By Andrew Hartley (@AndrewHart1ey)- Spear Reporter
SJSU women’s water polo (2-1) opened the Cal Cup falling to the defending national champions, the Stanford Cardinal (1-0), 21-2.
Coming into the game, the Cardinal were ranked as the No. 1 team in women’s collegiate water polo.
The Spartans lost the opening sprint and conceded a goal less than two minutes into the match.
Head Coach Beth Harberts called a timeout after the goal to calm her girls down and try to ease them into the tournament.
Steam emerged from the pool early all throughout the match making the mid 40’s weather apparent.
“We always look forward to this tournament just because it really is showcasing some of the top teams in California,” said Harberts in a Twitter video released this week.
SJSU women’s water polo has never beat Stanford in program history and unfortunately that streak continued today.
While at halftime the Spartans trailed 10-0, the play of graduate goalie Hannah Henry was a huge bright spot.
Henry would finish the match with seven saves and a 36.8 save percentage.
In the final minute of the third quarter, the Spartans got themselves on the board. Graduate utility player Olga Descalzi scored the Spartans first of the match on the setup by freshman Sinia Plotz.
While the scoreboard may not indicate it, SJSU had positive takeaways. A season high 16 women got into the pool to see action.
Junior Belene Rodriguez picked up her first goal of the season in the middle of the fourth quarter while six-on-five. Rodriguez also won the sprint to start the third quarter.
This was the first time that the Spartans had been held to two goals since the 2021 season.
“We’re always trying to challenge ourselves and get after it.” said Coach Harberts on the tournament.
The Spartans still sport the title of the No. 14 team in the nation and will play another matchup this afternoon against No. 4 Cal Berkeley.
