Nov. 13, 2004

STANFORD, CA - The No. 4-ranked California men's water polo team (17-8, 2-5) fell to No. 2-ranked Stanford (19-3, 7-1), 12-7, in an MPSF match Saturday at Avery Aquatics Complex on the Stanford campus. Sophomores John Mann and Andrija Vasiljevic both tallied two goals apiece for the Golden Bears, but Cal was outscored 5-2 in the first period and could not recover. Senior Tony Azevedo scored six goals to help the Cardinal secure a win in its final home match of the year.

Stanford put the first points on the board Thomas Hopkins recorded a pair of goals in the first two and a half minutes, but Cal cut the lead in half with a goal from Mann. The Cardinal kept the momentum, though, and Azevedo added two more goals, extending the Cardinal lead to 4-1.

Stanford retained the lead for the remainder of the match and extended the margin to 12-5 before Cal scored a pair of goals in the closing minutes of the fourth quarter.

Cardinal goalie Chad Taylor finished the day with nine saves, five of which came in the third quarter. Junior goalie Nate Bennett had five saves for the Bears.

The two squads will face each other again in a week, as Cal hosts Stanford in the annual Big Splash, Saturday, Nov. 20 at 10 a.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Bears next travel to Pacific, Sunday, Nov. 14 at 12 p.m. for their final MPSF match of the season.

California (17-8, 2-5 MPSF) 2 1 1 2 = 7
Stanford (19-3, 7-1 MPSF) 5 2 2 3 = 12
California Scorers: Mann 2, Vasiljevic 2,
Jones 1, Kinsel 1, Sharf 1
Stanford Scorers: Azevedo 6, Hopkins 3,
Drake 1, Crum 1, Varellas 1
Goalie Saves: Taylor (S) 9, Stockstill (S) 2;
Bennet (C) 5