University Southern California Trojans
Stanford, UCLA Advance To Championship Of 2002 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
May 11, 2002 | Women's Water Polo
May 11, 2002
LOS ANGELES--Top-seeded Stanford and No. 2 UCLA will meet in a rematch of last year's NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship as both teams advanced to the title game of the 2002 NCAA tournament, with the Cardinal beating No. 4 Michigan, 13-3, and the Bruins defeating No. 3 Loyola Marymount, 11-2, in semifinal matches on Saturday (May 11) at USC.
UCLA, which won last year's inaugural NCAA championship (5-4), will battle Stanford at 5 p.m. on Sunday (May 12). Michigan and Loyola Marymount will play at 3:30 p.m. in the consolation match.
Two weeks ago (April 28), the Bruins upset Stanford, 11-7, in the final of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship, also in the USC pool. That victory avenged three losses earlier in the season to the Cardinal.
In Saturday's first game, Stanford (22-2) held a 9-0 lead before Stephanie Rupp scored with 4:16 to play in the third quarter to put Michigan (25-12) on the board. The Cardinal held leads of 4-0 at the end of the first quarter and 7-0 at halftime. Brenda Villa scored 4 goals for Stanford, while teammates Jeanine Jackson, Lauren Faust and Julie Gardner added 2 goals each.
"Michigan was tougher than we anticipated," said Stanford coach John Tanner. "But we moved the ball really well. We put good pressure on them defensively. It's pretty exciting to be in the championship game. At the beginning, there were 60 teams and now there are two."
Said Michigan coach Amber Drury-Pinto: "We were a little nervous starting out, but we did some good things. There's a good reason why Stanford has been ranked No. 1 most of the year."
The second semifinal was similar to the first, as UCLA (22-3) led 7-0 before Jaime Kroeze scored with 5:22 to play in the third period for Loyola Marymount (20-8). Like Stanford, the Bruins opened up a 4-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Kelly Heuchan scored 3 goals for UCLA, while sisters Amber and Ashley Stachowski added 2 goals apiece.
"The big thing for us was getting off to the good start," said UCLA coach Adam Krikorian. "Getting two quick goals in the first two minutes was key. Once we did that, I knew we were in good shape. Now, we're looking forward to the challenge in the final."
Said Loyola Marymount coach John Loughran: "We had a slow start. They scored on their first two possessions and that set the tone for them. UCLA has been playing as the No. 1 team for the last few weeks. Their outside shooting is probably the best in the country. On the inside, there was definitely a size advantage in their favor."
Match #1 1 2 3 4 OT Final #1 Stanford (22-2) 4 3 5 1 -- 13 #4 Michigan (25-12) 0 0 1 2 -- 3Stanford Goals: Brenda Villa 4, Jeanine Jackson 2, Lauren Faust 2, Julie Gardner 2, Nicole Huszcz 1, Ellen Estes 1, Kate Pettit 1 Michigan Goals: Jen Crisman 1, Julie Nisbet 1, Stephanie Rupp 1 Stanford Saves: Jackie Frank 5 Michigan Saves: Betsey Armstrong 14
Match #2 1 2 3 4 OT Final #2 UCLA (22-3) 4 2 4 1 -- 11 #3 Loyola Marymount (20-8) 0 0 2 0 -- 2
UCLA Goals: Kelly Heuchan 3, Amber Stachowski 2, Ashley Stachowski 2, Natalie Golda 1, Jenny Lamb 1, Kristyn Pulver 1, Thalia Munro 1 Loyola Marymount Goals: Julia Wald 1, Jaime Kroeze 1 UCLA Saves: Jaime Hipp 7 Loyola Marymount Saves: Devon Courtney 7
Loyola Marymount University vs. UCLA Semifinals - NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship
Line Score 1 2 3 4 OT Total LMU 0 0 2 0 - 2 UCLA 4 2 4 1 - 11
Scoring Summary Team Time Results Score First Period UCLA 6:32 #14 Amber Stachowski 0-1 UCLA 5:40 #2 Kelly Heuchan 0-2 UCLA 1:21 #2 Kelly Heuchan (EM) 0-3 UCLA 0:26 #22 Ashley Stachowski 0-4
Second Period UCLA 4:55 #4 Jenny Lamb 0-5 UCLA 0:22 #3 Natalie Golda (EM) 0-6
Third Period UCLA 5:32 #13 Thalia Munro 0-7 LMU 5:17 #12 Jaime Kroeze (EM) 1-7 UCLA 4:47 #2 Kelly Heuchan 1-8 LMU 4:29 #8 Julia Wald 2-8 UCLA 2:49 #14 Amber Stachowski (EM) 2-9 UCLA 1:37 #22 Ashley Stachowski 2-10
Fourth Period UCLA 0:33 #8 Kristyn Pulver 2-11
-GAME OVER-
Play-by-Play UCLA 2:42 Ejection by #11 Flanagan - Advantage LMU LMU 2:41 Time Out - LMU has two TO left LMU 1:22 Ejection by #6 Conner - Advantage UCLA UCLA 0:08 Ejection by #14 Stachowski - Advantage LMU Second Period UCLA 2:02 Ejection by #18 Beauregard - Advantage LMU LMU 0:35 Ejection by #12 Kroeze - Advantage UCLA UCLA 0:34 Time Out - UCLA has two TO left END OF HALF Third Period UCLA 5:17 Ejection by #6 Conner - Advantage LMU LMU 3:05 Ejection by #12 Kroeze - Advantage LMU Fourth Period LMU 6:11 Ejection by #7 Stewart - Advantage UCLA LMU 5:51 LMU Coach Yellow Card UCLA 5:39 Ejection by #7 McIntyre - Advantage LMU UCLA 3:44 Ejection by #7 McIntyre - Advantage LMU LMU 3:44 Timeout LMU - has one TO left -GAME OVER-
