Jamie Neushul – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com Breaking news from the Farm since 1892 Wed, 13 May 2015 05:32:38 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.4.3 https://stanforddaily.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/cropped-DailyIcon-CardinalRed.png?w=32 Jamie Neushul – The Stanford Daily https://stanforddaily.com 32 32 204779320 Water polo blog: We are the champions https://stanforddaily.com/2015/05/12/water-polo-blog-we-are-the-champions/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/05/12/water-polo-blog-we-are-the-champions/#comments Wed, 13 May 2015 05:26:01 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1100845 Wow. The countdown finally ended, and we got to compete for a national championship. At home. And we won. The team got together to recap one another’s experiences and see how everyone felt about it — speechless. To be able to play for a national title and look up and see about 500 students cheering […]

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Wow. The countdown finally ended, and we got to compete for a national championship. At home. And we won.

The team got together to recap one another’s experiences and see how everyone felt about it — speechless. To be able to play for a national title and look up and see about 500 students cheering for you in the stands was one of the coolest experiences I have ever been a part of. This “cool factor” was echoed throughout the entire team.

Team defense like this was an integral component in not only Stanford's NCAA victory but their success all season. (FRANK CHEN/The Stanford Daily).
Team defense like this was an integral component in not only Stanford’s NCAA victory but their success all season. (FRANK CHEN/The Stanford Daily).

One thing we stressed going into a game like that was keeping faith and trust in each other regardless of the scoreboard or the situation. We talked about remaining calm and positive even if things took a turn or if we went down by 4 goals. We were put to the test on Sunday. And we passed.

It is hard to explain the emotions and thoughts that go into a championship game. I wish I could say we planned things to go that way and everything went as planned, but that is not true. It is all about having courage and playing with heart; it’s about who embraces the moment. Games like those are scary and they require you to dig deeper. Both teams were prepared for the challenge.

I have never been a part of a game between two teams that wanted to win more than that one. Nor any tournament, for that matter. Every single team that competed this weekend was a great one. I could sit here and say that we work the hardest, put in the most time, and deserved and wanted this more than any other team, but that just wouldn’t be true. That tournament, and that game especially, was full of athletes and girls who have poured their hearts into their team and season.

Huge credit to UCLA for being the toughest opponent I have ever faced. That game was probably the hardest game I have ever played. That is an amazing, well-coached team who never fails to put us to the test. However, there can only be one winner, and luckily for us, it was our day.

One of the coolest things about the win was the performance of our seniors. We needed people to step up and they did. It was a perfect stage, full of excitement, and they were ready to perform. Ashley Grossman and Kiley Neushul combined for all seven of our goals. There are definitely worse ways to cap a college water polo career.

And our final senior, Emily Dorst, is the happiest, loudest and greatest encourager I have ever encountered in my lifetime. These girls are a shining example of what it means to be a Stanford student-athlete, and I know speak for my entire team when I say that they will be missed. To get to play with these girls and alongside my sister for two years has been a gift.

Some people call it championship Sunday. We call it celebration Sunday. To celebrate all the time and hard work we have put into the season. To celebrate every drill and every swim set. We treated the game on Sunday as an opportunity to celebrate each other. And we were lucky enough to do that at home in front of a huge crowd who was there to celebrate with us. It’s a great day to be a national champion, but an even better day to be a Stanford Cardinal!

Home of Champions.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s water polo blog: Focusing on fundamentals https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/22/womens-water-polo-blog-focusing-on-fundamentals/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/22/womens-water-polo-blog-focusing-on-fundamentals/#respond Thu, 23 Apr 2015 06:50:05 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1099637 Seventeen days. Only 17 more days until we compete for a national championship. It may not seem long, but we definitely have a long way to go. We still have lots to work on and, as always, lots of room for improvement. The postseason is a time when it is very easy for a team […]

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Seventeen days. Only 17 more days until we compete for a national championship. It may not seem long, but we definitely have a long way to go. We still have lots to work on and, as always, lots of room for improvement.

The postseason is a time when it is very easy for a team to get caught up in the excitement and to look too far ahead at what is to come. The truth is that we have five games left and each one is important. Remaining focused is more vital than ever right now.

We head to MPSFs on Thursday. We prepare for MPSFs as we would any other game — nothing really changes. We really stress taking things one day at a time and winning every single day. We are a team that always strives to be better and, for us, a win means improving every day, even if it is just a tiny bit. So, most importantly, we are focused on trying to improve and win every day that we have left.

MPSFs is a very critical tournament. It plays a part in our seeding for NCAAs, but is also another chance for us to compete against the best teams in college water polo. In order to be the best you have to beat the best, so when it comes down to it, seeding is not necessarily all that important.

Our goal for MPSFs is the same as always. We want to show up and take it one game at a time. It is an opportunity for us to get better. One thing we really stress at this point in the season is just focusing on ourselves. We do not worry about what other teams are doing, but only focus on what it is that we need to do. We focus on taking care of our own responsibilities.

It starts and ends with this team. Outside factors do not matter. Over the year, our team has created an identity for itself and a language that we can all understand. We just need to trust the preparation we have done and trust one another. If we remain a unit and focus on our goals, then we will have the best chance at being successful.

We treat each practice that we have left simply as an opportunity to play. Everyone is having so much fun playing together; we are really cherishing the time that we have left in the water together and enjoying ourselves while, of course, striving to be better.

A lot of people associate the postseason with pressure: pressure to do well, pressure to win, pressure that has culminated throughout the entire season. We try not to look at it that way. We just want to give the best effort we possibly can and we hope that all the hard work we have done translates in the games.

MPSFs is going to feature all of the best teams and I have no doubt that every other team has been working hard and wants to win. Competition is one of the most fun parts of playing sports. It is why everyone shows up and works hard every day.

We are just happy to be given the opportunity to compete and work towards a common goal. We know that everything will not pan out perfectly, but we are excited to show up and try our hardest and give the best effort we can. We have the fundamentals and knowledge to be successful; the only pieces left are teamwork and execution. That is what we are looking to do this weekend.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Women’s water polo blog: Hard work pays off https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/09/womens-water-polo-blog-hard-work-pays-off/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/04/09/womens-water-polo-blog-hard-work-pays-off/#comments Thu, 09 Apr 2015 07:11:54 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1098609 Thirty-one days. The number of days until our NCAA championship is disappearing quickly and getting smaller and smaller. We are just getting more and more excited. A lot has happened since I last updated. With the end of winter quarter final exams, our team was given the opportunity to focus on water polo and each other […]

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Thirty-one days. The number of days until our NCAA championship is disappearing quickly and getting smaller and smaller. We are just getting more and more excited.

Senior Ashley Grossman has scored 12 goals in her last 4 games, putting her second on the team with 43 on the season. Grossman will play a crucial role in the team's upcoming showdown with UCLA.
Senior Ashley Grossman has scored 12 goals in her last 4 games, putting her second on the team with 43 on the season. Grossman will play a crucial role in the team’s upcoming showdown with UCLA. (HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA/stanfordphoto.com)

A lot has happened since I last updated. With the end of winter quarter final exams, our team was given the opportunity to focus on water polo and each other without school or anything outside of the pool getting in the way. Spring break was a great way for us to hone in on individual skill work and really get familiar with one another both in and out of the water.

We trained very hard everyday and really broke down little things we could each improve about our game. This proved to be successful in our recent games against Arizona State, UC Davis and San Jose State. We always stress defense and focus on the fact that if we hold a team to zero goals, there is absolutely no way that we can lose a game.

Our recent games have been telling of our defensive ability, but the most exciting thing we took away from these games was our cohesiveness on offense. We seemed to be lacking a sort of rhythm that our team is capable of when we work together that really showed up in our recent games.

Everyone has been putting away their opportunities with a lot more confidence, and there seems to be a wave of excitement both in games and practice that was missing before. It has been amazing to watch my teammates make incredibly selfless plays to open each other up and to see people playing off of each other’s efforts on offense with great passes.

Passing is another extremely important part of our offense that we have been trying to clean up. We focus a lot on the difference between a pass and an assist. This disparity is so critical in water polo. A player can make a great read, but if her pass is off by just a couple of inches, it can be the difference between an attempt and a goal. The range of error that our sport allows is annoyingly low, especially when it comes to passing.

Precision is key, as is attention to detail. Our efforts to improve in these areas were on display in our recent games, especially in Davis. We had 10 different goal scorers, five of whom had hat tricks, to bring us to an extremely high team total of 23 goals. A spectator would think from this high number that the game should have inherently been a blowout, but Davis is a well coached and hard opponent that we often have close games with. What it came down to was our passing precision and teamwork.

We were working so well with one another and adjusting to each person’s tendencies by making passes just how our teammates like them. It is that attention to detail that is going to most important forward.

We match up against UCLA this weekend — a team we have faced many times this season and one that always keeps us on our toes and capitalizes on our mistakes. UCLA is disciplined and very well coached. This team features many amazing players that have the played the game for a very long time and it always seems to be a close game with them.

It is always fun to play them and we are looking forward to having our abilities tested to see what we can do with them. We are still working hard everyday, and hopefully that will pay off in the water against the Bruins.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Starting off strong: On the MPSF opener against SC https://stanforddaily.com/2015/03/13/starting-off-strong-on-the-mpsf-opener-against-sc/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/03/13/starting-off-strong-on-the-mpsf-opener-against-sc/#respond Fri, 13 Mar 2015 07:20:29 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1097498 Sixty days. The countdown to when we compete for a national championship is moving quickly. Our focus now is on our MPSF matches and head-to-head games. We are emphasizing staying present and focusing on prepping ourselves for one game at a time. This past Sunday we did just that. We spent the week prepping ourselves […]

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Sixty days. The countdown to when we compete for a national championship is moving quickly. Our focus now is on our MPSF matches and head-to-head games. We are emphasizing staying present and focusing on prepping ourselves for one game at a time.

MACIEK GUDRYMOWICZ/stanfordphoto.com
Kiley Neushul (above) and her sister Kelly were key in the Cardinal’s efforts. Kiley’s impact was especially pronounced defensively, as the Cardinal held USC to just two first half goals. MACIEK GUDRYMOWICZ/stanfordphoto.com

This past Sunday we did just that. We spent the week prepping ourselves for our MPSF opener against No. 3 USC and executed, winning in overtime 12-9. The most encouraging thing that came out of that win was, once again, that we know we have a lot to work on and learn both offensively and defensively.

One of the most important factors of water polo is consistency and control, which are two components we constantly practice but also need to improve. In our game against USC, we started off strong by taking a pretty commanding lead at halftime. We seemed to have the pace of the game under control, which showed especially in the patience we had in front-court offense, but USC eventually managed to claw their way back and make things interesting in the fourth quarter.

Many people, namely Maggie Steffens and Kiley Neushul, made some serious extra efforts defensively to help us in the game. Ashley Grossman was also relentless, occupying space on offense in the center and being a terror for the other team to deal with. Gabby Stone was a wall in the cage, making it very difficult for USC to score. It was and always will be a team effort, but each of these individuals had notable performances.

Playing at USC was a great experience due to the competitive atmosphere present both amongst all the players in the water and the fans. Not only is USC an extremely successful aquatics school and an extremely well-coached team, but there were also a lot of people, cheering and noise, which are all things a player needs to be prepared to deal with. It gets harder to hear your coach and teammates, but also creates a very fun atmosphere.

The control that we harnessed in the first half of the game needs to stay consistent until the final buzzer rings. These next couple of weeks are a huge opportunity for us to focus on that goal in many different ways.

Right now, everyone is trying to control the balance between athletics and academics as we go into winter quarter finals. While water polo is always on our minds, we are students before athletes here at Stanford. A large part of learning control is being able to balance the workload and time that being a full-time student and athlete demands. The main focus for these next two weeks is acing our finals and making grades while simultaneously maintaining a high level of fitness.

The end of the quarter is often a stressful time, and maintaining a consistent fitness level and effort can become difficult, so it is encouraging to know that your teammates are on your side. The practice atmosphere includes a lot of conditioning, which gives us the chance to build each other up and push each other harder. It is a great window of time for us to get better before spring break.

Looking ahead, we will face Harvard in two weeks, which will be a very fun environment to get back into competition. Personally, I have never had the opportunity to play against a team from the East Coast, so I, and the rest of the younger players on the team, are very excited to see how things pan out. It is always interesting and exhilarating to face new opponents, and we know that Harvard will be very excited to play us as well.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Water polo blog: Responding to adversity https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/24/water-polo-blog-responding-to-adversity/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/24/water-polo-blog-responding-to-adversity/#respond Wed, 25 Feb 2015 07:29:28 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1096337 77 days. That’s how long we have until we compete for a national championship here at Stanford. The day is getting closer and closer and we are getting more and more excited. This past weekend was a very good learning experience for our team. We traveled to Irvine for the UCI Invite and finished in […]

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77 days. That’s how long we have until we compete for a national championship here at Stanford. The day is getting closer and closer and we are getting more and more excited.

This past weekend was a very good learning experience for our team. We traveled to Irvine for the UCI Invite and finished in second place after losing to UCLA 7-6 in the final game. It was our second meeting with UCLA this season, and it snapped a 27-game winning streak that we had going since last season. It was long and hard-fought game and we traded goals for the majority of it, but eventually fell in overtime.

The exciting thing we took away from that game is the amount of room that we have for improvement. UCLA, along with Cal earlier in the day, exposed our weaknesses and areas we need to focus on. Knowing that we have the potential to be better is something our team gets excited about.

Our semifinal game against Cal got off to a slow start. We went down 2-0 and trailed 4-2 at halftime. Both our defense and offense were frantic and scattered, leading to many mistakes and turnovers. Our third quarter defined the win for us, as we came out firing changing a 4-2 deficit to a 5-4 lead. We got three goals one after another because we calmed down and started to play as a unit.

We were able to finish that game strong and advanced to the finals with a 7-6 win. Unfortunately, we saw a different outcome than we would have liked in the championship.

We started off well and stayed even with UCLA for the whole game, but we did not play with the heart of a championship team. The excitement and championship vibe seemed to be missing from the game, which is very uncharacteristic of our team and probably part of the reason we lost. There are obviously mechanics and essential parts of offense and defense that need a lot of work, but the biggest thing on everyone’s mind leaving the weekend is teamwork.

Teamwork is something that we always stress, as our team is comprised of various versatile individuals with skill sets that work so well with one another. When we put our individual skills together is when we are most successful.

Recognizing that we are all working towards a goal together as a team rather than just a group of individuals is something we cannot lose sight of moving forward. Water polo is a game that allows you to get frustrated easily, especially with aspects of the game that are out of your control. One thing that you can always control is whether or not you respond to these adversities as a team.

One thing we really stress is not using adversity as an excuse. We do not blame the outcome of the game on things out of our control. We focus on whether or not we fought as one unit. There are seven people in the pool at once and eighteen of us working together as a whole. Each of these eighteen people has a role to fulfill that is necessary for our success.

The most important thing we have to remember moving forward is that we are eighteen people who work together every day and push each other to be better, and that needs to be reflected in how we play and respond to difficult situations.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Water polo blog: Still on top, but lots to work on https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/11/water-polo-blog-still-on-top-but-lots-to-work-on/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/02/11/water-polo-blog-still-on-top-but-lots-to-work-on/#respond Wed, 11 Feb 2015 08:43:41 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1095399 Eighty-nine days. That’s how long we have until we compete for a national championship in our home pool. It has been 20 days since I last posted to this blog. And we’ve been hard at work for every single one of them. We are continuing in our “tournament tough” part of the season, finishing on […]

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Eighty-nine days. That’s how long we have until we compete for a national championship in our home pool. It has been 20 days since I last posted to this blog. And we’ve been hard at work for every single one of them.

We are continuing in our “tournament tough” part of the season, finishing on top at our tournament, the Stanford Invitational. It was a great challenge and a lot of fun for us to play against many of the top-ranked teams in the nation, especially at home. We defeated UCLA, an opponent with whom we are extremely familiar, 10-6 in the final game.

Sophomore Jamie Neushul shows the spark in the defending national champion Cardinal. (HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA/SPO).
Sophomore Jamie Neushul (above) and the No. 1 Cardinal continued their dominance with a title in last weekend’s Stanford Invitational, but they still believe they have work to do on defense. (HECTOR GARCIA-MOLINA/stanfordphoto.com).

It is never an easy game when we play UCLA. We have met so many times in the past, making for an extremely competitive atmosphere. The Bruins are a well-coached, creative and hungry opponent, and they did not fall short in any of these categories this past weekend.

The game set up like any championship atmosphere: exciting, thrilling and awesome. To see people in the crowd, to play against people other than our own teammates and to represent the Stanford Cardinal is what we work for every day in practice.

We started off strong and managed to stay ahead, controlling the pace of the game — for the most part. We had a commanding three-goal lead going into halftime that quickly turned into a one-goal lead in the third quarter. We were able to finish strong and put in numerous goals in the fourth quarter, but UCLA definitely put up a long and hard fight. Only a team that is willing to put pressure on for the entire game, characteristic of the Bruins, can cause such a big and quick defensive lapse. Due to a great, sustained effort, we were able to escape with a win. Junior Anna Yelizarova and senior Ashley Grossman were outstanding on offense, putting up impressive shots and efforts to make this win possible.

The best and most exciting factor we took away from the weekend was discovering that we still have lots to work on — and being reminded that there is always room for improvement. UCLA, among many other teams, exposed our weaknesses, and since then, we have been working hard to get better.

Our top priority at Stanford is and always will be defense. A team that does not give up goals cannot lose. Offense is obviously important and something every team must focus on, but offense begins with defense. Offense is a reward for playing great defense. Offense is creativity; defense is discipline. Defense separates the talented from the determined. It is defined and controlled by those willing to make the extra effort. In regards to water polo, we pride ourselves in being a team that gets more excited about being down a player (5 on 6) than up a player (6 on 5). We pride ourselves in getting shot-blocks and great steals, knowing that scoring goals will happen somewhere along the way — and keeping in mind that we only need one goal to win if we give up zero.

Defense is what we are stressing as we go forward. This weekend, we are traveling to Fresno Pacific for a double-header against Fresno and San Diego State. We are excited to play more teams who are also excited to play us. Looking further ahead, we will be back in the pool at the Irvine Tournament with UCLA as well as all of the other top-ranked teams in the NCAA. I can’t wait to see what we do with the next couple weeks and to watch our team grow closer and stronger.

Go Stanford!

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Water polo blog: 107 days away… https://stanforddaily.com/2015/01/21/water-polo-blog-107-days-away/ https://stanforddaily.com/2015/01/21/water-polo-blog-107-days-away/#respond Thu, 22 Jan 2015 06:34:12 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1094173 One hundred and seven. That is the number of days until we compete for a national championship…at our home pool. In Avery Aquatic Center. 107 days to train. 107 days to get better. We rang in the New Year together for our first official practice of the season and have been on a grind ever […]

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One hundred and seven. That is the number of days until we compete for a national championship…at our home pool. In Avery Aquatic Center. 107 days to train. 107 days to get better.

Jamie Neushul (NORBERT VON DER GROEBEN/isiphoto.com)
Jamie Neushul (NORBERT VON DER GROEBEN/isiphoto.com)

We rang in the New Year together for our first official practice of the season and have been on a grind ever since.

The focus of most of our training towards the beginning of this season has been on conditioning and fine-tuning individual skill work. It has been fun to see the freshmen incorporated into our team and style of play. We are encouraging one another in the pool and weight room to improve and excel.

As far as competition goes, we mostly have to play against each other in practice. We were lucky enough to get to train with the Chinese national team, which gave us a break from beating up on each other. It was interesting and different for us to play against an international opponent rather than another college team. We used our sessions with China to prepare for our first official competition, the Lou Tully Memorial Tournament.

We opened up the first day of the tournament in an exhibition game against China. After our two practice sessions, we focused on their tendencies and personnel to prepare ourselves for the game. The hard work paid off. We beat China 10-6. It was a close battle but we pulled away from them in the fourth quarter, thanks to a lot of help from our goalie, sophomore Gabby Stone, who ended the game with 13 saves.

We defeated another international opponent in Brazil in the second game, 13-6. This game was a great offensive team effort. Seniors Ashley Grossman and Kiley Neushul both tallied hat tricks in the win.

The second day of the tournament featured the first two official games of our season against Pacific and Cal State Monterey Bay. Before these games, we stressed the importance of defense as a component that we really wanted to focus on. Defense turned out to be the name of the game. We held both teams to only 3 goals combined, with a 14-3 win over Pacific and a 20-0 win over Monterey Bay. Both games featured many scorers for us, including 10 different players in the first game and 11 in the second.

Senior driver Kiley Neushul, Jamie's sister, led the Cardinal with five goals in its first two official matches of the season in the Lou Tully Memorial Tournament. (BOB DREBIN/stanfordphoto.com)
Senior driver Kiley Neushul, Jamie’s sister, led the Cardinal with five goals in its first two official matches of the season in the Lou Tully Memorial Tournament. (BOB DREBIN/stanfordphoto.com)

This past weekend was a good opportunity for us to explore our team’s versatility before our competition begins to get tougher. It was especially fun to have our freshmen play in their first official games. The freshmen — Jordan Raney, Shannon Clearly, Natalie Chun, Katie Dudley and Lauren Norheim — have been working tirelessly every day in practice and to see that hard work translate in the games was very encouraging for the whole team.

We are now working towards becoming “tournament tough.” We have mostly tournaments in this first segment of our season, and the first is our very own Stanford Invitational on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. We are focusing on conditioning so that we are ready to play multiple games a day. Everyone is getting very excited to play in our home pool for the first time, always keeping it in our minds that our home pool is where we will be in the end.

While we do split the season up and take it day by day, the number 107 never leaves our minds. As of today, 107 is the number of days until we compete in the national championship. I can’t wait to see what we do with it.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s water polo captures MPSF title https://stanforddaily.com/2014/12/02/mens-water-polo-captures-mpsf-title/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/12/02/mens-water-polo-captures-mpsf-title/#respond Wed, 03 Dec 2014 06:02:06 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1092883 No. 2 Stanford (25-3, 7-1 MPSF) captured its fifth MPSF Tournament title and first since 2004 this past weekend in Long Beach, California. The Cardinal won three straight matches to capture the title.

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No. 2 Stanford (25-3, 7-1 MPSF) captured its fifth MPSF Tournament title and first since 2004 this past weekend in Long Beach, California. The Cardinal won three straight matches to capture the title.

Their first victim was the Pepperdine University Waves. Stanford jumped on the Waves right from the start taking a 3-0 lead behind two goals from junior driver BJ Churnside and one goal from junior driver Bret Bonnani, giving the Cardinal a lead they would not relinquish.

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Alex Bowen scored a team-high 4 goals in the semifinal victory over USC, ending his MPSF career on a high. (The Stanford Daily)

Stanford looked powerful on offense as it featured nine different scorers on the game.

Pepperdine scored the next goal of the game to start the second quarter but the Cardinal would answer with 3 goals from senior utility Alex Bowen, redshirt sophomore Adam Abdulhamid and sophomore driver Reid Chase. Stanford’s offensive flurry was both unabated and constant as they scored at least three times in every quarter. The other goals came from senior defender Nick Hoversten, junior Adam Warmoth and sophomore driver Sam Pfeil.

The 13-4 win propelled Stanford into the semi-finals of the tournament where they faced USC, the defending champions.

Here, Bowen stole the show for the Cardinal with a game-high 4 goals, as the senior seemed determined to end his MPSF career on a high. The 7-4 victory over the Trojans was Stanford’s seventh in a row and 24th on the year. It was also their second victory of the year against USC. However, Stanford would have to wait until the fourth quarter to unleash its offense, as the game was a low-scoring 4-4 tie entering that period.

Bonnani opened the quarter with a 6-on-5 goal, and when USC missed on two shot attempts, Bowen was there to capitalize. He converted both Trojan misses into Stanford counter-attack goals to ensure the Cardinal moved on to the final. On the defensive end, sophomore goalie Drew Holland posted a remarkable performance with 17 saves for the game, including three in the final quarter.

The win was by no means easy for the Cardinal, however, who struggled early on. USC opened up the game with a goal from Rex Butler on a power play, although Churnside equalized things just before the end of the first period for Stanford.

Bowen went to work in the second quarter, as he would for the whole game. He opened up the quarter by finishing a power play opportunity and followed that with another goal to put Stanford ahead 3-1. The Trojans would counter with a goal, though, trailing the Cardinal by only 3-2 at the half.

Bonnani pushed Stanford back ahead by two in the third with a counter attack goal at the beginning of the quarter, but USC seemed to have an infinite supply of answers as Marc Vonderweidt poured in back to back goals to tie the game before the last quarter.

But Stanford responded and walked away with a 7-4 win and a spot in the finals.

They were set to face the No. 4 Long Beach State 49ers, who upset the No. 1 UCLA Bruins in the other semifinal.

Stanford’s victory was a close one, as they beat Long Beach by only 1 goal, finishing with a 9-8 mark. The victory was ensured by Churnside, who poured in 2 fourth quarter goals for the Cardinal. Stanford was trailing Long Beach 8-7 halfway through the quarter but Churnside put away a power play goal to equalize things. It was with just 0:32 left in the game that Stanford drew an ejection and called a timeout to come up with a plan to claim the title. Churnside did just that with 15 seconds left, powering a shot into the cage and giving Stanford its 9-8 victory. Churnside finished the game with a hat trick.

The beginning of the game was dominated by the 49ers. They scored the first two goals of the game and jumped out to a quick 2-0 lead.

Stanford would score four unanswered goals behind Hoversten, Churnside and two strikes from Bowen at the end of the second and beginning of the third period. However, the teams traded goals for the next three as a Bonnani goal was sandwiched between two goals from Long Beach’s Zacchary Kappos. But, yet again, Bowen scored to even the game 6-6 going into the final quarter.

Abdulhamid grabbed a 7-6 lead for Stanford in the final quarter, but Long Beach added two more, once again taking the lead 8-7. Another Bowen goal, his third of the game, would tie the game once more. Then Churnside went to work and stole the tournament title with a 9-8 victory for Stanford.

Bowen was named Tournament MVP for his impressive play over the weekend. Bret Bonnani, BJ Churnside and Drew Holland were all named to the All-Tournament Team.

The Cardinal will be competing amongst six other teams once more this season in the NCAA Championship on Dec. 6-7 at UC San Diego. Stanford grabbed the No. 2 seed and opens up NCAA tournament play against No. 3 seed USC in the semifinals on Saturday.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Men’s water polo moves towards postseason with two wins https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/17/mens-water-polo-moves-towards-postseason-with-two-wins/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/17/mens-water-polo-moves-towards-postseason-with-two-wins/#respond Tue, 18 Nov 2014 06:40:57 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1092281 No. 2 Stanford (22-3) finished off its regular season this past week with two wins and a 22-3 overall record with a 7-1 in MPSF play.

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No. 2 Stanford (22-3) finished off its regular season this past week with two wins and a 22-3 overall record, going 7-1 in MPSF play.

Stanford’s first win was a comfortable 22-5 victory over Santa Clara on Wednesday. It was the second time this season that Stanford reached the 20-goal mark, receiving goals from 10 different scorers, seven of whom had multi-goal efforts. The Cardinal were lights out from the outset, with two goals each from senior utility Alex Bowen and freshman driver Cody Smith, along with another from senior center Conner Cleary. Stanford led 5-0 after the first quarter of play.

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Freshman driver Cody Smith had a fantastic weekend, notching four goals against Santa Clara and a further goal against Pacific (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

Stanford didn’t stop there. Eight more goals were scored in the second quarter by Bowen, Smith, junior driver Bret Bonanni, junior driver Adam Abdulhamid, sophomore driver Reid Chase and sophomore utility Justin Roberto, and Stanford led Santa Clara 13-2 going into the half. The second half would only contain further domination, with nine further goals being scored and the Cardinal coasting for the win.

Just days after Stanford’s Santa Clara slaughter, it went on to claim an 11-8 victory at home in the Avery Aquatic Center over the No. 7 Pacific Tigers to end their regular season. The Cardinal’s three seniors, Conner Cleary, Nick Hoversten and Alex Bowen, were honored before the start of the game.

Stanford had a difficult first half, relying on their firepower to win late in the game. This was despite the fact that the Cardinal dominated the first quarter of play to take an early 4-1 lead over the Tigers. Abdulhamid scored both of his two goals of the game in the first quarter and was joined by Cleary and Smith, who each had a goal.

After surrendering that early lead, the Tigers were not ready to give up yet. Pacific won the second quarter, outscoring the Cardinal four goals to two and changing the momentum of the game. The Tigers closed the half only trailing 6-5. The third quarter was low-scoring, and Stanford posted the only goal of the period to take a 7-5 lead before the start of the fourth.

That’s when the Cardinal went to work and pulled away from the Tigers. Pacific opened up the quarter with a goal in the first minute, but had no answer for the renewed Stanford offense.

To kick it off, goalkeeper Drew Holland found Bonanni for a goal off of a long pass from the cage in a connection that is becoming familiar to Cardinal fans. Bonanni’s goal was followed up by another from sophomore driver Jackson Kimbell, who scored his first of the game. The final goal of the spurt came from sophomore utility Connor Stapleton on the counter off of a pass from Bowen, who fought off a double team, giving the Cardinal its biggest lead of the day at 11-7.

“That completely changed the momentum of the game,” Kimbell said of the scoring outburst. “It was going to be hard for them to answer.”

The Tigers got one more goal from Michael Woodbury with just 29 seconds left on the clock, but Stanford controlled possession of the ball for the remainder of the game to secure its 11-8 victory.

Stanford will move into postseason play following an impressive regular season. The Cardinal travel to Long Beach, California for the upcoming MPSF tournament next weekend. Stanford solidified its hold on the No. 2 seed in the tournament after head-to-head wins over USC and Long Beach State and will compete in the quarterfinals at 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 21.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Stanford comes back to win the Big Splash https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/10/stanford-comes-back-to-win-the-big-splash/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/10/stanford-comes-back-to-win-the-big-splash/#respond Tue, 11 Nov 2014 05:02:43 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1091794 No. 2 Stanford (20-3, 6-1 MPSF) picked up their ninth Steve Heaston Trophy on Saturday in their 11-9 victory over No. 5 California (20-5, 4-3 MPSF) in the Big Splash at Berkeley.

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No. 2 Stanford men’s water polo (20-3, 6-1 MPSF) picked up their ninth Steve Heaston Trophy on Saturday in their 11-9 victory over No. 5 California (20-5, 4-3 MPSF) in the Big Splash at Berkeley. The trophy is named after the former Cal coach who led the Bears to three straight NCAA titles and passed away from brain cancer in 1999. Stanford leads Cal in the Big Splash and Steve Heaston series 9-7. This was also the two teams’ third meeting of the season, with the victory putting Stanford ahead 2-1.

The victory was no easy feat for the Cardinal. Stanford was trailing the Bears 8-7 heading into the final quarter of play, but junior driver Bret Bonanni and senior utility Alex Bowen made sure the Cardinal came out on top. Bowen scored both of his two goals of the game in the fourth quarter to give the Cardinal their second and final lead of the game at 9-8.

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Senior Alex Bowen scored a crucial two goals in the fourth quarter to key the Card’s comeback in the Big Splash (FRANK CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

Then Bonanni went to work, scoring the next two goals of the game and extending Stanford’s lead to its biggest of the game at 11-8. Both goals were breakaways, one off of a Cal shot fired off of the post and the other off of a long assist pass from sophomore goalkeeper Drew Holland.

Holland finished the game with nine saves.

Bonanni faced the Cal goalie one-on-one many times in the game, on breakaways and a penalty shot. The junior was stopped on a penalty shot by Cal’s goalkeeper Jon Sibley, who finished with 12 saves in the game,  but put away both shots in their two other meetings.

Cal was able to put up its one and only goal of the quarter following Stanford’s surge, but time ran out for the Bears and the Cardinal walked away with an 11-9 victory and the Steve Heaston trophy in hand. The win was Stanford’s second consecutive Big Splash victory. The Bears dominated most of the first half of the game, always leading until right before halftime when the Cardinal tied the game at 6-6.

Stanford’s only other lead of the game came in the third quarter from another Bonanni goal that put them ahead 7-6.

Bonanni finished the game with a team-high, game-high five goals, yet Stanford still managed to share its wealth among many different players. Saturday’s game featured six different scorers for the Cardinal. In addition to Bonanni’s five and Bowen’s two, junior Adam Abdulhamid, sophomore driver Connor Stapleton, freshman driver Cody Smith and junior driver BJ Churnside each added one goal.

The victory marked a major success for the Cardinal as they enter the final games of their regular season and approach postseason play.

Stanford is back in action on Wednesday as it visits Santa Clara at 6 p.m. and once again on Saturday against Pacific (13-10, 1-5 MPSF) at home in the Avery Aquatic Center at noon.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Men’s Water Polo wins high-scoring thriller https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/03/mens-water-polo-wins-high-scoring-thriller/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/11/03/mens-water-polo-wins-high-scoring-thriller/#respond Tue, 04 Nov 2014 06:02:49 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1091304 No. 2 Stanford (19-3 overall, 5-1 MPSF) grabbed a 14-12 victory over No. 5 Long Beach State (18-4, 5-1 MPSF) before a very entertained crowd at Avery Aquatic Center on Saturday.

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No. 2 Stanford (19-3 overall, 5-1 MPSF) grabbed a 14-12 victory over No. 5 Long Beach State (18-4, 5-1 MPSF) before a very entertained crowd at Avery Aquatic Center on Saturday.

Junior driver Bret Bonanni and senior utility Alex Bowen stole the show, combining for nine goals. Bonanni tied his season high with five goals while Bowen had four.

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Junior driver Bret Bonanni tied his season high in goals with five in leading the Cardinal to a hard-fought victory over Long Beach State. (FRANK CHEN/The Stanford Daily)

Long Beach State played extremely confrontationally throughout, racking up many ejections, but the Cardinal were able to match their physicality and put up a better offensive effort.

Stanford’s first goal of the day came from junior driver Adam Abdulhamid only to be answered by one from the 49ers. Bowen’s first goal came next and started a 4-0 scoring run for the Cardinal, which stretched its lead to 5-1 late in the first quarter. The goals came from Abdulhamid, one from sophomore driver Jackson Kimbell, and Bonanni’s first of the day off of a penalty shot.

Unfortunately for the Cardinal, Long Beach State had an answer for this sudden offensive surge. The 49ers scored the next four goals of the game to tie it up at 5-5 early in the second quarter.

The two teams kept trading goals as Bonanni had two more that were quickly answered by goals from LBSU’s Devin Mefford and Nick Rascon, evening the score at 7-7 going into halftime.

The crowd got more than they bargained for Saturday, witnessing a halftime show of a synchronized swim and dance from the women’s water polo freshman class. This is a tradition that dates back to the beginning of women’s water polo at Stanford.

The Cardinal came out with a lot of firepower behind them in the second half as they went on another surge, scoring three goals. It all started with a goal from junior driver BJ Churnside less than a minute into the third quarter and continued with an exclusion goal from Bonanni and another goal from Bowen to make the score 10-7.

Sophomore goalie Drew Holland was helpful as an offensive force on Saturday as well as leading the Cardinal’s defense. He assisted Bowen’s third quarter goal after making a save by hitting him on a full court pass for a one-on-nobody opportunity in front of the cage.

“It is important to be ready to contribute in all aspects of the game,” said Holland of his impressive offensive effort. He also ended the game with 15 saves.

The third period ended with a goal from LBSU’s Zachary Kappos for their only goal of the quarter to bring the score to 10-8.

Undaunted, the Card opened up the final quarter of play with a goal off an extremely hard shot from Bowen. He added another soon after, picking up his final of the game. Bonanni converted another penalty opportunity which was followed by a score from senior Nick Hoversten.

This 4-0 run brought the Cardinal to its largest lead of the day at 14-10.

Long Beach State had two more goals in them before the end of the final quarter, but it would not be enough to match the offensive effort of the Cardinal. In the end, Stanford walked away with a 14-12 victory.

Stanford’s next matchup is the Big Splash against No.4 California on Saturday. They travel to Berkeley for the 10:30 a.m. game which will be featured live on the Pac-12 Network.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ Stanford.edu

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No.1 Men’s water polo falls in thriller to UCLA https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/27/no-1-mens-water-polo-falls-in-thriller-to-ucla/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/27/no-1-mens-water-polo-falls-in-thriller-to-ucla/#respond Tue, 28 Oct 2014 05:59:04 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1090750 The No. 1 Stanford (18-3, 4-1 MPSF) men’s water polo team hit the road this past weekend and traveled south to battle the No. 3 UCLA Bruins (21-2, 5-0 MPSF) and the No. 11 Pepperdine Waves (8-10, 0-4 MPSF).
It was a tough day for the top-ranked Cardinal as they were dethroned by the Bruins in a close one-goal game with a final score of 7-6.

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The No. 1 Stanford (18-3, 4-1 MPSF) men’s water polo team hit the road this past weekend and traveled south to battle the No. 3 UCLA Bruins (21-2, 5-0 MPSF) and the No. 11 Pepperdine Waves (8-10, 0-4 MPSF).

It was a tough day for the top-ranked Cardinal as they were dethroned by the Bruins in a close one-goal game with a final score of 7-6. This weekend was UCLA and Stanford’s third meeting of the season, having previously split wins with one another. UCLA gave the Cardinal its first MPSF loss of the season.

Stanford started the game strong with a goal from junior driver BJ Churnside just a minute into the game. The Bruins had all the answers, however, as they tied things up to end the first quarter and opened the second with two goals, putting them at a 3-1 lead.

Junior driver Adam Abdulhamid stopped the Bruins goal spree halfway into the second quarter but UCLA’s Ryder Roberts netted a goal leaving the score 4-2. Stanford’s sophomore driver Sam Pfeil slid one past the UCLA goalie Garrett Danner on a man advantage to put the Cardinal back within one to close the second half.

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Sophomore driver Jackson Kimbell netted two goals but was unable to prevent the 7-6 loss (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

Sophomore driver Jackson Kimbell scored off of a nice pass from junior driver Bret Bonanni to open up the second half. Kimbell’s goal tied the game, 4-4.

UCLA then made a three goal run, pouring in two more goals in the third quarter and another to begin the fourth. This gave the Bruins their biggest lead of the game, 7-4.

Stanford was not ready to give up. The Cardinal made a late run in the fourth quarter that just came up short at the end. Towards the end of the final quarter of play, Bonanni netted his first goal of the game off of a powerful shot that was deflected into the goal. Bonanni and Kimbell would connect for a goal again as Kimbell netted a goal with just under a minute to play, putting the Cardinal back within one. Stanford had a nice defensive stop that would give them one last opportunity to score, but a shot from Churnside was blocked with 10 seconds to go.

The Bruins controlled the ball until the clock ran out, defeating the Cardinal in what was a very close contest.

After that very tough loss, the Cardinal traveled to sunny Malibu and bounced back with a commanding win against the Pepperdine Waves.

The Cardinal allowed only four goals from Pepperdine which was no match for their 13. Stanford saw goals from nine different players in the win, three of which were multi-goal efforts.

Stanford scored the first three goals of the game behind Abdulhamid, senior utility Alex Bowen and senior center Conner Cleary. They closed the quarter with a goal from freshman driver Cody Smith, ending it leading 4-1.

The Waves attempted to make a comeback and pulled the score within one but Bonanni would not allow it. He scored the game’s next three goals to make sure the Cardinal stayed ahead. Stanford led 7-4 going into the final quarter of play.

Stanford continued its forceful offense and went on a 6-0 goal run to put the Waves away. The run consisted of goals from redshirt sophomore Griffin Bolan and Churnside, followed by a further two from sophomore driver Reid Chase. Sophomore driver Connor Stapleton would add one and one last goal from Churnside ended the game with a commanding 13-4 win for the Cardinal.

Sophomore goalie Drew Holland had 18 saves in the win.

Stanford returns home next weekend to host Long Beach State on Saturday at Avery Aquatic Center.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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Senior Sit Down: Alex Bowen, men’s water polo https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/22/senior-sit-down-alex-bowen-mens-water-polo/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/22/senior-sit-down-alex-bowen-mens-water-polo/#respond Thu, 23 Oct 2014 05:42:55 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1090338 Last weekend in a pair of wins over USC and UCSB, Stanford men’s water polo’s Alex Bowen recorded three goals. He is an offensive force to be reckoned with for the Cardinal, consistently making an impact on the front line. The Stanford Daily’s Jamie Neushul sat down with the product design major to discuss his […]

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Last weekend in a pair of wins over USC and UCSB, Stanford men’s water polo’s Alex Bowen recorded three goals. He is an offensive force to be reckoned with for the Cardinal, consistently making an impact on the front line. The Stanford Daily’s Jamie Neushul sat down with the product design major to discuss his time on the Farm and the team’s goals for the rest of the season.

The Stanford Daily (TSD): You and your team have been competing at an extremely high level this entire season. How do you keep that level of focus at every practice and game?

Alex Bowen (AB): All of the guys have an extremely high level of competitive spirt and desire. We want a title this year and we know keeping a high level of intensity and focus will produce results.

TSD: How does your role on the team feel different now that you are a senior and it is your last year competing at Stanford?

Senior men's water polo player Alex Bowen (above)
Senior men’s water polo player Alex Bowen (above) has found the back of the net 36 times this season, scoring in 16 of the team’s 19 contests and recording 11 multi-goal games. (KALE FUTTERMAN/The Stanford Daily)

AB: My role on the team has changed quite a bit. Early on in my career I was impulsive, impatient and my defensive skills were not very developed. My role has evolved to be a more balanced player on both sides of the pool.

TSD: What do you think you and your team need to work on the most going into the second half of your season?

AB: Our defense comes from our 2-meter defense and goalie play, which has been phenomenal. Our offense is loaded with multiple weapons and threats from each side. We are still working on fine-tuning everything and being more efficient on offense and defense.

TSD: Do you plan on continuing water polo after this year?

AB: Yes I do, the last two summers I traveled with the Men’s Senior Team and hopefully there are Olympics in my future.

TSD: What advice would you give to freshman on your team regarding athletics and academics at Stanford?

AB: Work hard and be patient.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu.

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No. 3 men’s water polo dethrones No. 1 Trojans and dominates UCSB https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/20/no-3-mens-water-polo-dethrones-no-1-trojans-and-dominates-ucsb/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/20/no-3-mens-water-polo-dethrones-no-1-trojans-and-dominates-ucsb/#respond Tue, 21 Oct 2014 05:22:09 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1090209 No. 3 Stanford (17-2, 3-0 MPSF) remained undefeated in conference with a record of 2-0 after a huge and exciting 11-10 win against the No. 1 USC Trojans (16-3, 2-1 MPSF).

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No. 3 Stanford (17-2, 3-0 MPSF) remained undefeated in conference with a record of 2-0 after a huge and exciting 11-10 win against the No. 1 USC Trojans (16-3, 2-1 MPSF).

Junior driver BJ Churnside constantly had an answer for USC, scoring three of his four goals in the fourth quarter. The Cardinal and Trojans kept trading goals and were tied at 9-9, 10-10 and 11-11, but Churnside had the go-ahead goal for Stanford each time, propelling them to victory.

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BJ Churnside led the team with four goals in the 11-10 victory. (NATHAN STAFFA/The Stanford Daily)

Stanford opened up the game with a goal from senior utility Alex Bowen, only to be answered by the Trojans. The Cardinal took the lead again behind a goal from redshirt sophomore Adam Abdulhamid, but USC closed the first quarter of play with a goal, equalizing the score at 2-2.

Abdulhamid earned himself a hat trick in the second quarter, pouring in two more goals, accompanied by a goal from junior driver Bret Bonnani. These three consecutive goals gave the Cardinal its biggest lead of the game at 5-2 going into halftime.

Unlike the first two quarters, USC would be the first to post a goal to start the second half. The Trojans had another goal putting them within one and the score at 5-4.

Churnside, as seen later in the game as well, had an answer, increasing Stanford’s lead to two again.

USC responded with a goal only to be matched by sophomore driver Sam Pfeil for his first and only goal of the game. Bonnani would add his second and final goal of the game off of a powerful penalty shot, increasing Stanford’s lead to a commanding three yet again at 8-5.

USC wasn’t ready to give up yet. The Trojans answered with a goal at the buzzer to end the third period. The Trojans opened up the fourth and final quarter of play with two more goals, tying the game at 8-8.

That’s when Churnside, with ice in his veins, began his three-goal journey.

After senior center Conner Cleary earned an ejection, Churnside grabbed the ball at the center of the cage and beat USC’s goalie to the left hand side of the goal.

Churnside’s next 6 on 5 goal would put the Cardinal ahead 10-9. He beat the USC goalie and many defenders by faking and lobbing a strike into the right corner of the goal.

USC had its last answer, tying the game at 10-10, but Churnside was not done yet.

Firing the game-winner into the lower left corner of the cage, Churnside capitalized on yet another man-up opportunity for the Cardinal.

The junior driver was not the only Stanford player with an outstanding performance. Stanford’s sophomore goalie Drew Holland had yet another amazing game for the Cardinal. He made a career-high 20 saves, surpassing the 17 he had two weeks ago against UCI. Drew has consistently fueled Stanford’s defense all season.

“Our whole goal was to shut them down early,” Holland said.

Drew’s remarkable gamed earned him a second MPSF Player of the Week award. Holland is the only two-time winner in 2014.

“It all comes down to defense,” said Holland.

Stanford had little time for celebration after toppling the nation’s No. 1 team. They headed down to UC Santa Barbara for another MPSF matchup against the No. 8 Gauchos right after Saturday’s victory.

The Cardinal saw many multi-goal efforts in its dominant 13-6 win over the Gauchos. Bonnani poured in four goals while Bowen, sophomore Jackson Kimbell, senior Nick Hoversten and sophomore driver Reid Chase added two a piece.

Stanford had a strong first half gaining a four-goal lead at 6-2. The Gauchos had an answer behind Samer Alkateb, but Reid Chase increased Stanford’s lead to five, leaving the score at 8-3.

It was smooth sailing from then on for the Cardinal as it earned itself a demanding 12-4 lead going into the final quarter

Sophomore driver Connor Stapleton scored the last goal for Stanford, and the Cardinal held UCSB to six goals, ending the game 13-6.

The Cardinal are back in action again for their third meeting against UCLA this season on October 24.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Men’s water polo takes third in tough SoCal Tournament https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/13/mens-water-polo-takes-third-in-tough-socal-tournament/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/13/mens-water-polo-takes-third-in-tough-socal-tournament/#respond Tue, 14 Oct 2014 05:35:42 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1089657 No. 2 Stanford (15-2, 1-0 MPSF) traveled south to the SoCal tournament hosted by UCLA this past weekend, finishing in third place. They were among all the nation’s top teams, including No. 1 UCLA.

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No. 2 Stanford (15-2, 1-0 MPSF) traveled south to the SoCal Tournament hosted by UCLA this past weekend, finishing in third place. The Card were among all the nation’s top teams, including No. 1 UCLA.

The Cardinal opened with solid wins against No. 16 Loyola Marymount, 21-7, and No. 7 Pacific, 12-6.

Freshman driver Cody Smith had an outstanding performance in the first game against LMU, posting a season-high six goals, but he left the scoring to others in the first quarter as both junior driver Bret Bonanni and senior utility Alex Bowen each posted two goals. Sophomore driver Reid Chase also added his first of two goals in this quarter, but LMU’s Milutin Mitrovic posted a hat trick to keep the score close at 5-3.

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Cody Smith notched a game-high six goals. (NATHAN STAFFA/THE STANFORD DAILY)

The Cardinal went to work in the second quarter with goals from junior driver BJ Churnside, another from Bonanni, one from sophomore driver Connor Stapleton and three from Smith. Stanford led the Lions 11-3 at halftime.

Stanford’s defensive front held the Lions scoreless until the end of the third quarter. They had 10 unanswered goals at that point and a commanding lead, allowing them to cruise to the 21-7 victory. Defensively, sophomore goal keeper Drew Holland anchored the Card with seven saves over three quarters.

The second game was much closer for the Cardinal as it defeated Pacific 12-6 with 10 different Stanford players posting goals in the victory.

Stanford scored twice in the initial quarter behind goals from junior driver Adam Abdulhamid and senior utility Nick Hoversten. Goals from Pacific’s Tim Reeves and Simon Vogel tied the teams 2-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The Cardinal, once again, had a forceful second quarter with four unanswered goals, extending its lead to 6-2. Bonanni had his first of two goals and Abdulhamid added his second of the game. Fifth-year two-meter Connor Cleary and Smith also found the back of the cage before halftime.

Pacific scored to open the third quarter only to be answered right back by Bonanni for his second goal of the game. Goals from sophomore driver Connor Stapleton and Chase put Stanford up four, 9-5, after three quarters.

The fourth quarter featured goals from Stanford’s Bowen, Churnside and junior two-meter Griffin Bolan, answered by a lone Tiger goal, leaving the Cardinal with another victory, 12-6. Churnside’s goal was the 100th of his Stanford water polo career.

The second day of the tournament was much more challenging than the first for Stanford. In the semi-final match on Sunday, Stanford fell to the No. 3 California Golden Bears 11-7 for their second loss of the 2014 season. Cal turned the tables on the Cardinal, who beat the Bears 11-8 earlier in the season.

Bonanni posted two goals in the first quarter to answer Cal’s two and Smith converted a penalty to draw the two teams even at 3-3, but Bonanni’s impressive three-goal performance could not overcome a forceful, four-goal second quarter from the Bears. Bowen scored Stanford’s only goal early in the second quarter, after which Cal scored four unanswered goals to lead 7-4 going into halftime.

The Cardinal did not have an answer for Cal, never coming within three goals for the rest of the game.  Two goals from Churnside and another from Bonanni could not match the offensive surge by the Bears that gave them the 11-7 victory.

The Cardinal bounced back with a 7-6 victory over No. 1 UCLA to end the tournament with a third place finish, handing the Bruins their second loss of the season.

Bonanni and Abdulhamid each posted goals for Stanford in the first quarter to be answered with one UCLA goal from Chancellor Ramirez, putting the score at 2-1.

Abdulhamid scored again in the second quarter, stretching the Cardinal’s lead to 3-1, but two Bruin goals evened the score at 3-3. Goals from Bonanni and Hoversten would put the Cardinal in the lead 5-3 at halftime.

Bonanni scored in the third, but UCLA’s Alex Roelse answered, leaving the score at 6-4 going into the final quarter of play.

A Bruin goal to start the fourth quarter pulled them within one, but Stanford’s Hoversten answered, restoring the two goal lead at 7-5.

One more goal from UCLA’s Cristiano Mirarchi was not enough for the Bruins as Stanford finished the tournament with a 7-6 victory.

Up next, Stanford returns home to Avery Aquatic Center, where they will face six-time defending NCAA champion USC in a critical MPSF match. The No. 4 Trojans won their third consecutive SoCal Tournament championship with a 10-9 victory over Cal.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

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Men’s water polo keeps rolling, knock off UC-Davis and Irvine https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/06/mens-water-polo-keeps-rolling-knock-off-uc-davis-and-irvine/ https://stanforddaily.com/2014/10/06/mens-water-polo-keeps-rolling-knock-off-uc-davis-and-irvine/#respond Tue, 07 Oct 2014 06:14:25 +0000 https://stanforddaily.com/?p=1089104 No. 2 Stanford (12-1, 1-0 MPSF) had a lot on their plate going into its MPSF opener against UCI (10-4, 0-2) and the conference’s leading scorer, Lovre Milos. Behind an outstanding performance by sophomore goalie Drew Holland, who finished the game with a career-high 17 saves, Stanford’s defense shut down Milos and the rest of UCI.

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No. 2 Stanford (12-1, 1-0 MPSF) had a lot on their plate going into its MPSF opener against UC-Irvine (UCI) (10-4, 0-2) and the conference’s leading scorer, Lovre Milos. Behind an outstanding performance by sophomore goalie Drew Holland, who finished the game with a career-high 17 saves, Stanford’s defense shut down Milos and the rest of UCI. The Cardinal saw other impressive performances from junior drivers BJ Churnside and Bret Bonanni, who combined to score seven goals.

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Sophomore goalie Drew Holland on his way to recording a career-high 17 saves (KALE FUTTERMAN/STANFORD DAILY)

Holland set his tempo for the game from the very start, stopping a Milos penalty shot. This led to Churnside’s 6-on-5 conversion to put Stanford on the board. Another stop from Holland and goal by Churnside put Stanford at a two-goal lead entering the second period. Churnside credited Holland’s performance.

“He’s the main defensive leader and reminds us that defense is the most important part of the game,” Churnside said.

Stanford shook off a rocky offensive start in the second period through goals from Bonanni and senior utility Nick Hoversten to give itself a solid four goal lead. UCI would answer with three straight goals making it a one-goal game at 4-3. The teams traded goals for most of the game, but the Cardinal never relinquished the lead.

“We kept the tempo of the game and were in control the whole time so nobody was too worried,” said Churnside.

After a goal by freshman driver Cody Smith put Stanford up 5-3, the Cardinal opened up the second half of play with a goal from sophomore utility Jackson Kimbell which put the score at 6-3. UCI answered with a goal from Alan Robertson to tighten the gap. That would be UCI’s last goal for a while as Stanford’s offense put two more on the board behind goals from sophomore driver Connor Stapleton and another from Churnside, leaving him with a hat trick and the Cardinal with an 8-4 lead.  UCI closed the third with a goal, cutting the Cardinal lead to three.

After the match, Churnside stressed the importance of the Cardinal’s strength on offense.

“We have always been more of an offensively minded team because we have great shooters on the outside,” Churnside said.

Stanford controlled the game in the fourth quarter, answering a single Anteater goal with four of its own, powering the Cardinal to a 12-6 victory. Bonanni added two more goals to earn himself a hat trick and junior driver Adam Abdulhamid scored his first goal of the game. Churnside added his fourth and final goal of the game to close the fourth period.

The Cardinal went on the road the following day to earn another win against the No. 11 UC-Davis Aggies (7-8). Stanford’s offense was dynamic, featuring goals from seven different players.

Bonanni had another outstanding performance, leading the team with five goals. Senior utility Alex Bowen posted a hat trick with all of his goals in the fourth quarter. BJ Churnside and Adam Abdulhamid had two goals each.

Freshman Cody Smith had two goals, while Jackson Kimbell and Connor Stapleton each added a goal. Stanford ended with a dominant 17-5 outcome.

No. 2 Stanford stresses defense as the key component looking forward. The Cardinal travels south this weekend for the SoCal tournament, which will feature the nation’s best teams, including No. 1 UCLA, which it lost to earlier in the season at the Kap7 NorCal Classic.

Contact Jamie Neushul at jneushul ‘at’ stanford.edu. 

 

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