September 28, 1998
Sat., Oct. 3
at Stanford, deGuerre Pool, Stanford, CA
1 p.m.
LAST WEEK: Last week, No. 3 ranked Cal (5-1 overall, 1-0 in MPSF conference play) defeated No. 7 UC Santa Barbara, 7-3, in the Bears first conference match of the season. Cal led UC Santa Barbara, 1-0, at the end of the first quarter, but the Gauchos countered later in the second quarter with a two-point shot and another goal with 2:02 left in the half to lead the Bears, 3-2. Cal then pulled ahead, 4-3, and remained in the lead when two-meter senior Ryan Flynn (Los Angeles, CA) hit a two-point shot with only 0:37 left in the half. Cal added three more goals in the third and fourth quarters for the 7-3 win.
HEAD COACH STEVE HEASTON: Steve Heaston begins his 10th year as Cal's head coach with a 216-46 (.824) career record and three national titles ('90, '91, '92). Heaston has guided the Bears to NCAA titles in 1990, '91 and '92 and has been named NCAA Coach of the Year twice ('90 and '92).
NOTING STANFORD: Last week, No. 4 Stanford (7-1 overall, 1-0 in MPSF conference play) defeated No. 7 Long Beach State, 14-6, in the Cardinal's conference opener. Stanford is led by junior driver Brian Heifferon, who was 18 goals on the season and was named to the Southern California Second All-Tournament Team two weeks ago. Heifferon and Cardinal senior two-meter defender Layne Beaubien, who was 10 goals this season and was named first team all-tournament, propelled Stanford to a fifth place finish in the Southern California Tournament, after defeating No. 6 UC Irvine, 13-7, in the fifth place match.
NOTING THE BEARS: Ryan Flynn leads the Bear offense, totaling 20 goals for the season, including three points (one two-point goal) last week against UC Santa Barbara. Flynn was named to the Southern California All-Tournament Team and finished that tournament with 13 goals. Senior goalkeeper and team captain Peter Kiefer (Pacific Palisades, CA) leads the Bear defense and after last weekend has 44 saves, including eight saves at point-blank range against the Gauchos. Sophomore two-meter man Jerry Smith (Long Beach, CA) also had an impressive weekend, scoring one goal each in the second, third, and fourth quarters.
NOTING CAL-STANFORD RIVALRY: Last year, Cal was 2-1 in the series against Stanford. Cal won 7-4 Oct. 3 at Diablo Valley College and won 7-6 Nov. 22 at the Big Splash at Stanford. But in their final meeting of the season, the Cardinal knocked the Bears out of a chance to go to the NCAA tournament for the second season in a row, defeating Cal, 5-4, in the MPSF Tournament, Nov. 29 in Long Beach. In the decade of the '90s, Cal leads the series, 21-9, including defeating Stanford in the 1990 (8-7) and 1992 (12-11 in sudden death overtime) NCAA title matches. Since 1980, either the Bears or Stanford has captured the national title, with the exception of 1982 and 1989 (UC Irvine), 1995 (when UCLA defeated Cal, 10-8, in the NCAA final), 1996 (UCLA) and 1997 (Pepperdine). Since 1969, Cal has won 11 NCAA Tournaments and the Cardinal seven. Cal and Stanford have faced each other six times in the NCAA title match, with each school winning three national championships versus its Bay Area rival.
