The UCLA men’s water polo team lost a heartbreaker
Saturday to crosstown rival USC in front of a packed crowd at
Sunset Recreation Center. Fans from both schools turned out in such
fashion that all of the extra bleachers were filled, and some
students dangled their feet in the far end of the pool to get a
view.
The noise level easily topped any other home game of this
year’s campaign. The crowd erupted with every goal, and
“U-S-C” chants and 8-claps battled back and forth
throughout the afternoon.
“I couldn’t even hear someone yelling behind me
because it was so intense,” said redshirt freshman Patrick
Morrison.
But in the end, the Bruins lost another close game, 8-7, to the
nation’s top team.
The defining play came with 1:46 left in sudden death overtime,
when Trojan driver Thomas Hale snuck a shot into the lower-right
corner past goalie Will Didinger to give USC the overtime
victory.
The loss ended the Bruins’ home winning streak at 20, and
kept the Trojans’ undefeated streak alive at 14.
Characteristic of their season, the Bruins held the lead until
late in the game.
At one point in the second quarter the Bruins led 4-1, due in
large part to some clutch play from Morrison. The Sacramento native
had two goals in the quarter, one of them coming off of a big
steal.
“It was a bad pass,” Morrison said, “and I
thought I was faster than the other guy, so I got down the pool and
got lucky that the goalie came out, and I barely made it. I thought
I missed it.”
The Trojans battled back and the teams went into the half with
UCLA ahead 5-4. The Bruins came out strong in the third quarter
with some crucial saves by Didinger and a goal by sophomore Matthew
Jacobs. The game went into the fourth quarter with the Bruins up
6-4, but USC capitalized on late-game opportunities and tied it up
with 2:09 left in regulation.
“(USC) had only really two good scoring opportunities in
the fourth,” UCLA coach Adam Krikorian said. “And they
executed on both of them. We had five great opportunities to score
and we went 0-5 in those situations, and that’s the
difference.
“We need to step up and make the big goal, or take the big
shot and execute when it’s crunch time.”
The game was not without controversy. With under one second left
in regulation, senior David Pietsch flung a shot into the back of
the net. The crowd erupted, thinking UCLA had won the game. The
referee, however, said the shot was not taken in time, sending the
game into overtime.
Both teams notched one goal in the first half of overtime,
sending the game into sudden death overtime at 7-7 and setting up
the eventual dramatic finish.
“It’s not like I have hatred, because I respect some
of their players,” Morrison said. “But then, at the
same time, I love more than anything to beat them and I struggled
with (Saturday’s result).”
After the loss, UCLA rebounded Sunday, recording a convincing
11-7 win over Pacific. Sunday was Senior Day for the Bruins, with
both Pietsch and John Blanchette playing their final home games in
Westwood.
“It’s pretty sad,” Pietsch said. “A lot
of emotion. A last of anything kinda sucks. I had so much fun
here.”
UCLA raced out of the starting gates to a 3-0 lead Sunday.
Pacific immediately fought back to make the game close at 3-2.
After goals from Pietsch and junior Grant Zider, the Bruins went
into the half up 5-3.
That’s when UCLA turned it on and didn’t look back.
Even Didinger got into the scoring act, starting off the third
quarter with a goal of his own. With Pacific’s goalie
positioned far out, Didinger lofted a shot across the pool and into
the back of the net.
“It was impressive,” Krikorian said. “It was a
great shot. I think Will’s the only goalie in the country
that has the courage to be able to shoot a shot like
that.”