This weekend, when the No. 4 UCLA men’s water polo team looks across the pool, they will see two familiar MPSF foes in the No. 3 Cal Golden Bears and the Pacific Tigers.
Familiarity, however, does not necessarily mean the Bruins enter with the upper hand.
The Golden Bears have been a thorn in the Bruins’ side this year, winning both matches by slim 1- and 2-goal margins, including an 8-7 win last weekend in the SoCal Tournament.
“We have got to play with a lot of intelligence on Saturday,” coach Adam Krikorian said.
If the Bruins are to beat the Bears, they must look to improve certain aspects of their game that have been lacking thus far in the season, including maintaining intensity.
While the Bruins have generally started quickly, they have struggled at times in the second and third quarters.
“We have to play very hard,” Krikorian said. “We have to do a better job after the first quarter.”
Another key to the Cal game will be capitalizing on opportunities and situational play.
Krikorian emphasized the importance of cutting down on turnovers, as well as maximizing the focus on man up situations.
“Most of the battles are going to come down to six-on-five situations, not turning the ball over as much as we have,” Krikorian said. “We need to get ourselves ready to play one of the most talented teams in the nation.”
The Bruins, however, would be wise not to overlook the Tigers.
Despite defeating Pacific twice already this season, including a 15-10 victory at the SoCal tournament, the Bruins haven’t exactly dominated the Tigers.
“I think we beat them in the first quarter (last weekend),” Krikorian said. “They actually beat us the rest of the game. I expect a really physical game. They present a challenge to us.”
This weekend is a welcome homecoming for the Bruins, who have played eight of the last nine games on the road, with the one “home” game played at the Rose Bowl Aquatic Center.
The Bruins will play there again Saturday and hope to be supported by a large crowd of football tailgaters. Their game against Pacific will be the first match at Sunset Canyon in nearly a month.
However, the venues make little difference to Krikorian.
“Cal will have a lot of their fans there, and we might have a few more, but we can’t get caught up in thinking how great a win would be,” Krikorian said. “There’s enough to worry about right now.”
UCLA needs a strong showing to possibly raise their No. 4 ranking, a critical factor when determining seeding for the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament.
Right now, three teams ““ including California ““ are ahead of the Bruins.
When asked how pivotal these weekend games were to the outlook of UCLA’s season, Krikorian couldn’t put it any clearer.
“This will be make or break for us.”