HONOLULU, Hawaii — No. 2 Stanford (20-1) proved to be one of the top teams in the nation as they defeated No. 17 UC Santa Barbara (16-10, 1-2) 12-3 on Friday afternoon at Duke Kahanamoku Aquatic Complex.
Kiley Neushul, daughter of UCSB’s head coach Cathy Neushul, led the Cardinal with four goals. Neushul got Stanford on the board with a goal only four minutes in. The Cardinal was able to tally two more goals in the first quarter, leading the Gauchos 3-0 going into the second quarter.
Neushul opened the second quarter with two back-to-back goals for Stanford, giving them a 5-0 lead. Freshman Samantha Murphy was able to put UCSB on the board with an impressive shot three minutes into the second quarter. However, Maggie Steffens was able to contribute and added another goal for the Cardinal, furthering Stanford’s lead to 6-1 to end the first half.
The Cardinal onslaught continued in the third quarter as Kiley Neushul, Kaitlyn Lo, and Ashley Grossman were able to find the back of the net. Sophomore Jade Wentz-Fitzgerald was able to sneak in a goal with 0:24 seconds left in the quarter. Unfortunately, Stanford quickly answered with a penalty shot from Maggie Steffens.
The fourth quarter began with great defense on both sides until Stanford was able to score another goal from a penalty shot. Freshman Jessie Porter added another goal for the Gauchos, but it wasn’t enough as the Cardinal secured their victory with the last goal, ending the game 12-3.
UCSB will finish off their four game streak at Hawaii when they take on Sonoma State at 12 p.m. and No. 15 UC San Diego at 6:30 p.m on Saturday, March 30.
BOX SCORE
1 2 3 4 Final UCSB 0 1 1 1 3 Stanford 3 3 4 2 12 UCSB Goals: Samantha Murphy, Jessie Porter, Jade Wentz-Fitzgerald
UCSB Saves: Ruth Milne 9Stanford Goals: Kiley Neushul 4, Maggie Steffens 3, Alexis Lee, Kaitlyn Lo, Anan Yelizarova, Ashley Grossman, Annika Dries
Stanford Saves: Kate Baldoni 9
