STANFORD, Calif. – The second-ranked Stanford men's water polo team rebounded in a big way on Saturday by downing No. 7 Cal, 15-8, in the annual Big Splash at the Avery Aquatic Center. It helped ease the sting from last week's loss at USC.
The Cardinal has now captured three straight regular-season victories against the Bears, enabling the program to retain the Steve Heaston Trophy named for the former Cal coach (1989-98).
Enjoy this slam by @ben_hallock. Already has season-high six goals and Cardinal in front, 12-6 after three quarters.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/O7YB7dIasx
— Stanford Water Polo (@StanfordMWP) November 9, 2019
"We came out with a lot more energy," said redshirt junior Ben Hallock, who scored a game-high eight goals, matching his career-best against UC Davis last season.
Redshirt sophomore Parker Killion gets into the scoring act.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/rB0tzNRPWu
— Stanford Water Polo (@StanfordMWP) November 9, 2019
In a match televised by Pac-12 Networks, Stanford (16-1, 1-1 MPSF) jumped on the Bears (11-9, 0-3 MPSF) early, as junior Tyler Abramson and Hallock tallied twice in the first quarter on the cool morning that didn't prevent a near capacity crowd from attending. Hallock netted two more goals in the second stanza to give the Cardinal a 9-3 cushion and Cal never pulled closer than four.
Abramson contributed three goals and senior Bennett Williams added two.
Cardinal strikes first on rocket by @abramson_tyler.#GoStanford pic.twitter.com/q0ox2Vyttc
— Stanford Water Polo (@StanfordMWP) November 9, 2019
Stanford has now won the three consecutive meetings against Cal, winning twice last year. During the regular season, the Cardinal prevailed 12-11 in overtime, then claimed its sixth MPSF title by beating the Bears 12-10 in Los Angeles.
Stanford concludes its regular season next Saturday against No. 1 UCLA (16-2, 1-1) at noon at Avery, as the program celebrates Senior Day. The host Bruins were upset by No. 7 USC on Saturday, 10-7.
Live scoring for next Saturday's final home match can be found at GoStanford.com.