Five straight for No. 2 women’s water polo

March 21, 2021, 8:46 p.m.

After dropping the season opener to No. 5 Arizona State on Mar. 6, No. 2 women’s water polo (5-1, 3-1 Pac-12) has rattled off five straight victories, including a pair of dominant performances over No. 13 Indiana (8-6, 0-2 Big Ten) this weekend.

Senior driver Sarah Klass was nothing short of spectacular on Saturday, singlehandedly outsourcing Indiana with a career-high seven goals on 10 shots. Junior 2-meter defender Chloe Harbilas was perfect on offense, scoring three goals on three shots, while sophomore and freshman drivers Hannah Constandse and Jewel Roemer chipped in two scores each. 

The Cardinal scored five goals in each of the first three quarters before taking its foot off the gas and scoring two in the fourth en route to a 17-6 victory. 

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Emalia Eichelberger finished with twice as many saves (eight) as goals allowed (four), before being subbed out for freshman Maya Avital for the final four minutes of the match.

Klass again shone on Sunday as Stanford again rolled to a dominant victory, this time winning 15-5. Klass’ four goals were matched by fifth year driver Hannah Shabb, who found the back of the net twice to open the scoring for either team. Roemer added in another two goals and Constandse finished with one score and three assists.

An 8-0 run with scores from six different players spanning parts of three quarters gave the Cardinal a 13-3 lead it would not relinquish. Stanford’s defense again was strong, as the final line of defense Eichelberger had five saves before turning goalkeeping duties over to Avital for the final frame.

The weekend was the latest strong stretch of play for a team seeking to defend its 2019 NCAA title. Stanford will be tested next weekend when it welcomes No. 3 UCLA to The Farm for two games. Game times are set for Saturday at 4 p.m. PT and 1 p.m. PT on Sunday.

Jeremy Rubin was the Vol. 260 Executive Editor for Print and Sports Editor in Vol. 258 and 259. A junior from New York City, he studies Human Biology and enjoys long walks, good podcasts and all things Yankees baseball-related. Contact him at jrubin 'at' stanforddaily.com.

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