For the UCLA men’s water polo team, getting an early lead has made the difference between wins and losses this season.
In each of the Bruins’ four losses this season, the opponent has registered the first tally. When UCLA scores first, they are undefeated. That trend of starting fast was evident this past weekend as the Bruins built halftime leads of 4-0, 4-1, 5-2, and 9-1 in defeating Loyola Marymount, UC Irvine, Pacific and Chapman, respectively.
“It’s always nice to be able to get off to a good start,” UCLA coach Adam Wright said. “It allows everyone to gain some confidence. Being able to build a big lead gives you a nice cushion to work with.”
Early offense was most recently a problem for the Bruins in their three-game losing streak that finally broke when they won against Loyola Marymount on Thursday. The low point of that stretch came against Stanford in the consolation game of the UC Irvine Invitational, a game in which UCLA failed to score a first-half goal.
The Bruins understand that their scoring tally is often a byproduct of the opposing team’s defense. With that in mind, the team knows that their success down the road will hinge on being able to win no matter what the scoreboard looks like in the early going.
“To be a good team you have to be able to play both ways,” Wright said. “We’re always looking to get off to good starts, but if we want to be the team we say we want to be, we also have to be able to win coming from behind.”
The Incredible Hohl-k
In arguably their biggest game of the year on Saturday against conference rival UC Irvine, the Bruins got a huge contribution from junior Ben Hohl. The attacker scored three goals in UCLA’s 8-7 win, including the game-winner with less than two minutes left.
Hohl continues to come up big in clutch situations, seeing how he’s registered goals in each of the Bruins’ biggest wins this season against USC and UC Irvine in September, as well as against Loyola Marymount on Saturday.
A Glare-ing Problem?
One key logistical difference between the Spieker Aquatics Center and the water polo program’s old home, Sunset Canyon Recreation Center, is the geographic orientations of the two pools. While the Sunset pool runs north-south (perpendicular to Bruin Walk), Spieker runs east-west.
For afternoon games like Sunday’s pair, the midday sun behind the Sunset trees casts a considerable glare on the east goal, and could potentially cause problems for the goalies who play at that end.
Great Scott! Part III
UCLA redshirt senior attacker Scott Davidson posted six goals over the weekend’s slate of games, and that total, combined with the pair he registered against California gives him 137 career goals. The number leaves Davidson alone in eighth place on the Bruins’ all-time scoring list.
Next on the list is his coach, Adam Wright, who posted 137 goals during his career in Westwood.