Nov. 13, 2011
STANFORD, Calif. - Fourth-ranked Stanford men's water polo finished off a weekend sweep, and captured its ninth victory over its past 10 contests with a 12-7 win over No. 12 UC Davis Sunday at Avery Aquatic Center.
Stanford closes out the regular season next Saturday, hosting No. 3 California in the Big Splash at 5:15 p.m. Tickets are available by visiting the Stanford Ticket Office or online here.
Freshman Alex Bowen led the Cardinal goal scorers with four Sunday. Alex Avery and Paul Rudolph scored twice while Andrew LaForge, Peter Sefton, Jacob Smith and Forrest Watkins all added goals.
Senior goalie Brian Pingree made nine saves for the Cardinal Sunday.
The Cardinal wasted no time continuing its offensive roll from Saturday's 17-3 win over Santa Clara. Bowen fired home from the point just 19 seconds into Sunday's contest to put Stanford ahead.
Rudolph and Smith followed with goals of their own over the next three-plus minutes, and before four minutes had even elapsed on the game clock Stanford was in control with a 3-0 advantage.
UC Davis' Aaron Salit got the Aggies on the board with 3:47 to go in the frame. Salit would be a bright spot for the Aggies, scoring four goals on the day.
However, the two-goal deficit was as close as the Aggies would get the rest of the way. Avery scored with just over two minutes until the period's end to get the Cardinal lead back up to three. Bowen and Sefton would add goals in the opening minutes of the second frame to extend the lead to 6-1.
After leading 6-2 at halftime, Stanford opened the second half with two more goals, both off the arm of Bowen. Salit's second goal made it 8-3, but Bowen would notch his third goal of the frame then Rudolph and Watkins would add on to ice the contest at 11-3 minutes into the fourth.
The Aggies made a late run, as Salit scored twice more along with goals from Bernie Rogers and Luke Collins to make it a five-goal margin.
UC Davis - 1 1 1 4 = 7
Stanford - 4 2 3 3 = 12
Stanford Goal Scorers: Bowen 4, Avery 2, Rudolph 2, LaForge, Sefton, Smith, Watkins
Santa Clara Goal Scorers: Salit 4, Collins, MacCarthy, Rogers
Goalie Saves: Pingree 9 (S); Peat 11 (UCD)