STANFORD, Calif. – Stanford swept Mountain Pacific Sports Federation weekly honors as senior Drew Holland was named the MPSF Player of the Week and freshman Sawyer Rhodes was voted the MPSF Newcomer of the Week.
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The honors come after Stanford won both of its matches for the week to extend its winning streak to 11 games. The Cardinal earned a share of the MPSF regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in this weekend's MPSF Championships with a dramatic 11-10 victory over the Golden Bears last Thursday. The win brought the Steve Heaston Trophy, recognizing the winner of the annual Big Splash, back to The Farm.
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Holland, Stanford's all-time saves leader with 902 career stops, put together another standout performance in the win over Cal. He finished the game with 14 saves, including several key stops from close range. Holland held off an aggressive Golden Bear attack looking for the equalizer in the final minutes of the match to seal the win for the Cardinal. The senior goalie finished the week with 18 total saves, registering four stops in one quarter of action on Senior Day in the 18-3 win over Santa Clara.
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Rhodes, a true freshman, came up huge for the Cardinal in its win over the Bears. He guided Stanford to an 11-10 victory over Cal with his second hat trick of the season. His third goal in the win over the Bears came in a key stretch late in the third quarter as the Cardinal scored four goals in the final four minutes of the period to surge ahead 11-8. It proved to decide the match as Stanford held off Cal by the one goal at the end. Rhodes scored a pair of goals in the first five minutes of the contest in Thursday's Big Splash win. The freshman added a score in Saturday's win over Santa Clara.Â
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Stanford will host the MPSF Championships this Friday through Sunday at Avery Aquatic Center, with the winner earning an automatic bid to the NCAA Championships. The Cardinal is the No. 1 seed in the tournament and will face No. 4 seed USC at 3 p.m. PT and No. 5 seed Penn State Behrend at 6 p.m. PT on Friday.
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