STANFORD, Calif. – For the third time this season, the Cardinal took down USC. No. 2 Stanford improved to 16-2 on the season and 3-1 in MPSF play, beating the No. 4 Trojans 17-13 at Avery Aquatic Center. The two squads entered the fourth tied at 11-11, but a late surge carried the Card to a win.
Stanford opened the scoring in what would prove to be a slow first period for both offenses. Ryan Ohl scored the game’s first goal, outracing the Trojans on a counterattack to make it 1-0 two minutes into the game. USC added a pair of goals to take the lead with 2:41 to go, but Ben Forer found the back of the net with just 21 seconds remaining to tie it at 2-2.
The Cardinal came out quick to start the second, with Dimitris Chatzis scoring less than a minute in to make it a 3-2 game.
USC tied it moments later, but Botond Balogh converted a 6-on-5 to go back in front 3-2 at the 4:45 mark. Alex Gheorghe added another goal with 4:10 to go, ripping a no-look shot to make it a 5-3 Stanford lead.
Then at the 3:55 mark, USC scored to make it a one-goal game at 5-4. Will Schneider picked up a 6-on-5 goal to make it 6-4, but with 41 seconds left in the half the Trojans scored again to cut it to one goal. Balogh scored his second of the half to make it 7-5 with 32 seconds left, but USC again was able to answer with two seconds remaining to cut it to a one-score game at halftime.
Stanford started the third period hot as well, with Forer and Ohl each scoring in the first minute of play to make it a 9-6 lead. The Trojans responded with a pair of goals to make it 9-8, before James Rozolis-Hill broke up the run with a penalty to make it 10-8. USC managed to battle back with another pair of goals, tying the game at 10-10 with just over three minutes left in the period.Â
Balogh added his third goal of the day to make it an 11-10 game, but yet again the Trojans scored to tie it at 11-11 heading into the fourth.
Once again the Card opened up a period quick, with Konstantinos Mathiopoulos and Chatzis scoring within the first 90 seconds of the fourth to make it a 13-11 lead. The Trojans at the 5:27 mark to cut it to one goal, but Gheorghe came up with another big goal on the ensuing possession to make it a 14-12 game with five minutes left.
Balogh added his fourth goal of the game with just over four minutes to go, making it a 15-12 game. USC converted a penalty with 3:11 to play to make it 15-13, but the Card bounced back to put the lead at three again.
Guido Leonardi found the back of the net for his first goal of the game with just 1:50 left to play, making it a 16-13 lead. Leonardi added another goal with nine seconds left and an empty USC net to ice the game.
When the dust had cleared, the Card outscored USC 6-2 in the fourth to take the win. The win gives Stanford three victories over USC this season, the first time the Card has done so since 1999.
Stanford is back at home tomorrow, hosting No. 1 UCLA at 1:00 p.m. PT. The Cardinal is 1-1 against the top-ranked Bruins this season, winning in Los Angeles earlier this month. The game will be streamed on Overnght, and tickets are still available at Tickets.GoStanford.com.
Stanford Goals: B. Balogh (4), B. Forer (2), R. Ohl (2), D. Chatzis (2), A. Gheorghe (2), G. Leonardi (2), W. Schneider, J. Rozolis-Hill, K. Mathiopoulos