Tied for Third, Cal Visits USC
March 26, 2012
MPSF Women's Water Polo Weekly Release - 3/26/12
USC (15-3 Overall/3-1 MPSF) goalkeeper Flora Bolonyai tied her career-high 13 saves and allowed only two second half goals, none in the fourth quarter, in a key 9-7 win at No. 4 Arizona State last Saturday. As was the case in the 7-3 win over Long Beach State last Thursday, no Trojan scored more than once in the balanced attack. Kaleigh Gilchrist's five goals also propelled a 10-6 Sunday win over No. 7 LMU. USC hosts Hartwick and Cal this week (Mar. 28 & 31).
CALIFORNIA (16-5 Overall/3-1 MPSF) Breda Vosters poured in a hat trick to lead the Bears to an 8-6 MPSF final at San Diego State last Saturday. The middle stanzas were the difference, as Cal combined for a 7-2 run over the second and third periods. Three games remain on the regular season schedule, each over the next three Saturdays, beginning at USC (Mar. 31). The Bears and Trojans enter the contest tied for third at 3-1 in the conference.
SAN JOSE STATE (13-8 Overall/1-3 MPSF) is in the MPSF win column after an 8-5 decision at Hawaii this past Saturday. Leading 5-4 after three periods, the Spartans scored the first two goals of the final stanza to essentially put it away midway through. Meagan Minson recorded 11 saves in goal and Dani Curran poured in the game's lone hat trick. Anna Natalizio and Victoria Smith scored twice. SJSU returns home for San Diego State and Arizona State this week.
STANFORD (16-1 Overall/2-0 MPSF) Kate Baldoni anchored a dominant defensive effort as the Cardinal defeated UC Santa Barbara, 12-2 Sunday. She helped put together a stretch of 23:31 in which the Cardinal held the Gauchos scoreless. Kiley Neushul recorded four goals in that game. Stanford went on to rout Brown, 19-3 at UCSB on Monday. Arizona State and San Jose State visit Palo Alto this weekend in MPSF action.
ARIZONA STATE (20-4 Overall/2-2 MPSF) Shannon Haas recorded a game-high three goals in last Saturday's home loss to USC. The Sun Devils won a doubleheader in Walnut, CA, last Tuesday, 16-8 over Princeton and 20-6 over Azusa. Haas totaled eight goals in the two wins, while Petra Pardi had five goals vs. APU. Annabelle Carter, Ao Gao, and Mariam Salloum each had a hat trick vs. the Tigers. The Sun Devils travel to Stanford and San Jose State this week.
SAN DIEGO STATE (17-7 Overall/1-4 MPSF) Kelly Campoli continued her stellar goalkeeping with 17 saves but the Aztecs came up two goals short of California. Leanne Ford and Amber Pezzolla scored two apiece. SDSU recovered with a 21-8 outcome over Occidental in the nightcap of the doubleheader, as Tori Long and Emily Whalen chipped in four goals apiece. San Diego State visits San Jose State and Stanford this weekend.
UCLA (15-1 Overall/4-0 MPSF) extended its win streak to nine games on Mar. 17, thanks to a strong second-half against another previous MPSF-unbeaten, Arizona State. The Bruins used a 4-1 second-half to win 8-6 at home. KK Clark delivered a team-high three goals, while Emily Greenwood added two, including the game-winner. Caitlin Dement was credited with seven saves in goal. UCLA travels to Hawaii on Saturday (Mar. 31).
HAWAII (7-10 Overall/0-5 MPSF) came up short, 8-5 at home to San Jose State Saturday, as Danielle Lewis led a group of four UH scorers with a pair of goals. Serena Reid posted 13 saves in the cage. The Rainbow Wahine have five to play in the regular season, beginning with their home finale Saturday (Mar. 31) against top-ranked UCLA.
FLORA BOLONYAI KAP 7 MPSF PLAYER OF THE WEEK
USC sophomore goalkeeper Flora Bolonyai (Budapest, Hungary) matched her career high 13 saves in an important 9-7 MPSF road win at No. 4 Arizona State. The Sun Devils have the No. 2 scoring offense in the MPSF, averaging over 12 goals per game. She collected 11 saves in the second half of play in Tempe, including six in the fourth period, to go with a shutout effort in that frame. In three games during the week, Bolonyai averaged 9.67 saves per game, adding 10 in a 7-3 win over Long Beach State and six in a 10-6 final over No. 7 LMU.
Nominated: Meagan Minson (SJSU); Kate Baldoni (STAN); Breda Vosters (CAL)
VICTORIA SMITH KAP 7 MPSF NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
San Jose State freshman Victoria Smith (Vancouver, BC, Canada) had her most complete game of the season in the 8-5 win at Hawaii. She won all four sprints, and was one of two Spartans assigned to defend Hawaii's Amarens Genee, who came in to the game as the MPSF's No. 4 scorer. Genee had just one shot attempt and did not score in the game. Smith scored twice including a second quarter go-ahead goal followed by another that gave the Spartans a key two-goal lead.
Nominated: Kiley Neushul (STAN)