It could very much be just another game ““ an
end-of-the-season game with basically no ramifications, since the
MPSF seeding is already set.
However, there lies one more game in the Bruins’
season.
Lo and behold, it is against USC.
Saturday’s non-conference matchup now becomes more than
just another game.
“UCLA has had the better of us, so our juniors and seniors
have to see it as bad blood,” USC junior driver James Shin
said. “As a team we have hatred towards UCLA because they
think they own us. We’re definitely prepared for them this
weekend, and hopefully we’ll get the better of
them.”
By 10 a.m., USC’s McDonald’s Swim Stadium will be
jam-packed with fans ready to see these two water polo powerhouses
exchange blow for blow.
“It’s always special when you play against
USC,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “(USC) coach Vavic
would agree with me that it’s the best rivalry in water polo.
It’s been UCLA and USC, and what makes it special this time
around is that it’s more than the natural rivalry; it’s
now a competition between championship contenders.”
The No. 4 Bruins (18-5, 7-1 MPSF) have dominated the No. 1
Trojans (18-3, 7-1) for the past four years, winning eight of 10
matches This has been an obvious concern for USC coach Jovan
Vavic.
“We have to beat them first. We certainly have not been
playing them consistently in the past three years,” Vavic
said. “We beat Cal and Stanford consistently, but when we
play UCLA they outplay us and outhustle us. They just play better
than us.”
The last time these two crosstown rivals squared off, the Bruins
edged out the Trojans in overtime, 6-5.
Over the course of the match, each team made their respective
runs. The Bruins scored three consecutive goals, the Trojans
answered with five goals of their own, and finally the Bruins
triumphed over the Trojans with three more goals in a row to seal
the victory.
“This year more than any other year has been a game of
runs,” Krikorian said. “We’re going to have to
put our foot down and make stops and limit USC from going on any
runs.”
Even though the conference tournament seedings are already
decided, the game against USC will certainly have some implication
on the NCAA tournament selection.
“‘SC has proven that they are the strongest team out
there,” UCLA junior driver Brett Ormsby said. “This
game may or may not be important in terms of NCAA because
it’s still all up in the air, but a win against ‘SC
will give us more confidence heading into the conference
tournament.”
The anticipation is growing with every second, and for Shin, the
game has huge ramifications.
“Playing UCLA for our last game at home will have about
the same excitement as an NCAA championship game,” Shin said.
“It’ll make our season and senior day if we can beat
UCLA at home.”
“They are going to feel very energized to play us,”
Krikorian said. “Going into the game last time it was a clear
time for them to beat us, and they didn’t. I can assure that
they are going to take it to us on Saturday.”
The contest will feature USC’s potent offense and
UCLA’s smothering defense. The Bruins’ defense is
second in the MPSF, with only a 6.09 goals allowed average.
“UCLA plays great team defense,” Shin said.
“But we’ve been working all week to read it, and break
it.”
However, the Trojans have the second best offense in the MPSF,
tallying an average of 10.35 gpg, and they are also ranked third in
goals allowed, with 6.40.
“We have more than one offensive weapon, and when
we’re on, we have many different scoring options,”
Vavic said. “We’re a deep team that can score in
bunches, and we feel if our offense isn’t going our way, we
can rely on our defense.”
As for the game plan, Krikorian and his Bruins have continued to
work on power plays, defense and counterattack, but he knows what
to expect out of USC.
“One thing that’ll be very important is how we are
able to do against a hard press and how physical they will get with
us,” Krikorian said. “We’re going to have to earn
some ejections and create some good opportunities on goal and put
them away.”