NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. - No. 4 Stanford delivered a clutch performance to close out the Barbara Kalbus Invitational on Sunday afternoon, edging No. 6 California 7-6 in the third-place game.
Stanford (10-3) won three of its four matches overall in tournament play, also defeating No. 13 UC Santa Barbara and No. 5 USC before falling short against No. 1 UCLA.
Christina Hicks scored the go-ahead goal with 3:19 remaining in the fourth period for the Cardinal, which extended its dominance over the Golden Bears. Stanford, which also defeated California 8-6 in overtime back on Feb. 3 at Avery Aquatic Center, has now won 20 of the last 22 meetings in the rivalry series dating back to 2016.
As usual, Maya Avital played a key role anchoring a stingy defense. In eight career games against the Golden Bears, Avital has totaled 103 saves while averaging 12.8 stops per contest. Avital has also finished with double-digit saves in seven of those eight games.
Sophie Wallace impacted the game in multiple ways, finishing with team-high totals in goals (2), assists (3) and steals (4).
Stanford never trailed, building a 4-3 lead at halftime and reaching its biggest advantage at 6-3 with 3:27 to play in the third period following a goal from Kamryn Barone.
Tied 6-6 with 3:44 left in regulation, Hicks found the cage following an assist from Skyler Jones and the defense did the rest.
California was limited to 20.7 percent shooting and was 2-of-11 on power play chances.
Stanford returns to action on Saturday, March 2, visiting San Jose State at 1 p.m. in the MPSF opener for both teams.
Stanford Goals: Sophie Wallace (2), Kamryn Barone (1), Quinn Healy (1), Christina Hicks (1), Skyler Jones (1), Sophia Sanders (1).