Stanford Clinches MPSF Tournament No. 1 Seed
April 15, 2013
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STANFORD (25-1 Overall/5-0 MPSF) goalkeeper Kate Baldoni collected eight saves, holding the top MPSF offense to four goals, in a 6-4 win at No. 1 USC. Melissa Seidemann scored twice, as Stanford raced out to a 3-0 first quarter lead and was never caught. The Cardinal earns the top seed for the MPSF Tournament, Apr. 26-28, advancing to the semifinals after a quarterfinal bye. Stanford, who made it 13 straight wins with an ensuing 10-2 outcome at LMU, visits rival Cal Friday (Apr. 19).
CALIFORNIA (16-5 Overall/2-3 MPSF) has clinched the five seed for the MPSF Tournament, hosting the event after it closes the regular season at home Friday (Apr. 19) against first-place Stanford. The Bears are coming off a 14-7 win at CSU Bakersfield. Emily Csikos' two goals made her Cal's all-time leading scorer with 214, also cracking the top-20 all-time in the conference. She has 47 goals this year. Kathleen Menz recorded 10 saves.
ARIZONA STATE (25-5 Overall/4-2 MPSF) Ao Gao delivered a hat trick and E.B. Keeve collected 12 saves in an 11-8 home win over San Jose State. The Sun Devils were down 5-1 in the first quarter and 6-4 at the half. ASU's regular season is complete and looks for the three seed following the USC-UCLA game, should the Trojans win or at least come within two goals of the Bruins (three-way tiebreaker). ASU holds any possible tiebreaker over UCLA.
UCLA (24-4 Overall/3-2 MPSF) hosts USC Friday to end the regular season. The Bruins would be the two seed in the MPSF Tournament if they win that contest by at least three goals. Otherwise, they are seeded fourth. UCLA comes off home wins over Loyola Marymount (12-4), Pomona-Pitzer (22-5), and Cal Baptist (12-7).
USC (20-1 Overall/4-1 MPSF) looks for the two seed as it visits rival UCLA to close the regular season Friday, and will earn it with a win or at least comes within two goals. Anni Espar scored twice against Stanford. Monica Vavic leads the MPSF with 2.86 goals per game, while Flora Bolonyai carries a 4.89 goals-against average.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (12-21 Overall/0-5 MPSF) plays its regular season finale Saturday at San Jose State, with the winner taking the six seed in the MPSF Tournament. Nicola Barrett (1.42 GPG) and Janelle Shelby (1.21 GPG) are amongst the MPSF scoring leaders.
SAN JOSE STATE (10-10 Overall/0-5 MPSF) hosts CSU Bakersfield to close the regular season Saturday, with the six seed on the line. Timi Molnar had a four-goal outing at Arizona State this past Saturday, giving her 45 on the year.
MELISSA SEIDEMANN MPSF KAP 7 PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Stanford senior Melissa Seidemann (Walnut Creek, CA/College Park HS) accumulated four goals in wins at top-ranked USC and No. 11 Loyola Marymount. Seidemann scored on Stanford's first two possessions at USC, and contributed to a defensive effort that limited the MPSF's top offense to just four goals as the Cardinal clinched the top seed for the conference tournament. Sunday, she scored two early goals in a 10-2 win at LMU. Also Nominated: Rachel Fattal (UCLA)...
RACHEL FATTAL MPSF KAP 7 NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK
UCLA freshman Rachel Fattal (Seal Beach, CA/Los Alamitos HS) scored on 13-of-16 attempts (81.3%) in three games, and drew three exclusions, as the Bruins defeated No. 11 Loyola Marymount, Cal Baptist, and Pomona-Pitzer. Fattal had five goals against the Lions and then beat that career-high against the Lancers with six. Also Nominated: E.B. Keeve (ASU); Kathleen Menz (CAL)...