No. 6 Stanford men’s water polo (12-5, 4-4 MPSF) will travel to Berkeley to face No. 3 Cal (17-3, 0-2) for the “Big Splash” at the Spieker Aquatics Complex on Saturday.

Coming off of two close losses in two weeks — 6-7 to UCLA two weeks ago and 10-11 to Pacific last week — the Cardinal will try to gain momentum in the third consecutive game they enter as underdogs.

Sophomore Blake Parrish leads the Stanford offense, posting 40 goals this season, while sophomore Mitchell Mendoza and junior Cody Smith have scored 29 goals each.

On the defensive side, junior goalkeeper Oliver Lewis has averaged 10.0 saves per match and 6.83 goals-against.

While Stanford has triumphed in two of the last three confrontations in the Big Splash, the Golden Bears recorded a 13-8 victory last year at Stanford. Ultimately, the Cardinal have taken home the Steve Heaston trophy, which is awarded to the winner of the Big Splash, nine times to Cal’s eight.

Marking the end of both teams’ regular seasons, this faceoff will be an opportunity for both sides to regroup before the MPSF Championships next weekend in Los Angeles.

The Big Splash will begin at 11 a.m. on Saturday and will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks.

 

Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.