April 5, 2012
STANFORD, Calif. - Stanford women's water polo, ranked second in the country, begins the second half of its final regular-season homestand at Avery Aquatic Center Saturday at 1 p.m. against No. 3 USC.
Saturday's meeting will be the second of 2012 season between Stanford and USC. The Cardinal defeated the Trojans, 8-7, in the second game of group play at the Stanford Invitational on Feb. 4.
Freshman Kiley Neushul leads the Cardinal (18-1, 4-0 MPSF) with 42 goals and is third in the MPSF with a scoring average of 2.21 goals per game. Fellow rookie Ashley Grossman is next with 37 goals and sixth in the conference with 2.06 goals a game, while other 20-goal scorers for the Cardinal include Alyssa Lo (27), Kaitlyn Lo (23) and Cassie Churnside (23).
Goalie Kate Baldoni leads the MPSF with a goals-against average of 4.49 and is second with 9.66 saves per game.
Third-ranked USC (17-3, 4-1 MPSF) comes to the Bay Area this weekend on a six-game winning streak, looking to close its MPSF slate with two more wins and at least the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Championship.
The Trojans open the weekend with a Friday afternoon contest at San Jose State before visiting the Cardinal. USC, which closes its MPSF slate Saturday against the Cardinal, is led by the play of Kaleigh Gilchrist (34 goals) and Monica Vavic (27 goals) on offense.
Defensively, goalie Flora Bolonyai is fourth in the MPSF with a 5.35 goals-against average and makes 7.88 saves per game.
The Cardinal will close its regular-season home slate next Saturday, April 14 at 4 p.m., hosting California in the Big Splash.