UCSB’s Liam Gaughan takes a shot on Sunday vs. Stanford. (Presidio Sports Photos)
Stanford didn’t let down a day after knocking off No. 1 USC, as the Cardinal built an 8-3 halftime lead against UCSB and beat the Gauchos 13-6 on Sunday at Campus Pool.
Stanford, which edged the Trojans 11-10 on Saturday, scored three goals in the first two minutes on Sunday before Chase Racich got the Gauchos on the board after a perfect lob pass from Shane Hauschild. Hauschild then converted a 5-meter penalty shot to make a 3-2 game.
Stanford countered with its fourth goal with 11 seconds remaining as senior Alex Bowen netted his second score of the period. The Cardinal scored two straight goals to open the second period. Junior Bret Bonanni broke away for a 7:32 goal while also netting a 6:25 score to build a 6-2 lead.
No. 8 UCSB capitalized on a 6-on-5 opportunity as junior Samer Alkateb scored from close range. But Stanford got two late goals to go up 8-3 by halftime.
The Cardinal (17-2, 3-0 MPSF) extended its lead to 12-4 early in the fourth period.
Bonanni paced a balanced Stanford attack with four goals. Nick Hoversten, Jackson Kimbrell, Alex Bowen and Reid Chase each tallied two goals.
Alkateb had two goals to lead UCSB (9-8, 0-3 MPSF).
Former high school teammates Kevin Cappon, left, and Conner Cleary, right, were going against each other on Sunday. There were over a half-dozen local products playing in the game.
