The regular season of the MPSF conference has finished.
The seeding’s for next weekend’s MPSF championship finals are now set in stone, after a raucous weekend of action. Southern California are the team to beat, after going six for six in conference play; a brilliant showing against their local rivals UCLA (14-9), guarantees their place in the semi-finals of the country’s top conference finals.
Elsewhere, Stanford had the quality to down California 16-9, while Arizona State recorded their first and only win of the season against next weekend’s hosts, San Jose (11-7).
How does the Conference System Work?
The regular season has ended, and the next weekend will be the climax of the MPSF Championship Play-offs. USC, who were the table-toppers in the first phase, have automatically qualified for the semi-finals. Stanford, who finished second, will face the seventh-placed team, San Jose. UCLA, who finished third, will play against Arizona, who finished sixth. Cal, who came fourth, will play against Indiana, who finished fifth.
2022/23 MPSF Conference, Day 6
Stanford 16 – 9 California (3-2, 2-1, 7-5, 4-1)
Stanford: R. Neushul 4, L. Rowell 1, J. Roemer 3, A. Fischer 2, H. Constandse 1, S. Wallace 2, J. Flynn 2, S. Jones 1.
California: M. Dempsey 2, M. Reynoso 1, C. Turner 3, M. DeMattia 1, S. Salvino 1, J. Tauscher 1.
USC 14 – 9 UCLA (3-2, 4-1, 3-3, 4-3)
USC: G. Tehaney 3, P. Hauschild 3, J. Janov 2, T. Kearns 5, H. Vandeweghe-O’Shea 1.
UCLA: T. Smith 1, S. Green 1, M.Allen 1, E. Lineback 1, K. Drake 3, A. Pearson 2.
San Jose 7 – 11 Arizona State (0-3, 3-2, 2-3, 2-3)
SJSU:C. Wandiner 2, L. Miszeweski 3, L. Woolley 1, L. Ben David 1.
ASU: J. Dhalluin 1, O. Traxler 1, L. Petrovary 3, T. Schaffer 1, E.Van Zonneveld 3, S. Shorter-Robinson 1, T. Doherty 1.
USC progress into next weekend’s MPSF conference finals as the undefeated top seeds with an impressive derby-day victory over city rivals UCLA (14-9).
Once again it was Tilly Kearns who led the scoring for the Trojans with five in the game, but USC, who are undefeated in all six of their conference games, put in a super defensive display to take a commanding victory over the Bruins.
Team USA’s Paige Hauschild was also key in the game for Southern California; her first-half hat-trick enabled Marko Pintaric’s team to turn a one-score lead at 3-2 into a four-score buffer at the turnaround (7-3). A quad from the Australian national, Tilly Kearns, ensured the lead never slipped. The seven-time MPSF conference winners are now the team to beat heading into the finals weekend in San Jose in seven days time.
Meanwhile the reigning conference and NCAA champions Stanford will progress as second seeds to next weekend’s play-offs with a confident all-round display at California (16-9).
Big attacking shifts from USA internationals Ryan Neushul (4) and Jewel Roemer (3) fuelled the Cardinal’s fourth win over the Bears this campaign. Maya Avital produced a stellar showing in goal, shoring up the defence with a remarkable 17 saves.
The Cal Bears showed spells of quality, led by a formidable three-goal game from Lily Turner. However, the Bears, now-ranked 6th in the CWPA, have lost 4 of their last 6 games.
Lastly, Arizona State finished regular conference play with a four-score gap over San Jose. The Sun Devils propelled ahead with a 3-0 lead in the first eight minutes; Emily Van Zonneveld and Luca Petrovary hat-tricks guided Petra Pardi’s team to their only conference win of the season, putting an end to a four-game losing streak dating back to late March.
MPSF Standings
- USC – 6 games – 6 wins
- Stanford – 6 – 5
- UCLA – 6 – 4
- California – 6 – 3
- Indiana – 6 – 2
- Arizona State – 6 – 1
- San Jose – 6 – 0
MPSF Championship Tournament
Friday 28th April
Stanford vs San Jose
UCLA vs Arizona State
California vs Indiana
USC bye
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