruno Classic to lead Stanford to a sweep of No. 10 Harvard, No. 15 Brown, No. 19 St. Francis Brooklyn and MIT.
 

Hallock, who redshirted last season after playing for USA Water Polo in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero, leads Stanford in scoring with 20 goals through nine matches. He is the lone Cardinal to score at least one goal in all nine contests this season. The freshman ranks fourth in the Mountain Pacific Sports Fedneration in scoring, averaging 2.22 goals per game.  

 
NEW ALL-TIME SAVES LEADER: Senior Drew Holland became Stanford's all-time saves leader earlier this season. He enters the San Jose State match with 796 career stops. Holland is averaging 8.64 saves per game this season, with a season-high 17 stops at No. 2 USC in the Mountain Pacific Invitational Sept. 23.  

CAREER SAVES LEADERS

RankNameYearsTotal Saves
1.Drew Holland2013 – present796
2.Chris Aguilera1994-98744
3.Larry Bercutt1990-93727
4.Nick Ellis1999 – 2002714

STRONG START: The Cardinal has out-scored its opponents 83-22 over the first half in the first nine matches of the season. In the second quarter alone, Stanford has out-scored its opponents, 42-9.
 
A LOOK AT THE POLLS: The Cardinal check in at No. 4 in the this week's Collegiate Water Polo Association national poll released on Sept. 27. Stanford has been in the top five of the national poll every week over the past two seasons. 
 
VETERAN GROUP: Stanford's veteran group features eight seniors on the 2017 roster, including Drew Holland, Jackson Kimbell, Connor Stapleton, Cody Smith, Justin Roberto, Reid Chase, Sam Pfeil and Oliver Lewis. Holland, Kimbell, Stapleton and Chase redshirted last season.
 
ALL-AMERICAN QUINTET: Among Stanford's 18 returning letterwinners is a group of five individuals who have earned All-America honors in their career in goalie Drew Holland, utility man Jackson Kimbell, and drivers Connor Stapleton, Blake Parrish and Cody Smith.
 
SMITH SCORING: Senior Cody Smith has posted 14 goals in Stanford's first nine games and leads the Cardinal's active roster in career goals with 123. Smith has posted multiple goals in five games this season.
 

FRESHMAN PRODUCTION: The freshman trio of Ben Hallock, Tyler Abramson and Sawyer Rhodes have accounted for 36 goals in the first nine games. Hallock (20) is a redshirt freshman after sitting  out last season following his participation in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janiero. Abramson (8) and Rhodes (8) are true freshmen.