No. 1 Stanford men’s water polo (15-0, 0-0 MPSF) went on yet another tear this past weekend, beating both No. 14 San Jose State (5-8, 0-0 GCC) and No. 7 UC Davis (8-5, 0-0 WWPA) by scores of 14-7 and 12-7, respectively.
First-year head coach Brian Flacks has done nothing but impress since he arrived on The Farm to replace the legendary John Vargas. So far, Flacks has yet to lose a game, an impressive feat considering the caliber of opponents this season.
The Cardinal, coming off of a perfect run in the MPSF Invite last weekend where they beat the former No. 1 and No. 2 teams, looked primed to thoroughly dismantle their opponents. Under the leadership of Flacks, the team did not disappoint the crowd at Avery Aquatics Center this time around either.
In their first outing this weekend, the Cardinal played San Jose State. The Spartans struck first, but soon after Stanford tied it up. From there, the Cardinal never relinquished the lead, ending the game with twice as many goals as San Jose State to take the game, 14-7.
In the dominant performance, Stanford was led by junior driver Soren Jensen, who registered a hat trick. Following him, four players scored two goals: last week’s MPSF player of the week driver Quinn Woodhead, junior 2M Ike Love, senior 2M Beck Jurasius and junior driver Riley Pittman.
Following the stellar outing, the Cardinal traveled 106 miles up I-80 to Davis, Calif. the next day to face off against the Aggies. Much of the same dominance appeared in this game, as Stanford’s lockdown defense came to play, especially in the first half.
In addition to the amazing defensive outing, Woodhead shined on offense, notching four goals. His knack for scoring should have the MPSF conference on watch, as he ranked ninth in the MPSF in total goals at the end of week four.
On top of his performance, two players scored two goals each, those being senior 2M Andrew Churukian and junior driver Ethan Parrish.
Next on the docket, the Cardinal are slated to face off against No. 9 UC Irvine (8-7, 2-1 GCC) in what is sure to be a great battle. The match will occur on Friday, Oct. 7, at 7 p.m. PT in Irvine, Calif.