Card Splits at Home

STANFORD, Calif. – Playing at Avery Aquatic Center for the first time in 15 months, Stanford split on home-opening day, closing with a 15-9 victory over USC after falling to UCLA, 11-10, on Saturday. 

No. 3 Stanford (2-3 overall, 2-3 MPSF) earned its second six-goal victory over the Trojans, after a 14-8 victory on Feb. 6 in the Cardinal's season opener, at USC. Before this year, Stanford hadn't beaten USC by as large of a margin since a 17-7 rout in 1994. 

Tyler Abramson, Beck Jurasius, and AJ Rossman each scored a hat trick over the No. 4 Trojans (3-7, 2-7). 

Jackson Painter ignited a 4-0 run that bridged the half, turning a 4-3 deficit into a 7-4 lead. In the second and third quarters, Stanford outscored USC, 10-3. Among the Cardinal goals, Larsen Weigle snuck in a shot inside the near post from a poor angle on the left for an 8-5 lead, and Jurasius muscled in a close-range shot despite tight defense, to make it 14-8. 
 

Andrew Chun made 13 saves against the Trojans. Photo by Scott Gould/Stanford Athletics.

Abramson and Jurasius lead Stanford in scoring with 10 goals apiece, Ethan Parrish is next with eight, followed by Quinn Woodhead with seven. 

Stanford is playing host to a two-day four-team Mountain Pacific Sports Federation round-robin event that will close the conference season. This competition consists of the top four teams in the CWPA coaches' poll, all battling for seeds in the MPSF tournament, on March 5-7 at UCLA. This is the third such round-robin weekend, which substitutes for the regular season home-and-home contests. 

Sunday's schedule will be No. 1 Cal against No. 2 UCLA at 10 a.m., Cal against USC at 1 p.m., and Stanford against Cal at 6:30 p.m.

The scoreboard tells the story. Photo by Scott Gould/Stanford Athletics.

Stanford 15, USC 9
USC         3 1 2 3 – 9
Stanford 2 4 6 3 – 15
USC goals: Jake Ehrhardt 2, Carson Kranz 2, Jacob Mercep 2, Marcus Longton, Tom McGuire, Max Miller.
Stanford goals: Tyler Abramson 3, Beck Jurasius 3, AJ Rossman 3, Andrew Churukian, Soren Jensen, Jackson Painter, Ethan Parrish, Larsen Weigle, Quinn Woodhead. 
 
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Welcome home: The Card returns to Avery. Photo by Maciek Gudrymowicz/ISIphotos.com.

UCLA 11, Stanford 10

No. 3 Stanford cut a three-goal fourth-quarter deficit to one, when Abramson fired into the cage from the center of the UCLA defense with 41 seconds left. Abramson then forced a Bruin turnover, giving Stanford possession and a chance to tie in the final 15 seconds, but the Cardinal was unable to get off a shot. 

No. 2 UCLA (5-3, 4-3) scored three unanswered goals at the outset of the fourth quarter to break a 7-7 tie. But Stanford held the Bruins scoreless over the final 2:48. 

Weigle snuck in a shot at the left post with 1:35 left and Abramson followed, but it wasn't enough to prevent the defending NCAA champion Cardinal from losing its third straight. 

Abramson scored three goals and assisted on another, and teammate Jackson Painter scored twice. Freshman Nolan Krutonog, in his first collegiate start, had seven saves including a great save with his right hand at close range in the second quarter. 

Stanford's previous home game was on Nov. 16, 2019, when the Cardinal closed out the regular season with a 17-11 victory over UCLA. 
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AJ Rossman. Photo by Maciek Gudrymowicz/ISIphotos.com.

UCLA 11, Stanford 10
UCLA        2 2 3 4 – 11
Stanford  3 2 2 3 – 10
UCLA goals: Nicolas Saveljic 4, Jake Cavano 2, Mo Kenney 2, Jack Larsen, Evan Rosenfeld, Chasen Travisano.
Stanford goals: Tyler Abramson 3, Jackson Painter 2, Ethan Parrish, Riley Pittman, AJ Rossman, Larsen Weigle, Quinn Woodhead.