LOS ANGELES – Three Cardinal accounted for the scoring offense, Julia Hermann made 15 saves and No. 2 Stanford advanced to its ninth consecutive NCAA final with an 11-7 victory over No. 3 California on Saturday night.
Stanford (20-3), which has appeared in every championship match since 2010, will play No. 1 USC (25-1) for the national title on Sunday at 3 p.m. PT. The Trojans beat UCLA 10-6 in the tournament's earlier semifinal. The Cardinal has won six NCAA Championships (2002, 2011, 2012, 2014, 2015, 2017) and five of the last seven.
Jordan Raney, Makenzie Fischer and Kat Klass handled the scoring for Stanford. Raney tied her career high with four goals, Fischer scored four for the eighth time in her last 11 games and Klass collected her fourth hat trick of the year. With the win, the Cardinal secured its 14th consecutive 20-win season.
Like yesterday, the Cardinal came out clicking. Two minutes into the contest a Shannon Cleary field block on the defensive end sprung Fischer for Stanford's first score. Fischer would draw an exclusion one minute later and Raney converted the Cardinal's first 6-on-5 of the evening.
The Golden Bears scored their first goal midway through the opening quarter when three Stanford players were excluded in succession. One came back on right as Emma Wright converted what ended up being a 6-on-4 chance for Cal.
Stanford didn't let that slow it down, ripping off four goals in a row to take a commanding 6-1 lead. The ball ended up with Klass after a scramble in front of the cage and the Cardinal junior buried it with 3:36 on the clock in the first.
At 2:14, Stanford's defense shut down Cal's power play and sparked a transition opportunity until Madison Berggren was dragged down from behind. Fischer converted the five-meter penalty to make it 4-1.
The Golden Bears had a couple of chances to end the period, but Hermann was up to the task, stopping Carla Carrega from distance and Dora Antal 1v1.
The redshirt senior goalkeeper stopped Carrega again early in the second before Kitty Lynn Joustra was kicked out for Cal. Stanford called timeout to set up its offense and some pinpoint passing from between Fischer, Berggren and Raney ended up with Raney's second of the day.
Klass scored on the power play with 90 seconds left in the half and the Cardinal led 6-2 at the break after Cal ended its nearly 11-minute scoreless drought with a goal from Joustra late in the quarter.
Anna Illes pulled the Bears within three following a couple of empty trips near the halfway point of the third quarter, but Fischer scored with a near-post skip on the power play in response. Stanford, which started a perfect 4-of-4 in man-up situations on Saturday, ended the game with goals on seven of its 11 6-on-5 opportunities.
Antal scored for Cal on a quick shot after a common foul at 3:31 in the third, but again Stanford answered and set up a successful play coming out of a timeout after Aria Fischer drew an exclusion on Brigit Mulder. Stanford cycled it around until it found Raney up top and the senior rattled the cage for the third time with 1:52 to go in the period and push the Cardinal advantage to 8-4.
Cal mounted a charge in the fourth and pulled to within two, 9-7, on a Carrega goal with 5:31 remaining. That was as close as the Golden Bears would get. Hermann shut down Carrega at 3:52 and at 2:22 Klass fired off a confident shot when the Cardinal needed it, scoring on a near-post skip to push the lead back to three, 10-7.
Hermann's 14th save with 1:44 to go and Cal on the power play essentially ended it. Fischer got her fourth goal when she lofted it into an empty cage from near half tank near the finish.
Hermann's 15 saves were her highest total of the season and two off a career high. Her 459 career saves are fifth all-time at Stanford. Fischer, who has scored 44 times in the Cardinal's last 11 games, has 67 total goals this year, the fifth-most in program history.
Stanford extended its own NCAA record by booking its ninth straight trip to the women's water polo championship and will be looking to win the department's fourth NCAA title of the year (women's soccer, men's soccer, women's swimming and diving).
Stanford has won 116 NCAA team championships, a total which is tied with UCLA for the most all-time. The Cardinal has won at least one NCAA team title for 42 consecutive academic years, an ongoing record.
No. 2 Stanford vs. No. 3 California
May 12, 2018 • Los Angeles, Calif.
CAL 1 – 1 – 2 – 3 = 7
STAN 4 – 2 – 2 – 3 = 11
Cal Goals: Carla Carrega 2, Emma Wright 2, Dora Antal, Anna Illes, Kitty Lynn Joustra
Cal Saves: Madison Tagg 10
Stanford Goals: Makenzie Fischer 4, Jordan Raney 4, Kat Klass 3
Stanford Saves: Julia Hermann 15