It wasn’t the type of epic setup normally associated with
UCLA and Stanford water polo matches. UCLA came into the game with
a loss to USC and a solid, if unspectacular, 5-1 record, good for a
ranking of third in the nation. The Cardinal were coming off of a
stunning 11-10 loss to previously unheralded Pacific and limped
into the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center on Saturday as sixth in the
nation, with three losses under their belt.
But still, even with all of that, those expecting the fire and
competition of a normal matchup between the two rivals were not
disappointed.
UCLA (6-1, 1-0) ultimately won 10-8 behind pairs of goals from
Krsto Sbutega, Kevin Kuga and Scott Davidson, but it was a fierce
play in the pool that defined the match.
Late in the third quarter, there was a double ejection on Bruin
Logan Powell and a Stanford player for fighting in the pool. Powell
was forced to stay behind UCLA’s goal in the penalty area for
one possession as his team drove down the pool and missed a shot on
goal. On the following outlet from the Cardinal goalie, Stanford
gained a breakaway and appeared to have a one-on-one chance at
UCLA’s goalie Will Didinger. But he forgot about Powell. In
one swift move just a few meters from the goal, the 6-foot-5-inch
Powell exploded out of the water and surprised the Stanford player,
taking the ball from him to begin a drive that would end with
another UCLA score.
Coach Adam Krikorian defined the Bruins’ play against
Stanford (5-4, 0-1) as “toughness” that the team was
lacking last year.
“This is a game where last year we would have lost,”
Krikorian said. “This year, we have a little more toughness,
a little more will to win.
“(Powell’s play) was huge. Logan’s a heads up
player. You don’t see that (kind of play) too often in
college water polo.”
Although Powell did not score in the game, his play fired up his
teammates, who maintained the Bruins’ lead throughout the
fourth quarter.
“This is a huge game for us,” Powell said.
“This victory over Stanford puts them in trouble for the rest
of the season in conference. A lot of teams in our conference are
good ““ this is just one less team to worry about
now.”
Didinger recorded nine saves on the day as Stanford got more
shots near the goal than Krikorian would have liked.
“We needed to do a better job of being aware of their
personnel,” Krikorian said. “We gave up too many goals
from the center position, which is something we never want to
do.”