The No. 4 Stanford men’s water polo team picked up right where it left off after beating UC-Santa Cruz last Thursday, winning consecutive games against No. 8 UC-Davis on Saturday and No. 13 Pacific on Sunday.

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The men’s water polo team beat UC-Santa Cruz last Thursday and then added two more victories over UC-Davis and Pacific over the weekend. The Cardinal has now won four straight games and outscored its opponents 53-23 in that span. Stanford has two more MPSF matches before postseason play begins. #gallery http://daily.stanford.edu/image/full/8147
Wendy Kalkus

The men’s water polo team beat UC-Santa Cruz last Thursday and then added two more victories over UC-Davis and Pacific over the weekend. The Cardinal has now won four straight games and outscored its opponents 53-23 in that span. Stanford has two more MPSF matches before postseason play begins.

The victories bring the Cardinal’s record to 3-3 in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play (MPSF) and 13-6 overall.

“I was really satisfied with the way we played,” sophomore utility Drac Wigo said of the weekend matches. “Everyone played really well, and I feel like we executed the team strategy and we played really well on defense. As for myself, I still need to work on attacking the goal for a better shot. We’re going to do a lot of drills so I can have better experience when the situations arise.”

The players’ recent emphasis on defense finally paid off on Saturday as the Cardinal roughed out a 6-4 win by limiting the Davis offense. The defense allowed a season low in goals, and senior goalkeeper Sandy Hohener’s seven saves on Saturday took pressure off of the team’s offense. Junior driver Andrew Drake, who has been playing well in the last few weeks, continued his efforts with two crucial goals in the second period, giving Stanford a comfortable lead 4-2 at halftime.

Drac Wigo and Sage Wright both scored to build a 6-2 gap as the defense held the Aggies scoreless in the third quarter. Stanford conceded only two goals late in the fourth quarter in bringing home the victory.

“[Senior] Ryan Fortune, he’s a really good defender,” Drac Wigo said. “And I think he doesn’t get enough credit because he always does the dirty work and he’s really good at it.”

“We’ve been swimming and scrimmaging a lot, so that’s the overall picture and it really helps our team play, but we’ve also been focusing on defense a lot,” sophomore driver Sage Wright said. “When it comes down to winning games, the biggest factor is probably discipline and also our confidence. [Head] coach [John] Vargas gets us going at practice and gets us to practice as hard as we can so when you come to the game, you’re ready for anything.”

Following the Davis win, Sunday’s game against at Pacific was the rematch of an early season victory for the Cardinal; Stanford won the previous encounter, 20-11, in late September.

Highlights this time around included freshman driver Alex Pulido continuing his excellent rookie campaign with a hat trick. Stanford showed substantial firepower as senior two-meter attacker Michael Bury also scored three goals. Drac Wigo and junior utility Will Hindle-Katel added to the cause, both scoring a pair.

“I feel that Alex Pulido deserves a lot [of credit],” Drac Wigo said of his teammate. “He’s a freshman, and he starts, and he’s playing really well. He doesn’t make lots of mistakes, and he scores when we need the goals.

Stanford leapt out of the gates, with the score at 5-2 after the first period, and then capitalized on Pacific’s defensive breakdown in the second quarter to extend the lead to 9-2 at halftime. Again, the Cardinal defense stood its ground and stopped any chance of Pacific from rallying as Stanford finished comfortably ahead, 14-7.

Next on the Cardinal’s schedule are matches against UC-Irvine and Santa Clara. Stanford will match up against Irvine in a match played on the road this Saturday.