Saturday, November 17
Los Angeles, CA
11:00 AM

UCLA

7
vs
9

Stanford

Alex Wolf
Alex Wolf registered a season-high-tying 14 saves in the loss to the Cardinal.
Photo by: Minette Rubin

Fourth-Seeded UCLA Falls to Top-Seeded Stanford, 9-7

November 17, 2018 | Men's Water Polo


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LOS ANGELES -- No. 2 and fourth-seeded UCLA (21-4, 1-2) struggled out of the gate trailing 5-1 by halftime, and couldn't recover, falling 9-7 to No. 3 and top-seeded Stanford (19-2, 2-1) in the first semifinal of the MPSF Championship on Saturday morning at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

UCLA was 2-for-11 on power plays, including missing a huge opportunity on a 6-on-4 early in the game. The Bruins were also just 1-for-2 on penalty shots. Stanford went 4-for-8 on power plays, but was 0-for-3 in the second half.

The Bruins were led by sophomore Nicolas Saveljic who had a hat trick. Redshirt junior Alex Wolf started in the cage and went the distance, making a season-high-tying 14 saves while surrendering nine goals.

Dylan Woodhead opened the scoring in the first with a power play goal for Stanford (4:19). Ben Hallock put Stanford up 2-0 with another power play score (2:41). The Bruins got on the board when freshman Ashworth Molthen scored from the front court at the 2:01 mark to cut the lead to 2-1. That score would hold until the end of the period.

The Bruins went scoreless in the second period. Woodhead opened the scoring with a power play goal (6:47) to put the Cardinal up 3-1. Blake Parrish made it 4-1 with a goal from the front court (4:00). Marco Stanchi ended the scoring in the period with a power play goal to put the Cardinal up 5-1.

Sophomore Nicolas Saveljic converted a penalty shot to open the scoring in the third period (6:11) to cut the lead to 5-2. Hallock scored his second of the game on a 6-on-5 opportunity (3:43) to extend the Cardinal lead to 6-2. But Saveljic answered with his second on a perfect lob shot (3:33) to make it 6-3. He then completed his hat trick with a score from the front court (2:47) to cut it to 6-4. Sophomore Chasen Travisano then scored his first of the game on a skipper near side (1:59) to cut it to 6-5. Tyler Abramson scored a goal from the front court for Stanford (0:47) to end the scoring in the third, giving Stanford a 7-5 lead.

Woodhead completed his hat trick to open the scoring in the fourth period with a goal from the front court (7:33) to put Stanford up 8-5. Senior David Stiling answered back with UCLA's first power play goal of the game on nine tries (7:12) to trim the deficit to 8-6. Bennett Williams gave Stanford a 9-6 lead with a goal from the front court (4:28). Freshman Jake Cavano then extended his scoring streak to 15 games with a power play score (4:07) to cut it to 9-7. That score would hold up as the final tally.

The Bruins return to action tomorrow, Sunday, Nov. 18 when they take on No. 2 USC at 11:00 a.m. PT in the MPSF third-place game.

No. 1 Stanford vs. No. 4 UCLA (MPSF Championship - Semifinal)

SCOREBOARD 1 2 3 4 FINAL
No. 1 Stanford 2 3 2 2 9
No. 4 UCLA 1 0 4 2 7

6x5 - UCLA - 2/11 - STAN - 4/8
Penalties - UCLA - 1/2 - STAN - 0/0

STAN Goals: Dylan Woodhead 3, Ben Hallock 2, Blake Parrish 1, Marco Stanchi 1, Tyler Abramson 1, Bennett Williams 1
STAN Saves: Oliver Lewis 5

UCLA Goals: Nicolas Saveljic 3, Ashworth Molthen 1, David Stiling 1, Jake Cavano 1, Chasen Travisano 1
UCLA Saves: Alex Wolf 14

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