STANFORD, Calif. – No. 2 Stanford bounced back from the team’s first loss of the season today, moving to 9-1 on the season this afternoon. The Card shut down No. 9 San José State in the second half at Avery Aquatic Center, winning 16-10.
The Card jumped out to a 3-2 lead after the first, thanks to Evan Wu’s goal with just eight seconds left in the period. James Rozolis-Hill and Will Schneider added Stanford’s other two scores in the frame, and Bernardo Herzer made four saves in the cage to keep the Cardinal in front.
In the second period, Stanford added to the lead with back-to-back goals to make it 5-2. The Spartans responded with their own pair of unanswered scores to make it a one-goal game again. Schneider stopped the run, scoring his second of the day to make it a 6-4 game with 4:25 to go in the first half. The two sides traded five goals in a frenetic final two minutes of the period, as the Card held onto an 8-7 advantage at the half.
Stanford was hot out of the break, scoring the first two goals of the second half to make it a 10-7 lead. San José State scored to cut it back to two goals at 18-8, but the Cardinal offense kept coming to a tune of three unanswered goals. By the time the period was over, the one-goal advantage had ballooned to five at 13-8.Stanford outscored the Spartans 5-1 in the period.
Alex Gheorghe and Gavin West joined Schneider with multiple goals, each scoring their second of the afternoon in the third.
West completed the hat trick in the fourth, with Connor Ohl and Kai Kaneko adding in their second goals apiece to make it a 16-10 final. After allowing seven goals in the first half, the Cardinal defense limited the Spartans to just three goals in the second.
Herzer finished the game with 10 saves, his fourth-consecutive game with double-digit stops. Through nine games this season, Herzer is averaging 11.2 saves per game with 101 total.
The Cardinal is on the road next, heading north to take on No. 16 UC Davis on Sunday. The non-conference tilt is scheduled for noon, and can be streamed on ESPN+.
Stanford Goals: W. Schneider (2), G. West (3), A. Gheorghe (2), C. Ohl (2), K. Kaneko (2), B. Forer, J. Rozolis-Hill, E. Wu, K. Mathiopoulos, B. Balogh