Stanford and USC Battle in OT
March 10, 2015 MPSF Women's Water Polo Release
STANFORD (14-1 Overall, 1-0 MPSF) edged No. 3 USC in overtime, 12-9, in the MPSF opener for both teams (Mar. 9) in Los Angeles. The Cardinal withstood a furious second half Trojan rally, answering with three straight goals in the overtime periods (two in the first, one in the second) without allowing a goal. Stanford has posted a win in 34-straight conference outings. Jamie Neushul tallied her second career hat trick, including the first and last goal for Stanford. Maggie Steffens, Kiley Neushul, and Ashley Grossman added two goals apiece. Jordan Raney extended her scoring streak to seven straight. Gabby Stone picked up nine saves.
UCLA (16-1 Overall, 2-0 MPSF) Kodi Hill scored three goals and recorded a steal and two earned exclusions in the Bruins' 10-3 home victory against No. 4 California (Mar. 8). Hill's first goal with 2:03 remaining in the first quarter tied the score at 2-2, while it also ignited an 8-0 run by UCLA. Sami Hill picked up six saves, giving her 851 in her career, and 15 away from moving into ninth all-time in the MPSF.
ARIZONA STATE (12-3 Overall, 1-0 MPSF) Petra Pardi put away three goals in the 10-5 MPSF-opening win at CSU Bakersfield (Mar. 7). The Sun Devils won each quarter en route to a five-goal difference. Lena Mihailovic and Alkistis Benekou added two goals apiece. Benekou ranks fifth in the MPSF with 2.27 goals per game. E.B. Keeve was back in the cage, collecting six saves, and is two away from becoming the 12th goalkeeper in MPSF history to reach 800 in a career.
SAN JOSE STATE (16-5 Overall, 0-1 MPSF) Clara Espar Llaquet totaled an incredible 24 goals through four Spartan wins at Harvard this past weekend (Mar. 7-8). Her high game was nine, done in the 17-5 win over Iona, becoming the fourth MPSF player all-time to score that amount in a game (Monica Vavic, USC; Sarah Harris, Pacific, Molly Smith, Pacific). Espar Llaquet has put away an MPSF-high 66 goals this year, and is second in scoring average (3.14 GPG). San Jose State also defeated Harvard 19-12, Marist 19-13, and Brown 13-2. McKenna Yates scored two of her four goals against Brown.
USC (14-2 Overall, 0-1 MPSF) fought back from an 8-4 deficit in the MPSF and home opener against No. 2 Stanford, and ultimately pushed the game to overtime. Monica Vavic scored twice, and continues to average an MPSF-high 3.88 goals per contest this year. Her career total stands at 253, two away from the all-time top-five in the conference and 33 away from the all-time record. Stephania Haralabidis ranks fourth in the MPSF with 2.56 per game.
CALIFORNIA (14-4 Overall, 0-1 MPSF) Dora Antal ranks third in the MPSF in scoring with 48 goals (2.67 GPG), after scoring once at No. 1 UCLA. Anna Illes rounds out the MPSF top-10 list with 34 on the year (1.89 GPG).
CSU BAKERSFIELD (11-9 Overall, 0-1 MPSF) Five Roadrunners' scored once in the home and MPSF opener against Arizona State (Mar. 7). Brittany Tyra had 11 saves in the cage. Nicola Barrett is the CSUB leading scorer with 37 goals, for an MPSF 11th-best 1.85 per outing.