With arms intertwined all game long and tugging and pulling
aplenty, the UCLA women’s water polo team realized the season
is not going to get any easier.
Riding a 10-game winning streak, including a 9-4 victory over
San Jose State at home on Saturday, the No. 3 Bruins lost 5-3 to
rival No. 2 Stanford at the Sunset Recreation Center on Sunday.
Despite knowing the second seed in the MPSF Tournament and a
possible NCAA bid were on the line, UCLA failed to play
aggressively, as the Cardinal shoved its way past the Bruins all
game long.
“There’s a huge difference between being confident
and complacent,” freshman goalie Emily Feher said. “We
came in today a little too complacent. We came in expecting we were
going to win, but Stanford came out with a fire that we
couldn’t match.”
The significance of the game was apparent before tip-off, but
the Bruins (20-4, 9-2) didn’t seem aware of it as they
allowed the Cardinal (17-3, 9-1) to set the game’s tone and
pace.
Within the first 10 seconds of the opening period,
Stanford’s Christina Hewko pulled off a quick assault with a
shot that rang the Bruins’ bell.
“That shouldn’t happen,” coach Adam Krikorian
said. “That possibly was the easiest goal they’ll ever
get.”
Two minutes later, Stanford capitalized on its 6-on-5, giving
them an early 2-0 lead.
But the Bruins finally came out of their slumber, tying the game
at two apiece at the end of the first quarter after sophomores
Kristina Kunkel and Lauren Heineck both chipped in a goal.
While the momentum seemed to swing UCLA’s way, Stanford
regained its composure and continued to push and shove the Bruins
back. The Cardinal would go on a 3-1 run and manhandled the Bruins
on the defensive end for the remainder of the match.
“We had the whole game to come back,” Feher said.
“When (Stanford) scored a goal, it was almost like (UCLA) was
dejected. They were like, “˜What are we going to do
now?'”
Throughout the second period, the Bruins’ offense went
dry. Time became a factor, and the Cardinal’s overwhelming
power forced the Bruins to frivolously toss up shots.
But Stanford took advantage of their 6-on-5 opportunities,
converting 2-7 as opposed to UCLA’s 0-6.
“A lot of us were having trouble moving forward,”
sophomore Lauren Heineck said. “They pressed us pretty hard,
and we were forced outside all game long.”
So far this season, UCLA has dropped both of its matches against
Stanford as well as against USC, proving the Bruins have a long way
to go to compete with the likes of the two top powerhouse teams in
the country.
With less than two weeks until the conference tournament, the
Bruins remain confident, despite knowing the competition will only
get tougher from here on out.
“It’s not over,” Feher said.
“There’s no doubt in my mind we can still do it. But
now there’s a lot more riding on our backs, and we’re
going to have to bring out our best game every day at the MPSF.
“It’s not to going to be easy. Not at
all.”