Oct. 14, 2012
MALIBU, Calif. - Fifth-ranked Stanford Men's Water Polo continued on the winning path Sunday, completing a SoCal weekend sweep with an 11-6 win at No. 8 Pepperdine.
Freshman Bret Bonanni and sophomore Alex Bowen each scored three times to pace six Cardinal goal scorers as the win, combined with Saturday's 9-7 victory over No. 2 UC Santa Barbara, improved Stanford to 8-3 overall and 2-1 in MPSF play. The Cardinal
Stanford returns to action next Saturday in Berkeley at the Big Splash against California, with the opening sprint set for 9:30 a.m. The contest will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.
Redshirt junior Forrest Watkins scored twice while BJ Churnside, Andrew LaForge and Travis Noll each added goals to the winning effort.
Goalie Scott Platshon made seven saves, anchoring a defensive effort that held the Waves (8-6, 1-1 MPSF) to two goals over the second and third periods while the Cardinal offense turned a 2-2 first-period stalemate into a 9-4 advantage by the end of the third frame.
Bonanni scored both first-period goals for the Cardinal, bookending a pair of Wave goals as the opening frame ended with the teams knotted a 2-2. Pepperdine would take its second lead of the game at the 5:56 mark as Spencer Hamby found the back of the cage. That lead was short-lived, though, as the Stanford offense found its groove. Watkins scored the equalizer just 1:11 later, while Bowen gave the Cardinal the lead it wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way with a 6-on-5 goal at the 2:57 mark. Bonanni made it a two-goal halftime lead with his third goal coming 12 seconds before the end of the half.
Churnside and Pepperdine's Matthew DeTrane traded goals to open the third period, but from there Platshon and the Cardinal defense would put the clamps on the Waves. Bowen scored at the 4:43 marks to make it 7-4, then teamed with Watkins to add goals with 43 and 12 seconds left in the period, respectively, to give Stanford a commanding 9-4 advantage.
Pepperdine would put a minor scare into the Cardinal with goals in the opening 1:47 of the fourth frame, but the defense settled in, holding the Waves scoreless the rest of the way. Noll and LaForge would score at the 2:31 and 1:45 marks, respectively, to shut the door on any hopes for a Pepperdine comeback.
Stanford - 2 4 3 2 = 11
Pepperdine - 2 1 1 2 = 6
Stanford Goal Scorers - Bonanni 3, Bowen 3, Watkins 2, Churnside, LaForge, Noll
Pepperdine Goal Scorers - DeTrane 2, Loomis 2, Carroll, Hamby
Goalie Saves - Platshon 7 (S); Valics 7 (P)