Card Heads South for Two Top-10 MatchupsCard Heads South for Two Top-10 Matchups
Scott Gould/isiphotos.com
Men's Water Polo

Card Heads South for Two Top-10 Matchups

Stanford takes on No. 8 UC Irvine and No. 4 Pepperdine this weekend in southern California

September 28-29

at No. 8 UC Irvine

Saturday, 12:00 p.m. PT

at No. 4 Pepperdine

Sunday, 12:00 p.m. PT

STANFORD, Calif. - No. 3 Stanford heads south this weekend for a pair of top-10 games at No. 8 UC Irvine and No. 4 Pepperdine. The southern California road trip is the last weekend before MPSF play starts for Stanford.


HOT START » Stanford is off to a strong 9-1 start to 2024, outscoring opponents 161-85 in the process.

FAMILIAR FOE » The Cardinal has already beaten UC Irvine this season, winning 14-5 at the Triton Invitational on Sept. 8.

TOP COMPETITION » Stanford already boasts five top-10 wins on the season, beating No. 10 Long Beach State and No. 6 California last weekend at the MPSF Invitational.

RECORD ON WATCH » Jackson Painter's 166 career goals with Stanford have him 18 goals shy of the 10th-most in program history. The last edit to the program's top-10 list was 2021.

LEADING THE CARD » Riley Pittman has the team's early lead for both goals and assists, with 21 and 17, respectively. Painter has the lead for multi-goal games with seven, sitting just two goals back of Pittman for the team lead in goals with 19. Jack Merrill has set the mark for most single-game goals this season, finding the back of the net six times against Concordia on Sept. 8.

FRESHMEN ON FIRE » The freshmen have been key contributors so far this season, with Ryan Ohl, Botond Balogh, Ben Forer and Will Schneider combining for 40 points (29 goals 11 assists) on the year.

VETERAN STANDOUTS » The Card returns three All America selections from 2023 in PainterPittman and Ethan Parrish. The trio extended a nearly-fifty-year run of Stanford landing multiple student-athletes on an All America team every year since 1975.

CARDINAL, WHITE AND BLUE » Four Cardinal products took home bronze with Team USA at this summer's Paris Olympic Games. Ben Hallock, Alex Bowen, Dylan Woodhead and Drew Holland were a part of the first Olympic medal since 2008, with Hallock serving as the team captain.