UCLA
Stanford
No. 2 Stanford Edges No. 3 UCLA in Overtime, 8-7
May 11, 2019 | Women's Water Polo
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STANFORD, Calif. --ย No. 3 UCLA (24-7) gave a valiant effort at No. 2 Stanford, but the Cardinal edged the Bruins in overtime, 8-7, to advance to the NCAA Championship game on Saturday nightย at Stanford's Avery Aquatics Center.
Junior Maddie Musselmanย and sophomore Lexi Liebowitz led the Bruins with two goals apiece against the Cardinal. Seniorย Carlee Kapanaย got the starting nod in the cage for UCLA and went the distance, registering a season-high 16 saves while surrendering eight goals.
Stanford opened the scoring with a power play goal by Aria Fischer (6:43). Then the Cardinal went up 2-0 with a goal at even strength by Kat Klass (5:42). Aria Fischer netted her second of the game (4:54) to put Stanford up 3-0. Makenzie Fischer converted a penalty shot to end the scoring in the opening period (3:20), giving Stanford a 4-0 advantage.
Kapana made a stop of another Makenzie Fischer penalty shot at the 5:55 mark of the second period. But Aria Fischer completed a hat trick (3:35) on a power play to make it 5-0. Senior Rachel Whitelegge got the Bruins on the board with a power play goal off a feed from Musselman (3:14) to trim the deficit to 5-1. Sophomore Roxy Wheaton ended the scoring in the second period with a power play with 14 seconds left in the first half to make it 5-2.
Freshman Val Ayala opened the scoring in the third period with a strike from the front court (6:34) to cut the Cardinal lead to 5-3. Then Kapana hit Musselman for a counter strike (5:03) to make it 5-4 Stanford. Freshman Lexi Liebowitz tied the game on a power play off another assist from Musselman (3:55) to end the scoring in the third with the score tied at 5-5.
Ayala then hit Musselmanย for her second goal of the game on a power play (4:11) to give the Bruins their first lead of the game at 6-5, the Bruins' sixth-straight goal. Aria Fischer tied it at 6-6 with her fourth goal of the game (2:49) to end the scoring in the fourth period, ultimately sending the game into overtime.
Aria Fischer scored her fifth of the game to open the scoring in the first overtime period (2:10) to give Stanford the lead back at 7-6. Then Ryann Neushulย scored from the front court (1:12) to extend the lead to 8-6. UCLA cut it to 8-7 in the second overtime period (0:57) when Liebowitz scored her second of the game. But Stanford managed to run out the clock on the Bruins to hold on for the 8-7 victory.ย .
No. 3 UCLA at No. 2 Stanford (NCAA Semifinals)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 1OT | 2OT | FINAL |
| No. 3 UCLA | 0 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 7 |
| No. 2 Stanford | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 8 |
6x5 -ย UCLA - 4/13 - STAN - 2/8
Penalties -ย UCLA - 0/0 - STAN - 1/2
UCLA Goals:ย Maddie Musselman 2, Lexi Liebowitz 2, Rachel Whiteleggeย 1, Roxy Wheaton 1, Val Ayala 1
UCLA Saves:ย Carlee Kapana 16
STAN Goals:ย Aria Fischerย 5, Makenzie Fischer 1, Kat Klassย 1, Ryann Neushul 1
STAN Saves:ย Emalia Eichelberger 7
