Stanford Clinches No. 1 MPSF Seed
April 14, 2015 MPSF Women's Water Polo Release 13
STANFORD (20-1 Overall, 5-0 MPSF) secured the top seed for the upcoming MPSF Championship Tournament (Apr. 24-26 at Arizona State) with two conference home wins, 8-7 over No. 1 UCLA (Apr. 11) and 20-5 over CSU Bakersfield (Apr. 12). Stanford made it 38 straight MPSF wins, and 26 straight at home. The Cardinal plays their regular season finale at California Thursday (Apr. 16) at 5 pm on Pac-12 Networks. Kiley Neushul combined for six goals for the week, four vs. CSUB. Maggie Steffens and Ashley Grossman also put away four vs. CSUB. Jamie Neushul along with sister Kiley scored twice vs. the Bruins, a game in which Stanford never trailed.
USC (21-2 Overall, 4-1 MPSF) won 21-6 over San Jose State (Apr. 11), as seniors Monica Vavic and Eike Daube put away hat tricks in their final home game. Vavic's season goals stand at an MPSF-high 85, on the verge of becoming the 10th player in MPSF history to score 90 in a season. Her career total is 276, 10 away from the all-time conference record. Stephania Haralabidis also poured in three goals, while the Trojans received at least one score from eight other players. Victoria Chamorro, leading the MPSF with a 4.34 goals-against average, picked up nine saves. USC visits UCLA in the regular season finale Saturday (Apr. 18, 1 pm). The winner receives the two seed and the loser the three seed for the MPSF Tournament.
UCLA (20-2 Overall, 4-1 MPSF) Rachel Fattal scored a game-high three goals, while Sami Hill collected nine saves at Stanford. Fattal has scored a team-high 39 on the year, while Hill is second in the conference with a 4.44 goals-against average. UCLA hosts USC Saturday (Apr. 18, 1 pm), with the winner awarded the MPSF's No. 2 tournament seed. The Bruins won the non-conference meeting 5-3 in Irvine on Feb. 22.
CALIFORNIA (17-5 Overall, 3-2 MPSF) earned the MPSF Tournament's four seed with a Senior Day and Richard Corso USA Water Polo Hall of Fame Day home win over Arizona State, 7-5 (Apr. 12). The Bears overcame a 3-1 deficit after the first quarter, and used two 3-0 runs to secure the win. Roser Tarrago put away a game-high four goals. Dora Antal also scored to run her third-best MPSF season total to 56 (2.55 GPG). Cal hosts Stanford Thursday (Apr. 16, 5 pm) on Pac-12 Networks.
ARIZONA STATE (16-8 Overall, 2-4 MPSF) played its regular season finale at California (Apr. 12). The Sun Devils will be seeded fifth when they host the MPSF Championship Tournament (Apr. 24-26), and will look to avenge the loss at Cal in the quarterfinal round on the 24th at 2:30 pm. Daisy Carter scored two power play goals in the last game. E.B. Keeve enters the postseason with 905 career saves, ranking sixth all-time in the MPSF, and 19 away from the top-five.
SAN JOSE STATE (18-9 Overall, 0-5 MPSF) hosts CSU Bakersfield (Apr. 18) to finish the regular season, with the winner receiving the six seed and the loser the seven seed. Clara Espar Llaquet and Rae Lekness each scored twice at USC. Espar Llaquet has delivered an MPSF second-best 82 goals on the year.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (12-14 Overall, 0-5 MPSF) visits San Jose State Saturday (Apr. 18) with the No. 6 seed on the line. Kristen Jensen and Nicola Barrett are the CSUB scoring leaders with 42 goals apiece this year. Janelle Shelby scored twice at Stanford (Apr. 12).