It was a smashing performance this weekend as the No. 1 Stanford women’s water polo team crushed Sonoma State (1-8) by a score of 17-6 on Saturday.

Last weekend, the Cardinal (8-0) defeated Michigan, USC, San Jose State and UC-Berkeley. Momentum from winning the Stanford Invitational seemed to make the Cardinal win this weekend even more glorious. The first quarter was not the best of the entire game, as the score was tied 4-4 by the end of the period.

“I think it was execution,” said freshman two-meter Annika Dries. “We took a lot of shots early on that just didn’t convert. We knew we needed to step it up.”

And the Cardinal did just that during the second period, outscoring Sonoma State 3-1 to give Stanford a 7-5 advantage by halftime.

During the third period, the Cardinal dominated Sonoma State. Not a single shot made it into the Stanford net; however, unlike Sonoma State, the Cardinal was able to skip six shots into the Sonoma goal. Now with a huge advantage, Stanford was set for a win.

“We came out fast and determined to put goals in the cage,” Dries said regarding the explosion during the third period. “We knew we were better than how we started the game.”

During the fourth period, Stanford was still riding on the momentum from third period and scored goals, outnumbering Sonoma’s single goal.

The Cardinal victory was made possible by a variety of players, demonstrating the wide array of talent on this top-ranked team. Sophomore driver Pallavi Menon scored the most goals during the game with a total of four. Freshman driver Victoria Kennedy also contributed to the overwhelming Cardinal victory by skipping in three shots of her own.

Freshman driver Vee Dunlevie, freshman driver Jillian Garton and sophomore two-meter Melissa Seidemann each scored two goals while sophomore driver Mimi Bury, senior two-meter Alex Koran, freshman driver Alexis Lee and sophomore driver Alyssa Lo each skipped in a single goal.

Also, during the first period and fourth period, junior goalkeeper Kim Hall saved a total of three shots. During the second and third period, freshman goalkeeper Kate Baldoni had a whopping five saves.

“I think this game showed the depth of our team as we had so many different people scoring throughout the game,” Dries said.

With six freshman, six sophomores, three juniors and four seniors, the team has a wide variety of players with different levels of experience; yet by the end of the game each player seems to contribute to continuing the team’s flawless record.

The collaborative team effort helped the Cardinal earn its eighth consecutive win as it works toward the National Collegiate Championship and MPSF Championship.

“Every game is important to us developing as a team and getting to know how we will perform in key situations,” Dries said.

The last time Stanford women’s water polo team had a win this big was on Jan. 31 at the NorCal Invitational, when it beat Cal State Monterey 16-2 and Pacific 19-8. However, most of the Cardinal’s recent games have been won by at least three points.

With high hopes for the rest of the season, the team will be having its next match against San Jose State at the San Jose Aquatic Center Saturday at noon.