No. 3 Stanford men’s water polo (18-3, 2-1 MPSF) won its final game of the season at home against Santa Clara (7-15) during senior night on Saturday. The Cardinal senior spurred the team and led their teammates to an 18-3 win.
Most notably, senior goalie Drew Holland became the first Cardinal keeper to reach the 900-save career mark, after he posted four saves in the first quarter. After one period, Holland left his place to sophomore Andrew Chun, who recorded nine stops in three quarters.
Senior Sam Pfeil scored in the first minute of the game, setting the tone for the rest of the contest. Stanford would go on to score the first five goals of the face-off thanks to goals from seniors Reid Chase and Jackson Kimbell. Kimbell’s goal, scored at the two-meter line on a turnaround shot, finished the early scoring run of the Cardinal in the first.
Stanford added five more scores in the second quarter, with goals from freshman Tyler Abramson, junior Blake Parrish, Kimbell and senior Justin Roberto. At halftime, the Cardinal boasted a comfortable 10-1 lead.
Pfeil and Chase sandwiched a goal from senior Connor Stapleton in the third quarter, as the Cardinal added five more to increase their lead, and scored three more in the ultimate period to reach the final tally of 18 goals.
Stanford will now play in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championships next weekend. The Cardinal will be hosts of the tournament which promises to be a competitive one, with three MPSF teams tied for first after the end of the regular season.
Contact Alexandre Bucquet at bucqueta ‘at’ stanford.edu.