STANFORD, Calif. – The No. 3 Cardinal fell just short of a trip to the MPSF Championship final, dropping a semifinal bout with No. 2 USC 11-10 this afternoon.
The Cardinal struck first, with Ryan Ohl earning a steal on one end and scoring the opening goal on the other. The Trojans answered with three unanswered scores to end the period with a 3-1 edge.
The Trojan lead reached 5-1, before Alex Gheorghe and Gianpiero Di Martire scored in quick succession to cut it to 5-3 with three minutes remaining in the first half. Another USC goal before the break would make it a three-goal deficit at half.
Ohl scored his second of the day a minute into the third, and a pair of Ben Forer goals tied it up at 6-6 with 4:08 left in the third period.
The two sides traded goals to tie the game at 7-7 and again at 8-8, before USC scored to retake the lead at 9-8 heading into the final period.
USC extended the lead to 10-8 in the fourth, but a CJ Indart goal with three minute to play brought it back to a one-goal game. Another Trojan score brought it back to two goals at 11-9, but once again Forer answered to make it a one-score game at 11-10 with just over a minute left. The Card was unable to find a final answer.
Stanford will be in action tomorrow, taking on No. 4 California in the MPSF Championship’s third-place game. The game is set to start at 11:30 a.m. PT, and can be streamed on Overnght.
No. 3 Stanford vs. No. 2 USC
USC 3 – 3 – 3 – 2 = 11
STAN 1 – 2 – 5 – 2 = 10
STAN Goals: B. Forer (3), R. Ohl (2), A. Gheorghe (2), G. Di Martire, D. Mnatsakanian, CJ Indart
USC Goals: S. Brankovic (3), E. Ausmus (2), S. Krstic (2), E. Naipoglu, R. Lopez Duart, M. Vukazic, J. Vort