Stanford Wins Invite; Cal Visits CSUB to Open MPSF
Feb. 7, 2017 MPSF Women's Water Polo Release 4
STANFORD (0-0 MPSF, 7-0 Overall) won its own invitational this past weekend to stay unbeaten, defeating Loyola Marymount 19-8, Hawaii 12-5, UC Irvine 11-4, and California in the first-place game, 10-7. Jamie Neushul, who ranks eighth in the MPSF in scoring with 2.29 goals per game, tallied three of her eight weekend goals against Cal. Makenzie Fischer also delivered an eight-goal tournament, including a career-high four against LMU. Stanford is off this week, next in action on Feb. 18 against Santa Clara in Berkeley.
CALIFORNIA (0-0 MPSF, 8-1 Overall) won three out of four at the Stanford Invitational (Feb. 4-5). The Bears took down Michigan, 13-9, UC Davis, 17-2, and San Jose State, 15-6. Cal travels to CSU Bakersfield Saturday (Feb. 11) in the first MPSF contest of 2017. Anna Illes combined for 10 goals, six assists, and six steals over the four games at Stanford, scoring hat tricks against Michigan and UC Davis. Emma Wright added a nine-goal, eight-assist, and four-steal weekend, recording a hat trick against the Wolverines. Dora Antal has put away 26 goals on the year, second-most in the conference.
USC (0-0 MPSF, 10-0 Overall) Brianna Daboub tallied eight goals in three USC wins this past week--scoring once in the 23-6 home-opening win over No. 15 San Diego State, a career-high four goals to lead a 25-2 win over Pomona-Pitzer at the Whittier Invitational, followed by a hat trick in a 24-1 win over Chapman. Kelsey McIntosh, in her first collegiate week, totaled seven goals across the three wins, four coming against Pomona. Winners of 37 straight games dating back to the 2015 NCAA Tournament, the Trojans play in the UCSD Invitational this weekend, first meeting Santa Clara Saturday. Stephania Haralabidis is the MPSF scoring leader with 36 goals (3.60 GPG), while Victoria Chamorro has the top goals-against average (2.57).
UCLA (0-0 MPSF, 7-0 Overall) cruised to a 13-2 win at Long Beach State last Friday (Feb. 3). Rachel Fattal netted four goals, while Kodi Hill, Mackenzie Barr, and Alexis Angermund each scored twice in a game featuring no ties and no lead changes. The Bruins' next compete in their home opener on Feb. 17 against UC Irvine. Fattal (2.57 GPG) and Maddie Musselman (2.71 GPG) each rank in the MPSF's top-five in scoring. Carlee Kapana has an MPSF second-best 3.04 goals-against average.
SAN JOSE STATE (0-0 MPSF, 3-7 Overall) picked up one win at the Stanford Invitational, edging UC Davis 11-10 (Feb. 4), as Donia Momen recorded a hat trick. Sheila Jensen accumulated five goals on the first day, two in the win and three in the loss to California. Carla Toha Vilanova put away five of the Spartans' nine goals in the fifth-place game vs. Michigan, while Klaudia Paradi added a hat trick. Toha Vilanova ranks in the MPSF's top-10 in scoring with 18 goals (2.00 GPG). San Jose State is off this week, next competing on Feb. 19 at the UC Davis Shootout vs. Pacific and Occidental.
ARIZONA STATE (0-0 MPSF, 3-0 Overall) plays four games at the UC San Diego Invitational this weekend (Feb. 11-12), first meeting Sonoma State at 8 am Saturday. The Sun Devils won all three games as it hosted San Diego State (Jan. 28), Wagner (Jan. 29), and UCSB (Jan. 29) to kick-off the season in its own ASU Tournament. The Sun Devils defeated the Aztecs 13-4, the Seahawks 13-3, and the Gauchos, 8-4. Maud Koopman accumulated nine goals over the three wins, five vs. SDSU. She also had a three-assist and three-steal game vs. UCSB. Koopman is one of two MPSF players averaging a hat trick per game.
CSU BAKERSFIELD (0-0 MPSF, 2-4 Overall) hosts California Saturday, Feb. 11, in the first MPSF contest of 2017. Last in action, Ashley Paz recorded a hat trick in leading a 10-8 victory over Pomona-Pitzer (Jan. 28) at Cal Baptist. Courtney Wahlstrom totaled 19 saves through two games, nine in the win and 10 in a 13-3 loss to UC Irvine in game two of the doubleheader.