MPSF Water Polo Results, Mar. 25
March 25, 2017 *Arizona State 7, CALIFORNIA 6
Recap by Cal
BERKELEY – Junior Carla Carrega scored three goals but the No. 4 Cal women's water polo team fell 7-6 to No. 6 Arizona State on Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Complex.
The battle of two of the top teams in the nation featured five lead changes, including a 6-5 Cal advantage with seven minutes to go after a goal by senior Genevieve Weed. But ASU sophomore Maud Koopman scored back-to-back goals midway through the fourth quarter to give the Sun Devils the winning margin.
Junior Dora Antal and freshman Emma Wright also scored for the Golden Bears (13-5, 1-2 MPSF).
After Arizona State got the first goal of the game, Wright and Carrega scored late in the first period to put Cal in front 2-1. But the Sun Devils' Bente Rogge converted on a shot as the first quarter clock expired to tie the game at 2-2.
ASU scored the first two goals of the second quarter before Carrega notched her second of the game after a steal by Dora Antal and a counterattack by the Bears. The Sun Devils led 4-3 at halftime.
Arizona State took a 5-3 lead but the Bears then scored the next three to go in front. Antal cut it to 5-4 and Carrega's second 6-on-5 goal tied it before Weed pushed the Bears in front.
Senior goalie Madeline Trabucco made six saves for Cal.
The Bears will be back at Spieker Aquatics Complex on Sunday, April 2 to take on No. 2 Stanford in the annual Big Splash. The game will be televised by the Pac-12 Networks.
*STANFORD 19, CSU Bakersfield 2
Recap by Stanford
STANFORD, Calif. – Maggie Steffens scored a career-high seven goals and Stanford showed no signs of rust in a 19-2 win over CSU Bakersfield at home Saturday afternoon. Katie Dudley also had a hat trick for the Cardinal, which played its first game since March 12 after the team wrapped up finals for the winter quarter this week. The second-ranked Cardinal (15-1, 2-0 MPSF) was able to counter much of the first quarter, leading to multiple one-on-none looks against the Roadrunners (12-13, 0-5 MPSF) and getting out to a 7-0 lead after eight minutes. Steffens scored her first goal 62 seconds into the game to make it 1-0 and added goals with 5:28 and 4:52 left in the opening period. Makenzie Fisher scored twice in the opening period, while Cassidy Papa connected on a lob shot and Jamie Neushul tacked one on in the final minute of the first. Stanford extended its lead to 9-0 in the second quarter thanks to two more goals from Steffens before Kristen Jensen put CSU Bakersfield on the board with 3:17 left in the first half. Katie Dudley countered with two goals in set to close out the first-half scoring thanks to solid entry passes, giving Stanford an 11-1 lead heading into halftime. Shannon Cleary lifted the lid on the second-half scoring, putting one past CSU Bakersfield goalkeeper Courtney Wahlstrom 25 seconds into the third quarter. Steffens scored her final two goals of the game in the third, while CSU Bakersfield’s Ashley Paz scored the Roadrunners’ second and final goal of the game with 4:43 left in the third period. Taking a 17-2 lead into the fourth, Stanford added on goals from Dani Jackovich and Sophia Monaghan to close out the scoring. Gabby Stone started in cage and stopped eight shots in three quarters, while Julia Hermann came on in the fourth and made four saves. Wahlstrom made seven saves for the Roadrunners. Stanford was 2-for-2 on the 6-on-5 and stopped all four of the Roadrunner power plays, including halting a 6-on-4 opportunity for CSU Bakersfield. Stanford next plays Cal in the Big Splash April 2 in Berkeley in a game that will be televised by Pac-12 Networks.
*USC 19, San Jose State 3
USC 21, Hartwick 5
Recap by USC
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC women’s water polo team churned out two more wins to tack onto its record win streak, notching a 19-3 MPSF win over No. 14 San José State and then turning right around to craft a 21-5 victory over No. 18 Hartwick. The undefeated 24-0 Trojans now boast a 51-game win streak after collecting those back-to-back wins today at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The win over SJSU also improves USC to 2-0 in MPSF competition.
The driving force in USC’s offensive onslaught in home waters was senior Brigitta Games. She’d rip through to a career-high seven goals against the Spartans before delivering four more in the win over the Hawks. Just behind her on the scoring front today was fellow senior Stephania Haralabidis, who had four goals in game one before adding on a hat trick in game two. With her second goal against Hartwick, Haralabidis moved up to rank No. 2 all-time in career scoring at USC. She now hold 253 career goals to stand alone as USC’s second leading scorer in program history.
Against the Spartans in the first clash of the day, Brigitta Games scored four straight goals for the Trojans, dominating at two-meters and powering up to net USC a 5-2 lead. After a searing skipper from freshman Denise Mammolito, Games busted out another big goal off a feed from Brianna Daboub, registering a new career high for the senior with her fifth goal of the first half. Games would plug in two more goals in the second half to build out a new career best for herself, while continuing to carry her Trojans to the MPSF victory. Stephania Haralabidis stepped in at the close of the first half and rifled in three straight scores to close out a 10-3 halftime advantage for the Trojans over the Spartans.
USC’s defense would pitch a shutout against San José State in the second half while plugging in nine more goals for the Trojan cause. While Games worked her way out to a seven-goal game, freshmen Mammolito and Maud Megens delivered their second goals during that second half stretch. Starting goalie Victória Chamorro manned the cage for the first three periods, allowing just three goals including a 5-meter penalty shot from the Spartans. Freshman Holly Parker took over for the final frame, and made two saves while rendering SJSU silent in those last eight minutes to close out the 19-3 victory.
After a brief break to regroup after the first game, USC turned to take on No. 18 Hartwick. The quick reset saw the Trojans tangled up early with the Hawks, having to break a couple of early ties. After Hartwick closed to within one, down 4-3 on a 5-meter penalty shot in the late stages of the first period, USC got its groove back. Six straight Trojan scores would follow, with Maud Megens striking twice during that rally off feeds from Stephania Haralabidis. Hartwick got two goals to go in the final four minutes of the second frame, but USC countered with three more goals to hold a 14-5 lead by halftime.
Once again, USC put its silencers on in the second half of action. Once Amanda Longan closed out her three periods of work with 10 saves, Holly Parker stepped in once again and helped close out yet another shutout frame on the defensive end. And while Hayley McKelvey continued to rack up steals for the Trojans, Brigitta Games locked in with a second-half hat trick to finish out a four-goal game and an 11-goal day for herself. Courtney Fahey nabbed two last steals for the Trojans, and USC had a 21-5 win in the books to extend its national women’s record win streak out to 51 in a row.
USC’s next action comes up next week with an MPSF matchup against Arizona State. The Trojans and Sun Devils will face off at USC’s Uytengsu Aquatics Center at 12:30 p.m. in a televised matchup on Pac-12 Network.