BERKELEY, Calif. – No. 2 seed Stanford defeated No. 3 seed UCLA in overtime on Saturday, 16-15, in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship at the Spieker Aquatics Complex. Stanford (18-2, 2-1 MPSF) will play for the title on Sunday at 3 p.m. against No. 4 seed Cal (14-10, 0-3 MPSF), who surprised top-seed USC, 12-9, in the other semifinal.
Sunday's match will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks. The winner secures an automatic berth in the NCAA Championships, Dec. 7-8 on Stockton, Calif.
On Saturday, Stanford played catch-up much of the way, then caught and passed UCLA in the third quarter. Senior Bennett Williams provided the game winner in the first overtime.
Bennett Williams gives Cardinal 10-9 lead, then adds another.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/u8lpM4nyog
— Stanford Water Polo (@StanfordMWP) November 23, 2019
Williams had a strong game, scoring a team-high four goals and added five assists. Junior Tyler Abramson chipped in three scores, while redshirt junior Ben Hallock, senior Dylan Woodhead, sophomore Quinn Woodhead and freshman Larsen Weigle contributed two goals each. Quinn Woodhead also dished out five assists.
Senior goalkeeper Andrew Chun made 16 saves, two shy of his career high.
Stanford and Cal met on Nov. 9 at the Avery Aquatic Center, with the Cardinal posting a 15-8 win. Hallock equaled his career-high with eight goals.
The Cardinal has won six MPSF titles, most recently last year in Los Angeles, when it defeated Cal, 12-10. The other crowns came in 1994, 1998, 2001, 2004 and 2014.
Live scoring of Sunday's final is available on GoStanford.com.