UCLA
Stanford
No. 1 UCLA Beats No. 4 Stanford, 8-7
September 21, 2015 | Men's Water Polo
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STANFORD, Calif., -- The top-ranked UCLA Bruins improved to 9-0 on the year, winning their third-consecutive Kap7 NorCal Invitational title with an 8-7 win over third-seeded and fourth-ranked Stanford (8-1) on Sunday evening at Stanford's Avery Pool.
Junior Ryder Roberts and sophomore Alex Roelse each scored twice in the win for the Bruins.
Stanford's Jackson Kimbell opened the scoring with a power play goal to give the Cardinal a 1-0 lead (4:04). But UCLA came roaring back with three straight goals to end the period with a 3-1 lead. Roelse evened things up with a power play score (2:59), freshman Spencer Farrar (1:32) scored from the front court and then Roberts (0:52) added a penalty score to end the scoring in the first.
Cody Smith opened the scoring in the second for Stanford with a power play goal at 6:05 to trim the lead to 3-2. Adam Abdulhamid then tied it at 3-3 (2:57) with a top shelf cross-cage strike. But senior Anthony Daboub gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead at the break with a goal from the front court (0:46).
UCLA opened the scoring in the third with two goals to push the lead to 6-3. Senior Daniel McClintick scored a power play goal (5:27) and then Roelse added his second of the match from the front court (4:51). But Stanford got three straight goals to tie it at 6-6. Bret Bonanni sandwiched two goals (4:29, 2:30) in between a goal by Mitchell Mendoza (3:45) to make things tense. But as they did at the end of the first three periods, UCLA got a late goal from Roberts, his second (0:50) to end the scoring with the Bruins leading 7-6 at the end of three.
Junior Chancellor Ramirez would score the ultimate game-winner on a 6-on-5 opportunity with 4:52 to go that put UCLA up 8-6. Bonanni completed a hat trick with 0:43 remaining to trim it to 8-7, but UCLA junior Gordon Marshall drew an exclusion with just 0:19 left and the Bruins ran out the clock to preserve the win.
Junior Garrett Danner played all four periods in goal for UCLA and registered seven stops while allowing seven goals. Like he did in the semifinals against California, Danner came up big with another stop on a penalty shot with 2:27 left in the fourth and UCLA leading 8-6. Danner was also credited with one assist.
UCLA went 3-for-10 on power plays while Stanford went 4-for-9. The Bruins were 1-for-1 on penalty shots while Stanford was 0-for-1.
The Bruins return to action next Saturday, Sept. 26 when they host three matches in a row, starting with Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 11:00 a.m., then hosting Chapman at 1:00 p.m. and the annual Alumni Match at 2:00 p.m.
No. 1 UCLA at No. 4 Stanford (Kap7 NorCal Invitational Final)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| No. 1 UCLA | 3 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 8 |
| No. 4 Stanford | 1 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 7 |
6x5 - UCLA - 3/10 - Stanford - 4/9
Penalties - UCLA - 1/1 - Stanford - 0/1
UCLA Goals: Ryder Roberts 2, Alex Roelse 2, Anthony Daboub 1, Spencer Farrar 1, Chancellor Ramirez 1, Daniel McClintick 1
UCLA Saves: Garrett Danner 7
Stanford Goals: Bret Bonanni 3, Michell Mendoza 1, Jackson Kimbell 1, Cody Smith 1, Adam Abdulhamid 1
Stanford Saves: Drew Holland 12
