CAMBRIDGE, Mass. – The Stanford men's water polo team exploded for 45 goals over two games, routing Harvard and MIT at Blodgett Pool on Harvard's campus Saturday in the first day of the season-opening Bruno Classic.
The Cardinal opened the 2017 campaign with a 21-5 victory over Harvard and returned later in the day to defeat MIT, 24-1.
Freshman Ben Hallock led the way for Stanford with seven goals on the day in his Cardinal debut. He posted four in the win over MIT and added three scores in the triumph over Harvard. Senior Sam Pfeil, junior Blake Parrish and sophomore Bennett Williams each posted five goals in the two contest. Pfeil joined Hallock with four scores in the win over MIT. Parrish had three goals in the win over Harvard and two in the MIT victory. Williams posted three goals against MIT and two against Harvard.
Stanford scored the first 17 goals of the game in the win over Harvard. The Cardinal took a 13-0 lead into halftime, en route to the 21-5 victory.
It was a similar start for Stanford against MIT, with the Cardinal surging out to a 13-0 lead 13 minutes into the contest. Stanford led, 15-1, at the half, adding nine more scores and blanking MIT in the second half.
The Cardinal defense stood strong as well, as senior goalie Drew Holland wasn't tested much. He posted one save against Harvard. Sophomore Andrew Chun also saw action in goal for the Cardinal.
Along with Hallock, freshmen Tyler Abramson and Sawyer Rhodes made their Stanford debuts on Saturday. Both Abramson and Rhodes netted three goals over the two contests.
Stanford returns to action Sunday in Providence, Rhode Island, facing St. Francis Brooklyn at 7:30 a.m. PT, before a matchup with Brown at 12:45 p.m. PT in the Bears' home pool.
A live stream of all the games will be provided by the Ivy League Network and available here.
