STANFORD, Calif. – Hat tricks from freshmen Ben Hallock and Sawyer Rhodes key No. 4 Stanford men's water polo to its sixth consecutive victory, a 9-3 win over No. 7 Pepperdine Saturday afternoon at Avery Aquatic Center.
The Cardinal (12-3) erased an early one-goal deficit with a pair of scores from Hallock in the first three minutes of the contest. The second goal came courtesy of a nice feed from senior Jackson Kimbell, who delivered it to Hallock in front of the cage to put the Cardinal up 2-1.
Stanford never looked back from there, as Kimbell and Rhodes gave the Cardinal a three-goal cushion with less than two minutes remaining in the first quarter.
After a flurry of six total goals and a 4-2 Stanford advantage in the first quarter, the Cardinal and Waves (14-10) scored just one goal each over the second and third periods.
Stanford put the game away in the fourth, with Rhodes producing a pair of scores and Hallock and senior Cody Smith adding single goals to give the Cardinal the 9-3 victory.
Senior Drew Holland posted another strong performance in the cage, registering nine saves. Pepperdine goalie Zackery Rhodes finished with 12 stops.
Hallock continued his streak of scoring at least one goal in every game his season. With Saturday's total, he has produced eight hat tricks over the season's 15 matches.
Stanford closes its busy weekend slate on Sunday, traveling to Santa Clara to face No. 12 St. Francis Brooklyn at 11:40 a.m. PT as part of the Julian Fraser Memorial Tournament
