STANFORD, Calif. – Junior Bennett Williams scored four goals to lead No. 2 Stanford men's water polo past No. 9 UC Davis Saturday afternoon at Avery Aquatic Center.
Williams broke ties with each of his first three scores, putting the Cardinal up for good late in the second quarter. He found the back of the cage for the third time in the contest with 2:22 remaining in the first half, giving the Cardinal a 7-6 edge.
Williams' go-ahead goal came moments after a key save by Cardinal (16-1) goalie Oliver Lewis in the bottom left corner of the cage on a UC Davis five-meter penalty shot attempt.
Junior Dylan Woodhead later pushed Stanford's lead to 8-6, finding an opening in the top right corner of the cage. UC Davis (14-6) countered with a score in the final seconds of the second to get the Aggies back within one at the break.
The Cardinal and Aggies traded a pair of goals in the first five minutes of the third, with Tyler Abramson netting his lone score of the afternoon and then later feeding Blake Parrish for a skip-shot score in the right corner of the cage for Stanford.
With less than a minute remaining in the third, freshman Quinn Woodhead rattled the cage with a skip shot in the right corner as well, giving Stanford an 11-9 advantage.
The Cardinal thwarted multiple scoring attempts by the Aggies in the fourth, keeping them off the scoreboard for nearly the entire quarter. Lewis anchored the defense with three saves in the period.
Scores from Dylan Woodhead and Williams gave Stanford a 13-9 lead with a minute to play for its largest lead of the contest. The Aggies got a score with 22 seconds left to make it 13-10, before Stanford sealed its eighth win over a top-10 opponent this season.
Lewis finished the afternoon with 11 saves. RJ Quigley started in goal for UC Davis with six saves in the first half. Jonah Addington started the second half for the Aggies, recording five stops.
Stanford now turns its attention to No. 11 UC Irvine on Sunday at 1 p.m. at Avery Aquatic Center. Stanford will honor its three seniors – Marco Stanchi, Parrish and Lewis – in a ceremony before the match.
