April 14, 2010
Saturday, April 17
- vs. - California - 6 p.m. - Stanford, Calif.
STANFORD, Calif. - No. 2 Stanford (20-1, 5-0 MPSF) returns home to Avery Aquatic Center Saturday evening, as the Cardinal hosts cross-Bay rival No. 3 California in the Big Splash at 6 p.m.
Last Time Out
The Cardinal returned from a two-week layoff last Sunday, ending a trip to the tropics with a 10-6 victory over No. 5 Hawai'i. Kelly Eaton led all players with four goals while freshman two-meter Annika Dries posted a hat trick of her own with three scores. Amber Oland went the distance in the cage,
About The Opposition
California (23-5, 4-2 MPSF) enters Saturday's game on a nine-game winning streak after most recently sweeping a pair of wins from Loyola Marymount and UC San Diego at the Santa Clara Tournament last weekend. Saturday's Big Splash will also serve as the Golden Bears' regular-season finale ahead of the MPSF Tournament from April 30-May 2.
The Golden Bears are led by the play of Emily Csikos (59 goals) as well as Camille Hewko (36 goals) and Stephanie Schnugg (35). In the cage, goalie Stephanie Peckham has made 256 saves over 28 games on the year.
In The National Rankings
The Cardinal remained at No. 2 in the Varsity Top 20 Poll behind No. 1 USC this week.
Eaton And Dries Sweep MPSF Honors
Senior driver Kelly Eaton and freshman two-meter Annika Dries swept the MPSF's weekly honors this past Monday, as Eaton was named MPSF Player of the Week after her four-goal effort in Stanford's 10-6 win at Hawai'i on Sunday, and Dries garnered the MPSF Newcomer of the Week honor after scoring three goals in the win. Both athletes claimed their second honors of the season, and the sweep marked the second time this season that Cardinal athletes have taken both MPSF honors in the same week.
Working On A New Streak
Sunday's 10-6 win at No. 5 Hawai'i brought Stanford's current winning streak up to eight games, as the Cardinal has continued to rebound nicely from its only setback of the year, suffered Feb. 28 against USC. The Cardinal opened the 2010 season on a 12-game winning streak before the loss, and will look to make it nine this weekend before facing USC in the regular-season finale next Saturday, April 24 at Avery Aquatic Center.
Down The Homestretch
The Cardinal closes its 2010 regular season over the next two weekends and is still in the bidding for the MPSF regular season title as well as the No. 1 seed at the MPSF Tournament in two weeks. At 5-0 in conference play, Stanford can clinch both the title and top seed with wins the next two Saturdays at home over California and USC, respectively. A victory over California this Saturday would clinch at least the No. 2 seed at the MPSF Tournament.
Among The MPSF Leaders
On the individual side of the MPSF statistics, sophomore Melissa Seidemann is fifth in the conference with 1.86 goals per game and Kelly Eaton are is sixth with 1.81 goals per game. Pallavi Menon is 15th with 1.43 goals a game while Annika Dries is tied for 20th with a 1.29 goals per game figure.
Freshman goalie Kate Baldoni leads the conference with a 1.94 goals-against average, while junior Amber Oland is second with a 4.00 figure.
On a team level, Stanford is second in the MPSF with 12.43 goals a game, and is also second with a 4.86 goals-against average.
Stanford Picked To Capture MPSF Title In 2010Stanford was the choice to take home the 2010 MPSF title, according to a poll of the conference's head coaches. The Cardinal received five of the eight first-place votes for a total of 45 points to finish atop the poll. USC was second with 42 points and one first-place vote, while UCLA was tabbed third with 38 points and the two remaining first-place votes.