MALIBU, Calif. – Junior Bennett Williams scored the first four goals of the match and No. 3 Stanford never looked back, en route to a 13-7 victory over No. 10 Pepperdine in men's water polo action Sunday at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool.
With the win, Stanford improved to 7-0 on the season, continuing its best start since opening the 2015 campaign 8-0. The Cardinal has defeated four nationally-ranked teams during the stretch, including yesterday's win over No. 5 UCSB and today's victory over the No. 10 Waves (6-5).
Williams finished the match with a career-best six goals, while senior goalie Oliver Lewis posted a career-high save tally for the second consecutive day with 17 stops against the Waves.
Williams scored Stanford's first four goals, all in a span of 10:33. The junior recorded five of the Cardinal's first six overall to give Stanford a 7-3 advantage at the half.
Holding a 7-4 lead in the early stages of the third, Stanford continued to stretch its advantage with four unanswered scores to build the seven-goal advantage in the middle of the fourth.
Sophomore Tyler Abramson and freshman Jackson Seybold added a pair of scores apiece for the Cardinal. Fellow freshmen AJ Rossman and Quinn Woodhead also got on the board for Stanford in the win.
While sophomore Ben Hallock did not score in a match for the first time in 28 career contests, he delivered a nice feed to junior Dylan Woodhead in the fourth. Woodhead put home the goal off the Hallock assist.
Stanford returns north, where they will begin an 11-match homestand next weekend. The Cardinal will host San Jose State Saturday (Sept. 29) at 1 p.m. PT at Avery Aquatic Center.
