The Stanford women’s water polo team suffered its first loss of the season on Sunday, falling 10-6 to USC. The weekend started with the Cardinal facing off with UC-San Diego, Arizona State, UCLA and finally USC at the UC-Irvine Invitational at Corona del Mar High School.
Stanford kicked off the weekend with a strong start against UC-San Diego, dominating the match with a 15-3 victory.
The victory was a collaborative team effort as sophomore driver Cassie Churnside, sophomore two-meter Melissa Seidemann, sophomore driver Pallavi Menon, senior two-meter Jessica Steffens and sophomore two-meter Monica Coughlan each smashed in two goals. Freshman two-meter Annika Dries, freshman driver Vee Dunlevie, junior driver Kim Krueger, senior driver Kelsey Holshouser and freshman driver Victoria Kennedy skipped in a single goal each. Freshman goalkeeper Kate Baldoni saved a total of three shots while junior goalkeeper Kim Hall saved a single shot.
Later that day, the Cardinal continued the tournament with a match against Arizona State. The Sun Devils forced a more competitive game, yet the Card continued to dominate the pool with a 15-8 victory.
Senior Kelly Eaton slammed a game-high five goals into the net. Sophomore Alyssa Lo skipped in four goals, while Churnside added another two points to the scoreboard. Seidemann, Dunlevie, Dries and Krueger each smashed in a goal of their own. Junior goalkeeper Amber Oland blocked an impressive six shots, while Hall added another two saves.
On Sunday, the Cardinal began the day with a match against UCLA. The Cardinal once again started strong as a prevalent team effort contributed to a successful victory: Stanford overcame the Bruins by a final score at 10-4.
Holshouser, Krueger and Steffens each smashed two goals into the net while Eaton, Lo, Menon and Seidemann each tacked on another point. Oland saved a total of six shots while Baldoni had four saves of her own.
“Our game against UCLA was a big statement of the type of team that we could be,” Oland said. “We played strong in all parts of the game, and that is how we need to play every game.”
Later on, the Cardinal faced off with the Trojans; this time, however, the Cardinal did not play as well, ultimately leading to the team’s first loss of the season.
“In our last game against SC, we simply weren’t able to execute,” Krueger said. “We had been playing at a high level all weekend, and in our last game, we just couldn’t find that rhythm, and we weren’t clicking in any phase of the game.”
Instead of the Cardinal having a strong start this game, the Trojans were quick to score.
“We let USC score 10 goals, eight in the first half,” Krueger said. “If we expect to win important games, we can’t let our opponents score 10 goals. We’re definitely going to have to take a look at our defense, and see where we can tighten things up.”
The team sensed that this game was different, and is already thinking about how to improve for its next match.
“I felt like our team came out ready to play for all of the first three games,” Baldoni said. “We showed up with an attitude that showed in our play. It showed that we were going after the other team. I don’t think we came out in the final game against USC with the same attitude to win.”
“I think our team needs to continue to work on our defense,” she continued. “Defense is a very key part to this sport, and a strong defense leads to a good offense. We may have lost our No. 1 spot, but this was just one game. If anything, this game has put fire in us for the next time we play them.”
The Cardinal seemed to be in such a hole, down 8-2 by halftime, that a win did not seem to be in sight.
“This weekend USC came out really tough, and we didn’t,” Oland said. “It took us a while to get going, and by that time it was too late. [But] the fact that we held them to only two goals the rest of the game while we scored four is really encouraging moving forward.”
In the match, Eaton and Lo each scored a pair of goals, while Dries and Holshouser each tacked on a single point. Oland saved four goals, while Baldoni saved five.
The Cardinal seems optimistic that this loss will only motivate it further in its goal to capture NCAA and MPSF championships.
“The outcome this weekend only meant that we lost our No. 1 ranking,” Oland said. “If anything, it has motivated us even more to work hard and to come back out and show what this team is really about. If we do that, we will still have a good shot at the title.”
“If anything, I think this loss should help us prepare for NCAAs and MPSFs,” Krueger added. “We know what we need to work on, and we will be able to carry this feeling throughout the rest of the season as motivation.”
Stanford will use this loss to motivate itself further in its attempt to win NCAA and MPSF titles. The Cardinal’s next match will be against San Diego State at the Avery Aquatic Center at 4 p.m. on Friday.