In a nail-biting finish, No. 4 Stanford men’s water polo managed to hold off No. 3 UCLA by a score of 7-6 Saturday afternoon in a packed and spirited Avery Stadium. Sophomore driver Sage Wright led the way with four goals.

Enlarge
#gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/7902
Stanford Daily File Photo

No. 4 Stanford avenged an early-season loss against No. 3 UCLA at home this weekend, winning by one goal. The Cardinal will try to repeat the feat at top-ranked USC this week in MPSF play.

Scott Swanson, Scott Davidson and Justin Johnson all scored quickly for the Bruins, while Stanford’s Wright also posted one early for the Cardinal. The first quarter wrapped up with a goal from senior two-meter defender Peter Finlayson, as Stanford built a 3-2 lead on the Bruins.

“I really liked the team aspect we played in,” sophomore Drac Wigo said. “We’ve been training for UCLA and knew the whole game plan. We executed everything we planned for and we won with teamwork.”

The third period saw a surge in Stanford’s offense as Wright became the only player on either side with a hat trick. His fourth goal put Stanford in the lead with 3:17 left in the quarter.

Drac Wigo’s score with three seconds left in the third period put Stanford up 7-5 and they never looked back. After UCLA scored one more, the game ended as Stanford stole the ball with :28 to go in the fourth quarter, crushing UCLA’s last hope to tie the game.

Senior goalkeeper Sandy Hohener tallied 13 saves in the game, including a crucial five-meter shot from UCLA’s Davidson in the waning stages of the third period.

The Stanford men pride themselves on winning through teamwork and intelligent play, and believe they displayed composure down the stretch, as Finlayson explained.

“For me, the highlight of the past weekend was the teamwork and us sort of gelling,” he said. “And we played tough defense — especially in the second half. We only allowed one goal in the second half, and we were able to stop them because we were working together and not taking bad shots.

“We did the little things that are hard and don’t always get noticed. We’re not the biggest, strongest players so we have to draw from a lot of other tools and work that much more together.”

The win puts Stanford at 5-2 on the season, and allowed them to redeem themselves after a loss to the Bruins two weeks ago.

The noise from the stands, which were filled to capacity on the home side, certainly made it easier for the Cardinal to come out with a win.

“It was a great atmosphere at the game with the band coming,” Finlayson said. “We appreciate the support from students and fans. Avery is one of the toughest places to play in the country because the fans are right on top of the players, so [other] schools hate to play us at home.”

A perennial contender for the NCAA championship, the Cardinal have high hopes that their teamwork and the leadership of coach John Vargas will have them in the mix at season’s end.

“If you look at Cal or USC, there’s a lot of big guys,” Finlayson said. “USC particularly, and that’s a tool they can use. We’ve got a great coach who does a wonderful job managing personalities and enabling us to exceed beyond our own individual interests.”

The team will seek to avenge its loss earlier in the season to top-ranked Southern California. The match takes place next Saturday in Los Angeles.