The song during a timeout in the fourth quarter made allusions to going up and getting higher, but the UCLA men’s water polo team simply couldn’t elevate its game on Sunday despite its ambitions of defeating two national championship contenders in one day.
“It was a huge challenge, but it didn’t contribute to our struggles,” said senior attacker Paul Reynolds on facing No. 4 USC and No. 2 Stanford back to back. “We did it to ourselves. We have a system and we tried our best to stick to the system, but we didn’t do that. We failed.”
After deftly defeating Princeton on Thursday, UCLA was not playing to its usual standard in the pool this weekend. While the No. 1 Bruins won big in a predictable fashion against St. Francis Brooklyn and UC San Diego, defeating them 15-7 and 17-5 respectively, when it came to the marquee matchups of the SoCal Tournament – semifinal and consolation matches against USC and Stanford, respectively – the usually stalwart team looked intimidated and unfocused.
“We have to go back and refocus on how we want to play. … You want to play to your strengths. We have a very well-balanced team,” said coach Adam Wright. “That’s really where we fell short today – we didn’t stick to our system. We decided that we wanted to do things on our own. The reality is: This is a sport. You’ve got to rebound.”
In the semifinals of one of the most prestigious collegiate water polo tournaments, UCLA lost 10-6 to USC, which held the Bruins to their lowest offensive output all season. The four-goal margin was the largest by which the Bruins had lost this year.
UCLA was unable to turn it around later that afternoon when it succumbed to No. 2 Stanford 7-6 in a closely contested shoot-out. The Bruins lacked intensity and aggression on defense, while on the other side of the pool, the team failed to execute efficiently.
“As much of a challenge as playing two top-three teams is in one day … it’s not an excuse for sure,” said senior goalkeeper Stephen White.
As Stanford looked to be pulling away midway through the third quarter with its lead at 6-3, Wright called a timeout and aptly summarized the Bruins’ struggles.
“Do you not like to shoot the ball?” he asked his team.
Stanford matched USC by holding UCLA to six goals, its lowest total all season. The Bruins looked intimidated by the Cardinal’s defensive presence, choosing to pass the ball around the perimeter rather than attack the middle.
When UCLA did get a shot off, it was sloppy. Multiple balls hit the goal post, while others skipped harmlessly in front of the goal or skied wide out of bounds.
The fourth quarter saw UCLA enter the pool with a renewed sense of urgency, the game still in reach with Stanford leading 6-4. Just over 30 seconds into the quarter, a skip shot by sophomore attacker Ryder Roberts made it 6-5, and the victory seemed within reach.
With just over four minutes left in the match, Wright called another timeout to rally his team. The move proved effective, as UCLA immediately responded with a skip shot to make the score 7-6 in Stanford’s favor with about three minutes left.
It would be the last time the Bruins scored, however, and the game transformed into a defensive lockdown on both sides. The one-point loss was the closest game the Bruins had played all season.
The Bruins won’t get to catch much of a break anytime soon, as they have to hit the road next weekend to take on the Cal Bears, the SoCal championship contender. While the weekend shook UCLA’s confidence and stole its undefeated record, the Bruins are onto the next.
“We turn the page and show up on Tuesday (practice) and focus on poise,” White said.