STOCKTON, Calif. – Junior driver Bret Bonanni led the No. 1 Stanford men’s water polo team with seven goals on Saturday, pacing the Cardinal to a pair of victories on the first day of the Kap7 NorCal Classic in Stockton, Calif. Stanford opened the tournament with a 26-3 victory over Redlands, its second in as many tries against the Bulldogs, before jumping on the Tritons early for a 13-6 win over No. 8 UC San Diego in June Fergusson Pool at Delta College.
With the victories, the Cardinal has now won its first five matches of 2014 and advances to play No. 4 California in the tournament’ semifinals tomorrow morning at 10:40 a.m.
No. 1 Stanford 26 – Redlands 3
Stanford began the weekend at 8 a.m. with an utterly dominating performance against Redlands. Conner Cleary opened the scoring for the Cardinal with an early goal at 7:44, but the Bulldogs evened things up 20 seconds later when Michael Robinson put one home at 7:25.
From that point on, Stanford went on an extended 17-0 run to put any doubt of the outcome to rest. Nick Hoversten and Bonanni added two first-period goals apiece. Jackson Kimbell and Cody Smith tacked on one each as the Cardinal started the spurt with a 7-1 advantage after the first period.
Another seven-score outburst awaited the Cardinal faithful in the second with goals this time from Hoversten, Bonanni and Smith (2) in addition to Adam Abdulhamid, Griffin Bolan and Alex Bowen. Goalie Drew Holland played a stellar first half, directing two Redlands attempts away while only allowing the one early score.
Redlands’ nearly 19-mintue drought ended late in the third period with a goal from David Sekula, but at that point Stanford was well on its way to an emphatic tournament-opening win. The Cardinal’s most fruitful quarter came in the third when seven different caps scored eight total goals. Kimbell, Connor Stapleton, Bowen, Smith, Justin Roberto and BJ Churnside scored one each, while Sam Pfeil rattled the cage with a pair of his own.
Roberto, Adam Warmoth, Pfeil and Davis Clute were Stanford’s offensive weapons in the final frame. The Cardinal’s impressive margin of victory added to a season-opening streak which saw Stanford win its first four by a combined score of 89-20.
The Cardinal defeated Redlands in the final match of the Inland Empire Classic on Sunday, 22-4, and totaled 48 goals while only surrendering seven in 64 minutes of action against the Bulldogs.
No. 1 Stanford vs. Redlands
Sept. 20, 2014 • Stockton, Calif.
STAN 7 – 7 – 8 – 4 = 26
RED 1 – 0 – 2 – 0 = 3
Redlands Goals: Michael Robinson 2, David Sekula
Redlands Saves: Chris Sekula 4
Stanford Goals: Cody Smith 4, Bret Bonanni 3, Nick Hoversten 3, Sam Pfeil 3, Alex Bowen 2, Jackson Kimbell 2, Justin Roberto 2, Adam Abdulhamid, Griffin Bolan, BJ Churnside, Conner Cleary, Davis Clute, Connor Stapleton, Adam Warmorth
Stanford Saves: Drew Holland 2 (two quarters)
No. 1 Stanford 13 – No. 8 UC San Diego 6
Stanford advanced to the quarterfinals thanks to its large triumph over Redlands and faced its highest-ranked team to-date in No. 8 UC San Diego. The Cardinal raced out to a wide advantage, scoring the game’s first eight goals en route to its 13-6 win.
Alex Bowen scored his 194th career goal less than three minutes after the opening whistle to start the onslaught. BJ Churnside notched a power play score at 5:03 and after a bit of a lull in the action Bonanni scored with 2:44 left in the opening period.
In the second, Adam Abdulhamid (7:41), Bonanni (6:23), Nick Hoversten (3:58) and Griffin Bolan (3:07) continued Stanford’s unblemished stretch in the early going of the second and were backed up with some sensational play from Drew Holland protecting the cage. The sophomore made 14 total saves, seven in each half, and now averages 10.33 per game while also allowing just 4.33 goals per outing.
Sam Pfeil’s goal with 2:18 left before the break was Stanford’s eighth unanswered to open the game before UCSD’s Josh Stiling finally got the Tritons on the board with 1:18 to go.
The second half was a more evenly-matched affair, with both squads scoring twice in the third quarter and three apiece in the fourth. Bonanni scored once in each period of the game and with seven total on the day now has 187 in his career. The science, technology and society major jumped over a pair of all-time greats on Saturday, moving past Jeremy Laster (1992-95; 183) and Craig Klass (1983-86; 184) on Stanford’s all-time list.
Alex Bowen, a product design major, added four goals of his own on Saturday and now has 195 in his four-year career. He’s just five away from becoming the fifth Cardinal to reach 200, along with Tony Azevedo (2001-04), James Bergeson (1979-82), Jody Campbell (1978-81) and Wolf Wigo (1991-94).
The final four left at the Kap7 NorCal Classic all hail from the MPSF, with rivals No. 2 UCLA and No. 3 USC meeting in the other semifinal on Sunday. Both of Stanford’s games on Sunday will be available via live stream at the following link.
No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 8 UC San Diego
Sept. 20, 2014 • Stockton, Calif.
STAN 3 – 5 – 2 – 3 = 13
UCSD 0 – 1 – 2 – 3 = 6
UCSD Goals: John Lovat, Lukas Skyla, Josh Stiling, Matt Michalko, David Higginson, Andrew Moore
UCSD Saves: Cameron Ravanbach 8
Stanford Goals: Bret Bonanni 4, Alex Bowen 2, BJ Churnside 2, Adam Abdulhamid, Griffin Bolan, Conner Cleary, Nick Hoversten, Sam Pfeil
Stanford Saves: Drew Holland 14