LOS ANGELES - No. 4 Stanford, the tournament's No. 7 seed, took down No. 1 California 12-9 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the MPSF Championship game. The Cardinal will face the winner of No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC in the championship contest tomorrow.
No. 4 Stanford 12 - No. 1 California 9
Stanford never trailed against the Golden Bears, scoring three goals or more in all but the first quarter. Jackson Painter led all scorers in the game with five while Quinn Woodhead recorded three to help lead the Cardinal to its second victory over California this season. Stanford is 2-1 against its cross-bay rival this year.
Painter scored the first three Stanford goals of the game, helping power the Cardinal to its most goals against California this season. Five of Stanford's goals came on the power play and Painter added a penalty shot goal as well to make it six goals off of exclusions or penalties on the day.
The Cardinal controlled the ball well on offense, limiting its turnovers to only six against California. The Golden Bears lost possession 12 times in the game, four coming from offensive fouls and eight coming in the form of steals by Stanford.
Stanford's stingy defense preserved the lead late in the game and Woodhead sealed the victory with his third goal of the game coming with 44 seconds left on the clock. The Cardinal would go on to force a turnover on California's final possession, and hold on to win with a three goal advantage.
No. 4 Stanford vs. No. 1 California
Nov. 19, 2022 • Los Angeles, Calif.
CAL 2 – 3 – 2 – 2 = 9
STAN 2 – 3 – 3 – 4 = 12
California Goals: Max Casabella (2), Jack Deely (2), Nikolaos Papanikolaou (2), Roberto Valera (1), Albert Ponferrada (1), Garrett Dunn (1)
Stanford Goals: Jackson Painter (5), Quinn Woodhead (3), Beck Jurasius (1), Jack Martin (1), Riley Pittman (1) Grant Watson (1)
Saves: Nolan Krutonog (7), Adrian Weinberg (7)