STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 3 Cardinal came storming back from a second-half deficit this afternoon, erasing a 10-6 lead by No. 4 California to win 15-12 in the third place game of the MPSF tournament. Botond Balogh carried the Cardinal offense, scoring seven times in the win.
“We did a good job settling down and I think the big thing was our 5-on-6 [defense] in the second half was phenomenal,” said Dunlevie Family director of men’s water polo Brian Flacks. “Our 5-on-6 was our backbone all year, and we did a great job getting stops and then cleaning up our offense and putting some big goals in in big moments.”
California took the early lead at 2-0, but a pair of penalties from Balogh briefly tied the game. A pair of Bear goals in the final minute sent the Card into the first break trailing 4-2.
Two minutes into the second, California had pushed the lead to 7-3. Balogh’s fourth goal of the contest, and Ben Forer’s first, brought it back to a two-score game at 7-5. The Bears were able to answer and push the lead back to three at 8-5.
Balogh’s fifth goal cut it to two again at 8-6, which would take the rivals to halftime.
In the third, California would push the lead to 10-6 before the Card ripped off four unanswered goals to level it at 10 goals each with 3:10 left in the period. Then with just over a minute to go in the third, Chase McFarland found the back of the net on a 6-on-5 to put Stanford ahead 11-10 through three.
The Card offense kept going early in the fourth, with Balogh scoring his seventh and Forer his third to push the lead to three at 14-11 halfway through the period. The Bears scored with three minutes left to cut it to two goals, but the Stanford defense held from there to finish 15-12.
The Cardinal moves to a perfect 3-0 against the Bears this season, and 6-1 over the last two seasons with a pair of Big Splash wins.
Stanford will learn its postseason fate tomorrow, with the NCAA Championship selection show airing at 9:00 a.m. PT on NCAA.com. If the Cardinal secures an at-large bid to the eight-team tournament, the first round will Friday, Dec. 5.
Avery Aquatic Center is hosting the NCAA Championship for the second year in a row, with more information and tickets available here.
No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 4 California
CAL 4 – 4 – 2 – 2 = 12
STAN 2 – 4 – 5 – 4 = 15
STAN Goals: B. Balogh (7), B. Forer (3), C. McFarland (2), G. Di Martire, A. Gheorghe, D. Mnatsakanian
CAL Goals: B. Akhvlediani (5), A. Ponferrada (3), T. Perrone (2), R. Hagan, M. Arlett