No. 2 Stanford’s Big Splash against No. 6 Cal
The Bears’ last match against the Cardinal this season was Feb. 5: Cal swam away with a 10-9 win against Stanford in overtime at the Avery Aquatic Center. In that game, Cecily Turner and Jessie Rose came up with the final two goals to lift the Bears to the victory.
Rose beat Stanford goalie Maya Avital and was successful in her attempt to find the back of the Cardinal cage for the game-winner.
Everything changed for Cal this time around when the Cardinal, despite the Bears’ fierce nature, left their pool as the winning team.
Cal, who was ranked No. 4 just the game prior against Irvine, fell to No. 6 while Stanford has impressively remained No. 2 since its first game against the Bears this season.
But Cal did not leave without a worthy effort.
The Bears (15-4, 3-3 MPSF) started off strong, winning the game’s opening sprint.
The first goal of the game was made by Cal senior Elli Protopapas, who found the back of Stanford’s net; sophomore Ruby Swadling added another one within the same quarter, and Emma Wright assisted on both of the two goals.
Protopapas scored once more off of an assist by Swadling, and the Bears were leading 3-0 within the first three minutes of the game.
Stanford was strategic: It gained a one-goal advantage over Cal, 4-3, in the second quarter.
After trading a few goals where Cal freshman Rozanne Voorvelt scored twice, the Cardinal pocketed three consecutive goals that broke the 7-7 tie.
Junior goalie Isabel Williams, registering 12 saves, was a wall in the cage.
The fourth quarter allowed the Cardinal several opportunities that pulled them closer toward their win.
The Cardinal left the Avery Aquatic Center with a 11-8 victory over Cal — an honorable success at the annual Big Splash.
The Bears will be approaching their next opponent in Arizona State University on Friday for the second time this season at the MPSF cha
Cassandra Maciel-Hernandez women’s water polo. Contact her at cmacielhernandez@dailycal.org.