UCLA
Stanford
No. 1 UCLA Thrashes No. 4 Stanford
October 17, 2015 | Men's Water Polo
SOCIAL MEDIA: MWP on Twitter | MWP on Facebook | MWP on Instagram
STANFORD, Calif., -- The top-ranked UCLA Bruins improved to 18-0 on the year and 2-0 in the MPSF with a 12-8 win at No. 4 Stanford (14-5, 0-2) in a league match on Saturday morning at Stanford's Avery Pool. The win marked the Bruins' 21st-straight win, dating back to last year, which is tied for the third-longest winning streak in school history.
UCLA was led by a trio of players with a hat trick, including seniors Anthony Daboub and Daniel McClintick and junior Patrick Fellner. Junior Garrett Danner had 11 saves in the cage for UCLA. UCLA improved to 70-82 all-time against Stanford and has now won the last three meetings and four out of the last five against the Cardinal.
Sophomore Max Irving got the Bruins on the board first with a power play score (5:53). Adam Abdulhamid tied it at 1-1 with a goal from the front court (4:15). Fellner put the Bruins back in front with a cross-cage power play strike (1:50). But seconds later, BJ Churnside answered with an exclusion goal (1:28) to knot it up at 2-2. Daboub ended the scoring in the third with the Bruins leading 3-2 (0:58) with a shot from distance.
Bret Bonanni opened the second for Stanford with a lob shot to tie the game at 3-3 (7:10). But the Bruins reeled off three straight goals to build a 6-3 lead. Fellner scored his second on a power play (6:45) and then Daboub added his second with a counter score (4:14) to make it 5-3. After McClintick scored from the front court (3:22), Stanford got two straight power play goals to cut the lead to 6-5 by halftime (2:44 and 0:05).
The Bruins dominated the third period, outscoring the Cardinal 3-1 to take a 9-6 lead into the final frame. After Abdulhamid tied the match at 6-6 with a counter attack score (7:17), UCLA ended the period with three more goals. McClintick got his second score on a counter (5:43), followed by power play goals from Fellner (4:25) and Irving (2:34).
UCLA made it five unanswered goals when junior Gordon Marshall took a perfect pass from Daboub and slammed it home on a power play (7:19) and then Daboub scored from the front court (6:07) to extend the lead to 11-6. Bonanni scored his second on a front court strike to stop the scoring streak (5:43), but McClintick answered with a power play goal to complete his hat trick (3:47) and push the lead back to five goals at 12-7. Abdulhamid would complete a hat trick for Stanford (2:46). UCLA ran out the clock on four of its last five possessions of the match to secure the 12-8 final.
Danner played all four periods in the cage for UCLA making a previously mentioned 11 saves, while registering two steals. Drew Holland was credited with seven saves for Stanford.
UCLA went an incredible 7-for-8 on power plays while Stanford went 2-for-6. Neither team attempted a penalty shot.
The Bruins return to action at league newcomer San Jose State on Sunday, Oct. 18 at 2:00 p.m.
No. 1 UCLA at No. 4 Stanford (MPSF Match)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 1 UCLA | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 |
| No. 4 Stanford | 2 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 8 |
6x5 - UCLA - 7/8 - STANFORD - 2/6
Penalties - UCLA - 0/0 - STANFORD- 0/0
UCLA Goals: Patrick Fellner 3, Anthony Daboub 3, Daniel McClintick 3, Max Irving 2, Gordon Marshall 1
UCLA Saves: Garrett Danner 11
STANFORD Goals: Adam Abdulhamid 3, BJ Churnside 3, Bret Bonanni 2
STANFORD Saves: Drew Holland 7
