STANFORD, Calif. - No. 2 Stanford used a late second-half surge to hold off No. 6 California 11-8 on Saturday afternoon in the latest chapter of the Big Splash at Avery Aquatic Center.
Stanford (19-2, 5-1 MPSF) avenged one of its two losses, after California (15-4, 3-3 MPSF) secured a 10-9 sudden victory overtime win back on Feb. 5 to snap the Cardinal's eight-match winning streak in the series.
The Cardinal also extended its winning streak to five, improved to 8-2 on The Farm and capped a memorable Senior Day for its class of Makenzie Fischer, Chloe Harbilas, Lauren Indart and Madison Stamen. All four players were members of the Cardinal's 2019 NCAA title team while Fischer leaves The Farm with two championship rings, having also won it all in 2017. Since its first season together in 2019, the senior class has compiled a 70-11 overall record and 20-5 MPSF record.
Aria Fischer and Makenzie Fischer controlled the action with three goals apiece while Jewel Roemer contributed two goals, four assists and four shots.
The Cardinal held a 33-25 edge in shot attempts, finished 3-of-8 on the power play and converted two of its three penalty shots.
California raced out to a 3-0 lead until Roemer finally got the Cardinal on the board at the 4:50 mark of the first period.
Aria Fischer's first goal of the day – her 50th of the season – with 7:45 remaining in the second period tied the game at 3-3 before Makenzie Fischer gave the Cardinal its first lead at 4-3 one minute later.
Tied 7-7, Stanford gained control during a four-minute stretch that spanned the third and fourth periods. Katie Lyons scored on a breakaway to make it 8-7 through three quarters, Roemer tacked on another to start the fourth and Ryann Neushul added her only goal for a 10-7 lead.
Sophie Wallace made it 11-8 midway through the fourth period to round out the scoring.
Maya Avital was impressive in goal, finishing with nine saves while denying Cal's only penalty shot attempt.
Stanford will await the outcome of today's UCLA/USC contest to determine its seeding for next weekend's MPSF Championship, hosted by USC.
Stanford Goals: Aria Fischer (3), Makenzie Fischer (3), Jewel Roemer (2), Katie Lyons (1), Ryann Neushul (1), Sophie Wallace (1).