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.
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.
Cardinal wins sixth straight. Now 12-1 overall. Best start since 2009. Link: http://t.co/XZ3cvkRHWE #GoStanford pic.twitter.com/xkTVVEQ7N6
— Stanford Water Polo (@StanfordMWP) October 6, 2014
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.