LONG BEACH, Calif. – Freshman Ben Hallock (four) and senior Jackson Kimbell (three) accounted for seven of Stanford men's water polo's 10 goals as the Cardinal held off a late surge from Long Beach State to defeat the 49ers, 10-9, Saturday at Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
Kimbell's third goal of the match gave Stanford (14-3) a 10-6 lead over Long Beach State (11-11) with 3:44 to play. The 49ers mounted a late surge with three goals over a span of 1:20 in the final quarter to cut the Cardinal lead to just one goal with a little more than two minutes remaining.
The Cardinal defense clamped down from there, recording a late field block to seal the win. Sophomore goalie Andrew Chun started in the cage for the Cardinal, posting seven saves.
Stanford erased an early deficit in the match as Kimbell and Hallock posted their first goals of the contest to give the Cardinal a 3-2 lead after one quarter of play.
Hallock recorded his second score of the match with 52 seconds remaining in the half to put Stanford up for good with a 4-3 advantage at the half.
Stanford opened the second half with four of the next five goals as the Cardinal stretched its lead to 8-4 late in the third quarter. Hallock converted a penalty shot after a Connor Stapleton goal to begin the surge. Kimbell followed a Blake Parrish score with a goal in the final three minutes of the third period for the four-goal advantage.
Hallock and Kimbell added one more scorer apiece in the fourth for the 10-6 lead, and Stanford held off Long Beach State late for the one-goal win.
Hallock notched his 10th hat trick of the season in the Cardinal victory. He has scored at least one goal in all 17 games this season. The eight consecutive victories is the most since Stanford opened the 2015 season 8-0.
Stanford will play its final road game of the regular-season on Sunday, when the Cardinal visits No. 6 UC Irvine at 1 p.m. PT in Irvine, Calif.
