One minute and 21 seconds remained in the third period, and 7 meters separated Jack Fellner from California goalie Lazar Andric.
The 11 field players and the rows of spectators froze as the junior rose and launched a long skip shot through the 7-meter open lane, past Andric and into the back of the net.
It took the Bruins 22 minutes and 39 seconds to make up for an early first-period deficit and tie the game. Fellner’s improbable shot from a distance recharged UCLA’s defense and set the stage for an urgent 8-7 comeback win over No. 3 Cal in the fourth quarter.
“We were playing from behind the whole way – we were the ones reacting,” said coach Adam Wright. “It wasn’t our best offensive day, but we found a way. That’s important because you’re not always going to have your best game, but it’s important that you can still find a way to get it done.”
In a first quarter reminiscent of the SoCal championship game against USC earlier this month, UCLA fell into a 3-0 hole in the first two minutes on Saturday. While the Bruins were able to quickly take the lead from the Trojans before halftime, it took the team until the final five minutes of the fourth period to pull ahead of the Bears.
“We came out a little slow, playing a little scared, like we were trying to protect something,” said sophomore attacker Max Irving. “But we just tried to stay with the system as much as possible, everyone on our team trusted it – if we continue to stay the course, in the end we put ourselves in a position to win the game.”
On Saturday, the Bruins’ characteristically unyielding five-man defense struggled to force as many low-percentage shots as they were able to in the last matchup against the Bears, holding Cal to three conversions out of seven man-up opportunities.
Cal’s ability to remain in control of the pace of the game in the first half came from easy scoring on counterattacks.
“They came out very hard,” said junior goalie Garrett Danner. “Our guys were all kind of ‘deer in the headlights,’ I was ‘deer in the headlights’. They’re a fast team, they’re always very active and we struggled for a little bit in the beginning, but we slowed it down and we figured it out.”
Wright said his team needs to work on taking away the counter by making sure fast teams like Cal are forced to come through the front court. If that is accomplished by speedy transitions to defense, it minimizes one-on-nobody shots against Danner.
The momentum started to shift to the Bruins with 3:34 left in the third period, after sophomore utility Alex Roelse converted a 5-meter penalty shot and brought the score within one point of the Bears for the first time in the game.
After a Cal goal and an immediate answer from Irving, Fellner’s 7-meter perimeter shot tied the game at seven apiece heading into the fourth period.
The only goal of the fourth period came off a 6-on-5 conversion by Irving with 5:02 remaining, sealing the 8-7 victory. Irving finished the game with two goals, as did sophomore center Matt Farmer and junior attacker Ryder Roberts.
The Bruins’ ability to regenerate offense and score five goals in the second half was due to the combined efforts of players at all positions who were able to hold deep positions, pull defenders and open up shooting lanes, Irving said.
Saturday’s game marked the longest UCLA has had to fight for a lead so far this season. But, as Wright said, the Bruins found a way to recharge as a unit despite the adversity.
“When we are able to keep our composure and play our style of play, we can come back no matter how much we’re down,” Danner said. “That’s what we did, but we have to fix some things. It was a good game – it shows a lot about the guys on the team and the mentality of the team.”
On Sunday, the Bruins had a dominant performance against the UC Irvine Anteaters, defeating them 15-8. Irving tied his career high of four goals in the Bruins’ 21st win of the season. UCLA has now tied the second-longest winning streak in school history, 24-0, dating back to last season.