April 11, 2009
BERKELEY - The No. 5 California women's water polo team held a lead in the first half but could not overcome No. 1 Stanford. The Cardinal won the Big Splash, 9-8 on Saturday evening in front of a season high 467 fans at Spieker Aquatics Complex. The Golden Bears fall to 28-6 overall and 3-4 in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation while Stanford improves to 22-1 and 6-0 in the MPSF.
"I loved the intensity that we had," California head coach Richard Corso said. "I was pleased with the way that our student-athletes battled against our opponent. There were about four minutes when we let it get away from us. But it was a great learning experience and will help us prepare to do great at MPSF Championships and NCAAs."
After a blocked shot, senior two-meter defender Paige Lorenz grabbed the rebound, and in the process, earned a five-meter penalty shot. Junior driver Meghan Corso converted with a skip shot for the first goal of the game and kicked off a three-goal scoring run. Junior driver Erin Scully broke away and was unguarded as she scored a perfectly orchestrated lob shot, giving Cal a 2-0 lead.
With less than a minute to go in the first quarter, Lorenz put her head down ands cored a no-look goal. Thanks for Lorenz's score, the Bears went into the two-minute break up, 3-0.
Stanford opened the second stanza with a quick offensive. Senior driver Kira Hillman's shot barred down for the Cardinal's first score, which was 27 seconds into the period. Stanford drew a five meter and senior driver Lauren Silver scored with a skip shot to bring the Cardinal within one, 3-2. Junior utility Camille Hewko, the reigning co-MPSF player of the week, responded, attacking right to left to distance the Bears, 4-2, and it took four minutes before either team scored again.
With 1:55 remaining before halftime, Hillman skipped it just beyond the reach of Cal's redshirt junior Stephanie Peckham. On the Bears' next possession, Scully scored with a powerful shot from well beyond the seven-meter mark. The Cardinal pulled itself to within one, 5-4, with a senior driver Koree Blyleven goal that floated its way past Peckham. With just three seconds left in the half, freshman two-meter Melissa Seidemann scored when freshman driver Pallavi Menon pass it to her in set.
The Cardinal got its first lead of the game at the 5:54 mark of the third quarter off a Hillman score with an assist from Silver. The Bears tied things, 6-6, when redshirt junior utility Stephanie Schnugg artfully lobbed in a shot from seven meters while the second drained on the shot clock. Stanford regained a one-goal lead with a successful five-meter penalty shot by Silver.
A minute later, Corso scored with a shot that blazed by the flailing arms of the Stanford defenders and goalkeeper to knot the score at seven all. The Cardinal scored back-to-back goals - one from sophomore driver Kim Krueger with 53 seconds to play and the other from Silver off a skip early in the possession with 29 remaining - to send Stanford into the final quarter with a 9-7 advantage.
Redshirt junior driver Remy Champion brought her Bears within one goal, 9-8, with a shot that the announcer deemed "absolutely gorgeous." Neither team was able to tack on a final goal in the remaining four minutes after Champion's goal.
The Bears will next host Pacific on Monday at 7 p.m. at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
Score by period 1 2 3 4 F
No. 1 Stanford 0 5 4 0 9
No. 5 Cal 3 2 2 1 8
Stanford goals: Kira Hillman 3, Lauren Silver 3, Koree Blyleven 1, Kim Krueger 1, Melissa Seidemann 1
California goals: Meghan Corso 2,
Erin Scully 2,
Remy Champion 1,
Camille Hewko 1,
Paige Lorenz 1,
Stephanie Schnugg 1
Stanford saves: Amber Oland 10
California saves: Stephanie Peckham 10
