One of the main goals for UCLA’s men’s water polo
team heading into Saturday’s game against Stanford was the
containment of star Stanford attacker Tony Azevedo.
If the Bruins could limit his scoring and contain the
opportunities he gives his teammates, they felt they’d have a
good chance of edging out their rival.
With a flurry of defenders thrown at him and with Bruin goalie
Joe Axelrad having a career game, UCLA managed to limit Azevedo to
only two natural goals, with two others coming on penalties.
The Bruins held the rest of the Cardinal players scoreless in
the 7-4 romping of the Cardinal.
“We had great awareness,” coach Adam Krikorian said.
“We knew where (Azevedo) was at all times.
“Peter Belden, Albert Garcia, and Brett Ormsby all did an
unbelievable job.”
Axelrad, who had a career-high 14 saves on the day, was the last
line of containment against Azevedo.
By saving all but two of Azevedo’s non-penalty shots on
goal, he had what his coach called the best game of his career.
“I was a little extra pumped up for Stanford,” the
senior said. “In our team defense against (Azevedo),
continuing to play as a unit was the key to success.
“I attribute all our success to Team D.”
While Azevedo, a 2004 Olympian, is used to having opponents send
a few defenders in his direction, he still complimented the Bruins
after the game, saying they came out on fire and capitalized on
Stanford’s mistakes.
“Today we didn”˜t play to our capabilities,”
Azevedo said.
“We played hard,” he added, “but we
didn”˜t play a structured, smart game.”
In the midst of his impressive performance against Stanford,
Axelrad recorded his 300th career save.
“He is similar to the value of a hockey goalie,”
Krikorian said. “This game is a tribute to his work ethic and
mental preparation.”
Axelrad continued his successful play on Sunday in the
Bruins’ 11-6 victory over Long Beach State, notching seven
saves on the day.
His two most stellar saves came toward the end of the game on a
breakaway and then on a penalty shot.