WHAT’S AHEAD?: The No. 1 Stanford women’s water polo team (21-1, 6-0 MPSF) enters postseason play when it begins its MPSF Tournament in the semifinals against the winner of No. 4 California (17-6, 3-3) and No. 7 Arizona State (16-8, 2-4) on Saturday, April 25 at 2:30 p.m. The Golden Bears, seeded fourth, and Sun Devils, seeded fifth, will meet in the quarterfinals on Friday, April 24 at 2:30 p.m. As the tournament’s top seed, the Cardinal will enjoy a bye into the semifinals.
MPSF TOURNAMENT: Stanford, the defending MPSF Tournament and NCAA Champion, has won five conference tournament titles in program history (2000, 2001, 2003, 2006, 2014) and appeared in 12 championship games. Over the past two seasons, the tournament winner has gone on to capture the NCAA crown - Stanford in 2014 and USC in 2013. The Cardinal was beaten by UCLA in the final in 2012 and the semifinals in 2011 before going on to claim national championships both years. All games this weekend will be streamed live via thesundevils.com.
LAST TIME OUT: Stanford used some dominant defense and a decisive third quarter to beat rival Cal in the annual Big Splash last Thursday in Berkeley, 7-3. Jordan Raney scored twice, Gabby Stone made eight saves and a tight, 3-2 lead at half turned into a five-goal Cardinal edge with just eight minutes left courtesy of a third quarter which saw Stanford score four times while smothering each of Cal’s chances. The win, Stanford’s 39th consecutive regular-season MPSF victory, secured the Cardinal’s sixth consecutive unblemished league campaign. The victory also continued the Cardinal’s run against its rival. Stanford has won 41 consecutive games against the Golden Bears dating back to 2000.
RECORD FOR RANEY: Jordan Raney collected her league-record fifth MPSF/Kap7 Newcomer of the Week honor when the conference announced its weekly awards on Tuesday afternoon. The freshman, who has now won the award in three consecutive weeks, previously received recognition on February 24, March 10, April 7 and April 14. Stanford’s only multi-goal performer against Cal, she scored the Cardinal’s first by converting one of its nine 6-on-5 opportunities just over a minute into the game. She also put home Stanford’s sixth when she one-timed a perfect pass from Gurpreet Sohi low and left into the cage in the third quarter.
MPSF PICK: Stanford collected the maximum possible 36 points and six first-place votes to top the 2015 MPSF Women’s Water Polo Coaches’ Poll. UCLA was tabbed second with 31 points and secured the only other first-place vote while USC garnered 26 points and was selected third. California, Arizona State, San Jose State and CSU Bakersfield rounded out the preseason picks. The Cardinal has not lost an MPSF game since 2009, a stretch of 39 regular-season conference outings. Its last league loss came at USC on April 18, 2009 (11-6).
SEEING THE STATS: Stanford finds itself second in the MPSF in goals per game (14.18) behind USC (17.04) and in goals allowed per game (4.59), trailing UCLA (4.57). Individually, Kiley Neushul’s 50 goals place her fifth in goals per game (2.27). Ashley Grossman is sixth (2.18), Maggie Steffens is 12th (1.86) and Anna Yelizarova is 14th (1.75). Stanford is the only school with four players in the league’s top 15 in goals per game. Gabby Stone’s 4.79 goals against average is third in the conference and her 8.07 saves per game are sixth.
DEFENSE WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS: The Cardinal’s defense has been a constant ingredient in its success. Dating back to last year, Stanford has held its opponents under 10 goals in 39 consecutive games. The team has limited 12 of its 22 foes to four goals or less this season. Stanford has led the MPSF in goals allowed per game four out of the past five years.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT: Stanford’s output against CSU Bakersfield on April 12 was its fifth time this season firing home 20 or more goals, the program’s most since it did so the same number in 1997 in what was its second year of varsity status. Entering this year, the Cardinal had reached that mark in a single game 11 times in the past 16 seasons. Stanford, which is currently scoring 14.18 goals per game, has never averaged more than 14 through an entire season. Last year’s 13.31 clip was a school record.
PLAYING HOST: For the third time, Stanford will host the National Collegiate Women’s Water Polo Championships from May 8-10, 2015 at Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal also hosted in 2004 when USC claimed the title and 2008 when UCLA took home the crown. Stanford will be looking to break a streak that has yet to see a host win the NCAA Championship since the tournament began in 2001.
APPROACHING MARKS: Stanford boasts four 100-goal scorers in Kiley Neushul (209), Ashley Grossman (163), Maggie Steffens (152) and Anna Yelizarova (105). Neushul is currently fourth in Cardinal history behind Melissa Seidemann (239), Lauren Silver (239) and Ellen Estes (214), while Grossman is 10th and Steffens is 11th. Next up for those two is Kelly Eaton (171).
THE STANDARD: The Cardinal’s win over San Jose State on Feb. 1 was the 500th in the history of the women’s water polo program and Stanford is now 516-82 (.863) all-time. Stanford, which was 108-7 during its recent run of national championships, has won at least 25 games each of the last eight seasons and has finished among the nation’s top three each and every season under John Tanner. The team is the only one that has made the NCAA’s every year since 2001.
BEST IN THE WORLD: In early December, junior Maggie Steffens was named the FINA Women’s Water Polo Athlete of the Year for the second time. The American beat out five other finalists in Kami Craig (USA), Maica Garcia (ESP), Giulia Gorlero (ITA), Rita Keszthelyi (HUN), and Rowie Webster (AUS). The science, technology and society major delivered 12 goals helping Team USA earn a second consecutive FINA World Cup crown in 2014. She was second on the team in scoring with 11 goals in a gold medal effort at the 2014 FINA World League Super Final. Steffens is the first female two-time winner of the award, which was inaugurated in 2010. She was also named the FINA Women’s Water Polo Athlete of the Year in 2012 before making her collegiate debut with the Cardinal.
STREAKING: Stanford’s 7-6 overtime loss to UCLA on Feb. 22 snapped the Cardinal’s 27-game winning streak dating back to 2014 and was the program’s first setback since it fell to the same Bruins (9-6) in Irvine on Feb. 23, 2014. The winning streak was the Cardinal’s longest since the program won 28 straight 14 years ago, its final game of 2000 and the first 27 of 2001. Stanford has only lost twice in its past 48, with both coming at the hands of UCLA.