A 2015 national championship trophy is up for grabs, waiting in the depths for the men’s water polo team that is able to plunge the deepest without being crushed by ever-increasing pressure.
No. 1 UCLA, the only undefeated team in the nation, is currently winning the race. The Bruins are propelled deeper into the season with a confidence that overrides the usual stressful urgency that comes with a growing win streak.
“I don’t feel any pressure at all,” said freshman attacker Spencer Farrar. “We’re not focused on that.”
The Bruins head to Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool on Friday to face No. 9 Pepperdine in their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game. Should they leave with a win, the streak will extend to 12-0. Last year, the Bruins built an 18-game win streak before falling to crosstown-rival USC.
Though the Bruins have already defeated the Waves in two matchups this season – first in an exhibition at the Triton Invitational and again in the Kap7 NorCal Tournament – coach Adam Wright is expecting a tougher fight in Malibu.
In contrast to the first two meetings, the Bruins will be playing a revamped Wave arsenal on Friday.
“We haven’t played their full team yet … and they just got their last player back at the end of last week,” Wright said. “(Conference games) are always tough and we’re going on the road, so I would hope that our approach is going to be really really focused.”
The Bruins’ handed the Waves losses in two completely different ways earlier this the season – first with rookies and then with veterans.
In the opening weekend matchup, freshman utility Max Staresinic led the team in scoring and freshman goalie Alex Wolf started and remained in the cage in the 13-6 win. In the quarterfinal at the Kap7 NorCal tournament, Wright played junior goalie Garrett Danner for three periods and a majority of scoring came from veterans in the ultimate 12-6 final.
Wright won’t have as much freedom to experiment with lineups as he did during those preliminary meetings. The Bruins’ travel roster will be shortened to 16 players for conference play, Wright said.
“We’re not going to have 18 guys, 20 guys on the bench like we’re able to have at home, so obviously by sheer numbers, it’s going to be tightened down,” Wright said. “Really, it’s still another test for us because we still don’t know what our best combinations are (at) this point. … Hopefully as (the Pepperdine) game goes, we’ll start to get those solidified.”
In their last game against the Waves, the Bruins were 100 percent on power-play conversions and executed a five-man defense that only allowed two goals out of nine advantage opportunities.
“I think it’s good that we had a good five-man percentage, thats really important,” Farrar said. “I just think we have to be a little tighter. Obviously that was earlier on in the season so we’re still dialing things in, but I think we’ll be really prepared.”
UCLA has been preparing in multiple areas where it slipped up against Pepperdine in past matches – especially in maintaining intensity from first half to second half. The Waves put away five of their six total goals in the last two periods at the NorCal meeting, even tallying three consecutive points in the fourth quarter.
“In both our third and fourth (periods) we’ve had some let down, usually when we have a lead,” Wright said. “It’s partially because we are playing so many different combinations and different people, but it’s definitely something that we’ve addressed. … We definitely don’t want to get in the habit of giving up quick goals, whether it’s in the third or fourth period, and find ourselves in a tough spot.”
Mistakes that didn’t effect the outcomes in non-conference games could now decelerate the Bruins’ plunge through the currents of MPSF play should they resurface on Friday. UCLA’s status as sole undefeated team in the nation can certainly be erased quicker than it was earned.
“It’s just another game. … We have to make sure that we’re locked in and focused,” said senior defender Anthony Daboub. “If we play to our system, we should be in a good spot no matter who we play.”