The main scoreboard at UCLA’s Spieker Aquatics Center lost power early in the first quarter, and it remained the talking point at the pool deck for the rest of the game, especially since the Bruins were in control from start to finish.
UCLA (15-0) maintained its perfect record on Saturday by cruising to a 12-2 win over Loyola Marymount (3-9), led by three goals apiece from senior attackers Chris Fahlsing and Paul Reynolds.
But no one in the pool or the crowd really knew the exact score. Each goal was announced with the score by the play-by-play announcer, and even then, the speaker system was out for about a quarter.
“I didn’t know you were looking at the scoreboard,” said coach Adam Wright jokingly. “I didn’t see the scoreboard.”
If anything, the scoreboard going out seemed to help UCLA stay mentally focused, despite the game developing into a blowout by halftime.
“One of the main things we’ve been trying to focus on is blocking the situation of the environment and trying to focus on what’s on hand,” Fahlsing said. “With the scoreboard going out, we weren’t focused on what the score was. We were focused on just playing water polo and what we had to do in the game at particular moments.”
Outside the pool, staffers were running around trying to fix the power outage situation. Inside the pool, the game was running smoothly for the Bruins.
The offense tested the Lion defense early on with fast counterattacks, highlighted by senior utility Cristiano Mirarchi streaking down for two counterattack goals within a span of two minutes and thirty seconds to push the score to 4-0 in the first quarter.
Even though the Bruins did win by 10, a large number of shots hit the goalpost, which could have extended the margin of victory. Wright attributed the just-missed scores to some tired legs after a hard week of practice and a game Friday night against Pepperdine (6-6), which the Bruins won 15-7.
“It’s just one of those days, but it’s good that we’re getting the shots off in general,” Reynolds said. “Some days you know you’re going to bar out, and you have to rely on your defense to bring it back.”
The defense was anchored by sophomore goalkeeper Garrett Danner, who didn’t allow a goal in the first half. Senior goalkeeper Stephen White relieved him in the third quarter, and senior goalkeeper James Hartshorne played the fourth quarter, both allowing one goal each.
With a 8-0 lead at halftime, Wright began putting in players who hadn’t had much of an opportunity to play this season and trying out different combinations.
But in the middle of the fourth quarter, UCLA was in a man-down, power-play situation, and Wright put in his top defensive group to work on calming the pressure situation. LMU scored, and Wright took out the group, letting other players have a chance again.
“We got to treat everything the same, and unfortunately, I think they weren’t mentally where they needed to be,” Wright said. “They’ve been out for an extended period, but they always need to be ready to come back in.”
The scoreboard outage made it hard for everyone at the pool to find the score, but a 10-point game is a 10-point game, and there was no doubt that UCLA had control from beginning to end.