USC, UCLA and Stanford Remain Unbeaten in MPSF Action
March 16, 2009
UCLA (5-0 MPSF, 18-3 overall) ran its win streak to eight with wins over No. 9 UC Irvine (18-4) and No. 20 Santa Clara (14-6) in non-conference play, and No. 8 San Jose State (10-6) in MPSF action. Tanya Gandy tied her career-high with five goals against both the Spartans and Broncos. Gandy, along with Priscilla Orozco and Katie Rulon, also had a hat trick in the win over UCI. The Bruins are off for final exams this week.
USC (3-0 MPSF, 14-1 overall) goalkeeper Tumua Anae grabbed a career-high 20 saves, an MPSF-high this year, as USC won 15-6 at home over No. 6 Arizona State this past Saturday. She allowed just two goals through the first three periods, as USC led 13-2 entering the fourth. Kami Craig poured in a game-high four goals. The Trojans head to Hawaii to face the Rainbow Wahine in another conference game Tuesday (Mar. 17).
CALIFORNIA (2-2 MPSF, 24-4 overall) raced out to leads of 3-0 and 8-3 en route to a key MPSF home win over No. 5 San Diego State, 13-11. Stephanie Schnugg put away four goals and Emily Csikos added three. Goalkeeper Stephanie Peckham collected 10 saves. In a 9-6 win over Maryland, Paige Lorenz chipped in a hat trick and Peckham had 14 saves. Cal, who also won three games in Claremont, takes seven straight wins to the SDSU Invite this week.
HAWAII (1-3 MPSF, 9-6 overall) entered the conference win column by defeating No. 6 Arizona State at home last Wednesday, 11-5. The Wahine jumped out to a quick start with a 4-1 lead through the first quarter. Kelly Mason and Carmen Eggens recorded three goals apiece. Serena Bredin picked up nine saves in the cage. No. 2 USC visits on Tuesday (Mar. 17) for another MPSF game. The Wahine then travels to the Aztec Invitational.
SAN DIEGO STATE (0-2 MPSF, 17-4 overall) hosts the Aztec Invitational this weekend (Mar. 21-22), and will take on Pacific, Brown, and Indiana. SDSU also hosts San Jose State Saturday morning in an MPSF game. The Aztecs are coming off a 1-1 split on the road this past week, edged at No. 7 California, 13-11, before slipping past No. 12 UC Davis, 10-8. Senior Anna Gonzales leads the conference in scoring with 59 goals on the year and had four in the win.
ARIZONA STATE (0-4 MPSF, 10-9 overall) dropped two of three last week on the road. MPSF losses came at No. 4 Hawaii (11-5) and No. 2 USC (15-6), while a non-conference win was picked up at Pomona-Pitzer (15-3). Addison McGrath scored three goals each at USC and Pomona. The Sun Devils are off this week.
SAN JOSE STATE (1-4 MPSF, 8-11 overall) fell 10-6 to No. 3 UCLA in an MPSF home game last Saturday. Dani Curran and Juliet Moss scored two goals apiece. The Spartans are at San Diego State this weekend, to face the Aztecs in an MPSF game Saturday (Mar. 21) and partake in the invitational.
STANFORD (3-0 MPSF, 15-1 overall) was off this past week and hosts Harvard Saturday (Mar. 21). The Cardinal has won 12 straight and currently sits a half-game out of first-place.
GANDY AND ANAE MPSF MIKASA PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Woodland, Calif. - UCLA senior attacker Tanya Gandy (San Diego, CA/Rancho Bernardo HS) combined for 13 goals in three wins last week (4.33 GPG). She tied her career-high with five goals in an MPSF win at No. 8 San Jose State and No. 20 Santa Clara. Gandy added a hat trick against No. 9 UC Irvine, and moved up to third on this year's conference scoring chart.
Woodland, Calif. - USC junior goalkeeper Tumua Anae (Newport Beach, CA/Corona Del Mar HS) picked up a career-high 20 saves in a 15-6 MPSF home win over No. 6 Arizona State. The 20-save outing is a 2009 conference-high amongst all `keepers. Anae allowed just two goals through the first three quarters, facing two of the top scorers in the conference for ASU.