BERKELEY, Calif. – Makenzie Fischer pulled Stanford within one late in the second overtime period, but Kat Klass' game-tying attempt with 12 seconds to go was stopped and USC survived to win the MPSF championship on Sunday, 13-12.
Stanford (18-3), the only school to appear in all 17 NCAA championships since their inception in 2001, will learn its seed during tomorrow's selection show on NCAA.com at 5 p.m. PT. The 2018 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championships are hosted by USC (23-1) from May 11-13 at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.
A runner-up MPSF Tournament finish isn't an indicator of NCAA success, at least for the Cardinal. Despite winning five of the past seven national championships, 2014 was the only season in the past 12 in which Stanford won a conference crown.
It was a game befitting two teams that have combined to win the past eight NCAA titles. There were 10 ties, five lead changes and neither side was able to go up by more than two goals.
Fischer gave Stanford some life with 52 seconds on the clock in the second of two three-minute overtimes, skipping a shot from close to five meters past Amanda Longan to make it 13-12. USC turned it over when it was whistled for an offensive foul with 26 ticks left and the Cardinal had one final chance, but Klass' shot to the near post was smothered with a dozen seconds remaining and USC held on.
Fischer led the way for the Cardinal with her sixth five-goal performance in the past nine games. Madison Berggren, Katie Duley and Aria Fischer each scored two for Stanford and Shannon Cleary added one. Hayley McKelvey and Maud Megens scored four apiece for USC.
The Trojans took their first lead, 6-5, on the power play with a Megens goal midway through the second quarter and went up two when McKelvey scored at 4:09. Aria Fischer converted back-to-back 6-on-5's for Stanford, the first following a Brianna Daboub kickout at 2:56 and again after Paige Hauschild was excluded with two seconds until the break to tie things, 7-7.
Shannon Cleary went cross cage to regain the lead for Stanford at 5:02 in the third and Megens tied it on a quick shot after a common foul at 2:28. Megens hit McKelvey on the power play to grab a 9-8 lead for USC at 1:26 before Madison Berggren found Katie Dudley and the senior slammed a low shot past Longan at 1:11 to even the score, 9-9, heading into the fourth.
Berggren, who had a game-high four assists, sandwiched her two goals around Kelsey McIntosh and Daboub scores for USC to force overtime. Aria Fischer drew an exclusion and Berggren went near post at 4:33 and following the two Trojans goals, the junior again went to the near side at 2:41. Longan wasn't quick enough to react and the ball snuck across to even the score, 11-11.
Julia Hermann, who had 10 saves, made a pair of late fourth-quarter stops to preserve the tie, one on McIntosh and the other on Megens. McKelvey and Hauschild would score in the first overtime period to put USC up a pair and force Stanford to make a late charge.
Makenzie Fischer scored Stanford's first three and the teams were even 3-3 after one. Klass worked her way free and found Dudley inside to start the second, McIntosh equalized and Fischer scored again with 6:18 on the clock. USC would then score two straight to take its first lead.
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 1 USC
April 29, 2018 • Berkeley, Calif.
USC 3 – 4 – 2 – 2 – 2 – 0 = 13
STAN 3 – 4 – 2 – 2 – 0 – 1 = 12
USC Goals: Hayley McKelvey 4, Maud Megens 4, Kelsey McIntosh 2, Brianna Daboub, Paige Hauschild, Denise Mammolito
USC Saves: Amanda Longan 12
Stanford Goals: Makenzie Fischer 5, Madison Berggren 2, Katie Dudley 2, Aria Fischer 2, Shannon Cleary
Stanford Saves: Julia Hermann 10
