May 2, 2010
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The No. 3-seed California women's water polo team finished in fourth place of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Tournament, falling to top-seeded Stanford, 10-3, Sunday in the final day at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center. Sophomore Emily Csikos paced the Golden Bears with seven goals during the three-day tournament, including one against the Cardinal. Csikos now has 66 goals on the season, which ties current senior teammate Meghan Corso for fifth on Cal's all-time single-season scoring list. Corso reached the feat last season for the Bears. Defensively, sophomore goalie Stephanie Peckham recorded 23 saves during the tournament, including nine in the final game against Stanford. With 285 saves this season, Peckham now has 590 in her career, which places third on the school's all-time career saves list. Cal has not beaten the Cardinal since 2000 and has now dropped the last 27 contests against its rival, including a 10-7 decision in the finals of the Stanford Invitational in February and an 8-7 conference match in the Big Splash last month in Stanford. With the loss, the Bears fall to 24-8 on the year.
Cal was shut out in the opening period as the Cardinal scored three unanswered goals. Stanford then scored the first goal of the second quarter to increase its lead to four. The Bears were finally able to get on the board after a goal by senior Julie Oreglia at the 5:20 mark. However, the Cardinal was able to score again before the end of the period and took a 5-1 lead into halftime.
Csikos was able to score just forty seconds into the third quarter to cut the Stanford lead to three, but the Cardinal was able to answer right back and held a 6-2 advantage heading into the final quarter.
Stanford scored the first three goals of the fourth quarter to increase its lead to 9-2. Cal was able to score one more goal before the end of the game, when sophomore Elizabeth McLaren sent one past Cardinal goalkeeper Kate Baldoni with 3:05 remaining in the match. However, Stanford quickly responded with its tenth goal of the game, bringing the final score to 10-3.
Cal will now wait to see if it has earned its first trip to the National Championship Tournament since 2000. The field will be announced live on Monday May 3 at 3:00 p.m.
California: 0-1-1-1 --- 3
Stanford: 3-2-1-4 --- 10
California Goals: Emily Csikos, Julie Oreglia, Elizabeth McLaren
Stanford Goals: Melissa Seidemann 3, Kelly Eaton 3, Annika Dries 2, Cassie Churnside, Kim Krueger
California Saves: Stephanie Peckham 9
Stanford Saves: Amber Oland 3, Kate Baldoni 2
