After a long trip down to southern California last weekend in which the Stanford men’s water polo team split games against UCLA and UC-Santa Barbara, the No. 4 Cardinal (8-5, 2-1 MPSF) has another busy weekend to prepare for.
On Saturday, in honor of Homecoming weekend for Stanford alumni, the water polo team hosts the Alumni Game at Avery Aquatic Center. The team then heads back to work with yet another trip to southern California and another road game against a tough opponent, this time No. 10 Pepperdine (8-10, 0-3).
Stanford is looking to gain ground in the tight Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) standings, where it currently stands at No. 3. Ahead of the Cardinal, which holds a 2-1 record in league play, are UC-Irvine and California, both with 2-0 records. Pepperdine is currently in last place in the conference, with a record of 0-3.
The Waves are in the midst of a severe cold streak, having dropped nine of their past 13 games heading into Sunday’s matchup with Stanford. In their most recent outings, the Waves defeated UC-Davis, 7-5, in a non-conference game, before losing to Pacific by the same score to run their conference record to its current state.
The Waves have been a low-scoring team this year, and this fact is reflected in the modest totals of their top three goal scorers: Danny White, James Perry and Spencer Hamby, who have scored 23, 18 and 17 goals, respectively. In the net, the Waves employ a goalie platoon featuring Bence Valics and Bryce McLain, who together have accumulated 127 saves.
The Waves’ victory over UC-Davis this past Saturday was filled with drama, as top goal-scorer Danny White netted a shot with one second left in regulation to send the game into overtime. In the extra period, the Waves ended up prevailing, 7-5.
Stanford will look to continue the gritty play that has resulted in five of its past six games being decided by two goals or less. In those five tight affairs, Stanford has managed to go 3-2, including its win against previously undefeated USC. On offense, the Cardinal has been led of late by the resurgence of senior team captain Sage Wright, who has successfully battled back this season from the ACL injury that kept him out of the action all of last year. He came up huge last weekend, scoring twice in both contests.
The Stanford attack has been remarkably consistent all year, using the contributions of many different players, both veterans on the squad and newer faces, all adding up to the fourth-highest scoring average in the MPSF, at 11.23 goals per game.
On defense the Cardinal has remained stingy, holding four of its past five opponents under the 10-goal barrier. Senior goalie Brian Pingree has continued to excel in the net, backing up his recent MPSF player of the week honor with consistently stellar play. He is third in the conference in saves-per-game average with a mark of 7.23.
This weekend will mark the fourth and final Stanford trip down the coast for games in southern California. The Cardinal has fared well in its final region, to the tune of a 5-3 mark.
Stanford takes on Pepperdine in Malibu, Calif., this Sunday at noon.