MPSF Unbeatens Collide as Stanford Visits UCLA
Oct. 20, 2014 MPSF Men's Water Polo Release 7
STANFORD (17-2 Overall, 3-0 MPSF) Bret Bonanni had a six-goal weekend, as the Cardinal edged No. 1 USC 11-10 and UCSB 13-6. Stanford never trailed the entire weekend. Following a fifth tie against the Trojans, the 10-10 knot was broken with 41 seconds left in regulation. BJ Churnside delivered four goals in that contest, while Drew Holland had a career-high 20 saves, followed by another 10 at UCSB. In just his junior year, Bonanni owns 230 career goals, five away from cracking the all-time top-10 list in MPSF history. Alex Bowen, who scored three goals last week, sits at 224. The two wins set up a battle of 3-0 MPSF teams Friday (Oct. 24) in Westwood, as Stanford visits UCLA at 4 pm on Pac-12 Networks. Earlier this season in non-conference action, the Bruins won the NorCal meeting (9-7), before the Cardinal prevailed in the SoCal (7-6).
UCLA (19-2 Overall, 3-0 MPSF) Gordon Marshall had a career-high five goals and Paul Reynolds added three as the Bruins picked up a huge conference road win at second-ranked California this past Saturday, 13-8. Up 7-6 late in the second quarter, UCLA began a run a 5-0 which carried into the fourth. Garrett Danner collected nine saves in the cage, and held Cal to just two goals in the second half. Danner and the Bruins are allowing a conference-best 4.86 goals per game. Heading into this week's games against Stanford at home and UC Santa Barbara on the road, Cristiano Mirarchi leads UCLA with 35 goals this year (2.06 GPG).
LONG BEACH STATE (13-3 Overall, 2-0 MPSF) remained one of the three MPSF unbeaten teams after a 14-3 home win over Pepperdine last Saturday. Zacchary Kappos poured in a game-high four goals, giving him a team-high 34 on the year (2.13 GPG). Pavo Ljepopio saved 13 shots while only three eluded him. The 49ers have two conference home games this weekend, hosting UC Irvine Saturday (Oct. 25) and Pacific Sunday (Oct. 26). The Beach has a non-conference win over the Tigers this year, 11-9 at the SoCal Tournament, while it will be the first 2014 meeting with the Anteaters.
UC IRVINE (13-6 Overall, 1-2 MPSF) Lovre Milos poured in five goals in a 17-10 MPSF home win over Pacific last Saturday. The Anteaters raced out to a 5-0 lead by the end of the first quarter, and 11-2 at the half, as goalkeeper Dylan Peterson recorded eight of his 13 saves before halftime. Milos continues to lead the MPSF in scoring, owning 75 goals in 19 games (3.95 GPG). His 80th goal will be the 17th time in MPSF history the feat has been achieved in a single season. UCI visits Long Beach State Saturday.
USC (16-3 Overall, 2-1 MPSF) Rex Butler tied a game-high four goals and Kostas Genidounias added two at Stanford. Genidounias' two goals gives him 235 for his career, catching Ivan Rackov (Cal-235) for ninth all-time in MPSF history. Next up on that list are Mitch Wise (UCI-242), Brett Ormsby (UCLA-243) and Dragan Bakic (Pacific-245). The Trojans visit Loyola Marymount Thursday (Oct. 23), before returning home to face Pacific Saturday in a conference game. USC and LMU meet for the first time in 2014. The Trojans have a non-conference win over Pacific from Sept. 7 in La Jolla, 10-3.
CALIFORNIA (17-3 Overall, 1-1 MPSF) Aleksa Saponjic and JD Ratchford each scored two goals in the UCLA game last Saturday. The Bears travel to Pepperdine and UC Irvine this weekend for two MPSF contests, the first meeting of the year against each team.
PACIFIC (12-7 Overall, 0-2 MPSF) Krisztian Laczkovics shared a game-high five goals at UC Irvine. The Tigers return to Southern California this weekend, visiting USC and Long Beach State. UC SANTA BARBARA (9-8 Overall, 0-3 MPSF) freshman Shane Hauschild had one goal and two assists in the Stanford game, and continues to lead the Gauchos with 22 goals on the year. UCLA visits UCSB Sunday, in the first meeting of the year between the two teams.
PEPPERDINE (8-9 Overall, 0-3 MPSF) Wesley Sherburne scored all three goals for the Waves at Long Beach State, matching a season-high. Luke Hewko owns 40 goals this year (2.35 GPG). Pepperdine faces California and Stanford for the first time this year, as each visit Malibu this weekend.