SANTA CLARA, Calif. – After two solid weekends of home play, the women's water polo team will hit the road for an eight game stretch. The Broncos will first play No. 1 Stanford on Feb. 26 at 3:30 pm and this game will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network. Then the team will travel down to Southern California for the Cal Lutheran Invitational.
Last season, the Broncos and the Cardinal matched up at the Sullivan Aquatic Center and the Cardinal left with the 14-6 win. In the 2014 season, the Cardinal only lost one game and went on to win the 2014 NCAA Division I Champion.
The Cardinal have maintained a No. 1 ranking so far this season, going 11-1 and only recently losing in overtime to UCLA on Feb. 22.
Seniors Kiley Neushul and Ashley Grossman lead the Cardinal in goals scored, combining for 51 goals on the season. Gold Medal Olympic athlete and junior Maggie Steffens follows close behind the seniors with 23 goals. In the net for the Cardinal is junior Gabby Stone who has tallied 71 saves and averages only five goals allowed per game.
On Friday, the team will take a travel down to Thousand Oaks, Calif. At the Cal Lutheran Invitational, the Broncos will play four games in two days. Up first on Feb. 28, the Broncos will face Cal State Bakersfield at 11:30 am. The Roadrunners are 7-6 on the season.
Stand out players for the Roadrunners are Nicola Barrett, who has recorded 23 goals and 17 assists, and Kristen Jensen, who has 20 goals, 13 assists and 27 steals.
The final three matchups of the tournament will be against Division III opponents.
The Broncos will play their second game of the day at 3:15 pm against Chapman. This match up will only be the third game of the season for the Cougars.
In their first game on Sunday, the Broncos are set to play Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 10:30 am. The Athenas return five seniors for the 2015 season.
To finish up the weekend, the Broncos will play the Occidental Tigers at 2:15 pm. The small Tigers squad only returns one senior, Bay Area native Katie Gibbs.
The Broncos will look to pick up wins and continue on their four-game winning streak. On Feb. 21, the Broncos came out with an upset win at home over No. 11 Indiana. Junior goalie Sydni Estrella was a key player in that game, recording 12 saves.
