PALO ALTO “”mdash; Storming to the announcer’s table after
the game, UCLA men’s water polo coach Adam Krikorian slammed
his fist on the table.
Krikorian’s anger mounted throughout Saturday’s game
against No. 3 Stanford (14-3, 3-0). He was livid over the
officiating and a controversial play in the first overtime period.
But most of all, he was dismayed that his young Bruin team dropped
yet another heartbreaker to the Cardinal, 9-8, in double overtime,
after leading by three goals in the final regulation period.
“We expect to be on top, and obviously we’re not
achieving. This loss hurts no matter how we played,”
Krikorian said.
“The thing about this game and this sport is when you get
a lead … you see the game change. The officiating changes and the
officials start swallowing their whistles more.”
Gone are the days when No. 4 UCLA (15-5, 2-1 MPSF) dominated the
water polo world. Their national-championship-defending aura has
been sapped.
The Bruins have fallen to the Cardinal despite a fourth-quarter
lead three times this season. They’ve also lost to No. 2 Cal
in overtime, and still have yet to face top-ranked USC.
“Having confidence to hold onto our lead, we don’t
have that,” junior center Grant Zider said. “We thought
we had it today, but it slipped away again. I don’t know, it
just seems like the same old story every time.”
Despite Sunday’s 13-2 victory over non-conference opponent
UC Santa Cruz (4-13), UCLA is now in a precarious position to
defend its national championship. To even get a bid to the NCAA
Tournament, the Bruins will have to win the conference tournament
““ which begins in less than a month ““ outright.
When asked if he thinks this team is ready for the postseason,
Krikorian says he isn’t sure.
“I guess. You never know until we get there,” he
said. “We had enough character and will to get through it
last year, but (it seems) we just don’t have enough of it
this year.”
Stanford took advantage of its 6-on-5 opportunities (3 for 3) in
the second half to tie the game at 7-7 going into the extra
period.
In the first overtime period, UCLA scored on a 6-on-5 advantage
when senior attacker John Blanchette rebounded junior attacker
Logan Powell’s missed shot off the cage and flicked a shot
into the back of the net. On the ensuing possession, however,
Stanford senior attacker Thomas Hopkins drew an ejection at two
meters and scored on a penalty shot past UCLA junior goalie Will
Didinger, tying the game at 8-8.
The play Krikorian was harping on after the game came with 59
seconds remaining in the first overtime period, when UCLA was on a
6-on-5 advantage with Stanford’s Peter Varellas excluded from
play. Powell connected on a goal from outside that would have given
UCLA a 9-8 lead. However, Varellas was waved in late on an error by
the Stanford announcers table, and because the Bruins scored during
the time Varellas should have been in, the goal was erased.
“Because (Varellas) wasn’t waved in properly, it
changes the outcome of the game, and because there was an error
made by the table you go back to where he should’ve been in
and replay,” MPSF evaluator for referees Megan Hernandez
said. “It wasn’t a referee error. I’m sure UCLA
will probably protest. I would. Obviously it’s an unfortunate
situation.”
“That’s screwed (up),” Krikorian said,
“and it could’ve possibly cost us the game.”
Stanford’s game-winning goal was scored by Hopkins, who
had a game-high four goals, on a dry shot to the left side of the
cage with 15 seconds remaining in the game.
“I feel like each of the three games we played against
(Stanford), we were in position to win, we should’ve won, and
we just had some lapses in the fourth quarter,” Blanchette
said. “We’ve given the games away to them.”