Cristiano Mirarchi is no stranger to the pressure of the postseason, having served as a go-to scorer for UCLA men’s water polo in previous Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and NCAA tournaments. After a rocky start to Saturday’s NCAA semifinal, it was the senior utility who anchored the Bruins, contributing three goals to UCLA’s 15-6 win over UC San Diego at the Canyonview Aquatics Center in San Diego.
“This is the biggest event in the United States for water polo,” Mirarchi said. “We work hard to be here. We are fortunate to be here and we want to make the most out of it.”
During the first quarter of the semifinal matchup, UCLA did not look like a team deserving of a national championship. The Bruins failed to convert on power plays and were slow to react on defense as the Tritons put up an unexpected fight and drew 1-1 within the first minute of the opening period.
The quarter was closely contested until Mirarchi made it 2-1 on a skip shot with about five minutes to go, and UCLA led for the rest of the game. He continued to produce when needed for the Bruins, scoring again in the second quarter to make it 4-2 and capping off his hat trick in the third, widening the team’s lead to 10-3 as UCLA pulled away.
“UCSD is a great team. We knew that they would come out strong in the beginning. They started firing away right from the start,” said sophomore goalkeeper Garrett Danner. “(The Tritons) definitely came out with a lot of energy and were able to keep up with us for a while. We stuck to our course and came out on top.”
UCLA reached its first NCAA championship berth for the first time since 2012 without coach Adam Wright, who was relegated to watching the game from above the pool deck as he served a one-game suspension stemming from the Bruins’ previous title contest, a 11-10 loss to USC.
So instead of Wright captaining the Bruins’ pool deck, assistant coach Dustin Litvak stood on the sideline for UCLA – a role he has been training to fill since he accepted the position last year.
“This is something we’ve known about for a little while, and I think we’ve done a good job preparing for it,” Litvak said. “Last year was my first year with the program, and I coached I believe five games, and this year, I got two other run-throughs up at (University of the Pacific) and (UC) Davis. … We were definitely ready for it. The guys were ready for it.”
UCLA will face USC on Sunday after the Trojans overcame the Stanford Cardinal 12-11 in triple overtime. Sunday’s matchup will be a replay of the 2012 championship, but with the Bruins looking to break the Trojans’ six-year NCAA finals winning streak.
“You work so hard, and you keep working and get to where you want to be, and tomorrow we’re in a great spot,” said Roberts, who had two goals for UCLA in the semifinal. “We only have one more game, and it may be a dream come true.”