Stanford Athletics

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WHAT'S AHEAD

Following a two-week break for final exams, No. 2 Stanford returns to action at home when it hosts No. 18 Harvard on Saturday, March 23 at noon and No. 10 UC Irvine on Monday, March 25 at 12:30 p.m. The Cardinal will make its 2019 Pac-12 Networks debut against the Anteaters with Kevin Danna and Kami Craig on the call.

WHAT JUST HAPPENED

Three players had hat tricks and Stanford scored seven second-half goals to beat No. 9 Arizona State, 10-7, on March 9. Aria Fischer, Makenzie Fischer and Ryann Neushul each scored three times for the Cardinal, which moved to 2-0 in conference with the victory and 26-0 all-time against Arizona State.

AT AVERY

Stanford is 102-9 at home since 2008.

AGAINST THE COMPETITION

Stanford is 4-0 all-time against Harvard with the last three of those wins coming at home. The Cardinal is 22-0 all-time against UC Irvine. Stanford won 14-8 in the last meeting on May 11, 2018 at the NCAA championship in Los Angeles. Madison Berggren, Aria Fischer, Makenzie Fischer, Kat Klass, Jordan Raney and Mackenzie Wiley each scored twice in that victory.

CARDINAL TO CHINA

No strangers to representing Stanford on a global stage, the Cardinal women's water polo program announced a summer trip to China on March 22 for two weeks of sports diplomacy - water polo, student exchanges and exploration.

Running from June 23 – July 8, the Cardinal will start and end the trip training with and competing against the Chinese National Team. In between, the team will tour sites in an around Chengdu, where they are being hosted by China's Water Polo Federation, and also visit the Tibetan Plateau of Western Sichuan province.

Stanford's preparations for the trip began in earnest weeks ago with the formation of a robust seminar series covering Chinese history, culture and language, Sino-American relations, development
economics examining health and education in rural China, entrepreneurship and diplomacy.

FULL STORY: stanford.io/2UQgvQB 

FANTASTIC FISCHER

Makenzie Fischer is averaging 4.17 goals per game, has had multi-score efforts in 11 of her 12 matches this season and has been responsible for 22 percent of the Cardinal's scoring offense (50 of 224 goals) in the game's she's appeared. She's a full goal per game better than the No. 2 player in the MPSF (Emma Wright – Cal; 3.08). Fischer tied with Kelly Eaton (2007-10) for 10th on the program's all-time scoring list with 171. Brenda Villa (2001-03) is next on the list with 173.

SEEING THE STATS

Stanford tops the MPSF in goals per game (17.23), ahead of USC (14.70), and is second in goals allowed per game (5.62) trailing the Trojans (3.90). Individually, Fischer leads the league in goals per game (4.17) and Sarah Klass is sixth (2.23). Madison Stamen is ninth (1.92), Aria Fischer is 10th (1.83), Kat Klass is 12th (1.75) and Madison Berggren 18th (1.43). Emalia Eichelberger's 6.67 goals against average is fourth in the conference and her 9.00 saves per game are fourth. Thea Walsh is second in goals against average (5.00) and ninth in saves per game (5.67).

WHAT'S IN STORE IN 2019

Denied in its big for back-to-back national championships last May, Stanford is be in a strong position as it looks to reclaim the crown in 2019. The Cardinal returns its four leading goal scorers from a year ago in Makenzie Fischer (67), Kat Klass (39), Madison Berggren (36) and Aria Fischer (35) and welcomes more than 80 percent of its total scoring offense back into the fold (229 of 285) this season.

At the other end of the pool, Stanford must replace Julia Hermann in the cage as part of a class of four departed seniors. Hermann was a third-team All-American last season, finished second in the MPSF in goals against average (5.35) and had five of her seven double-digit save performances in the season's final seven games.

Stanford's six-person freshman class includes Youth National Team goalkeeper Thea Walsh and Junior National Team members Chloe Harbilas and Ryann Neushul. Neushul is the youngest sister of Stanford alums Kiley and Jamie Neushul, who each won three national championships with the Cardinal and combined for five first-team All-America honors.

HOSTING IT ALL

Avery Aquatic Center is the place to be at the end of the season in late April and mid-May. Stanford will host the MPSF Championship from April 26-28 and the NCAA Championship from May 10-12. Last time Stanford hosted NCAA's in 2015, the Cardinal became the first host institution to win a national championship in its home pool.