There could be such a thing as unlucky sevens when it comes to the UCLA men’s water polo team.
At then-No. 7 Long Beach State, the Bruins were pushed out of their ordinary groove and forced to play their opponent’s game in front of a large away crowd before taking the game in double-overtime. In the Bruins’ third consecutive away game versus No. 7 UC Santa Barbara (8-5) Thursday afternoon, they fell into a similar trap.
“I think composure-wise and staying to our game plan, we kind of let slip away today,” coach Adam Wright said. “(We) kind of got ourselves caught playing their game, so we gave them a lot of opportunities.”
The 10-7 win put No. 1 UCLA at 20-0 on the year, but like against the 49ers, it had to earn the win.
“Santa Barbara has been a strong team, also playing up here at Santa Barbara is never easy,” Wright said. “They have a good crowd, the pool has a shallow side which makes it challenging sometimes, but we knew all that coming in.”
Three weeks ago at the Mountain Pacific Invitational, the Gauchos’ game against No. 2 California was tied at halftime, and by the end of the third UCSB was down only by one goal 9-8.
That game featured more than two dozen exclusions – when the Bruins played Santa Barbara last year, the Gauchos were averaging more than 10 exclusions a game. The total for Thursday’s game was 22, 12 for UCLA, a new high on the year.
With a three-strike policy when it comes to exclusions – three exclusions, and a player is out of the game – the Bruins had to play with many of their athletes in foul trouble.
Senior attacker Joey Fuentes stepped in for 2015 NCAA Tournament MVP Ryder Roberts when he got his second exclusion towards the end of the third quarter.
“He’s the best left-hander in the country, so anytime I come in and can do 50 percent of what he does it will put us in a good spot,” Fuentes said.
On the first possession after Roberts’ second exclusion, Fuentes converted a power play to put UCLA up 8-5, and the following defensive possession he registered a steal.
Senior Chancellor Ramirez also had two exclusions, so the defender had to tread cautiously to avoid getting his third. He punched in two goals, but towards the end of the game took a hard knock while defending UCSB’s center.
“It was just a physical game from start to end,” Ramirez said. “I put my head in the wrong spot at the wrong time at the end of the game, and it just got clipped a little bit, but nothing major. It’s what you expect in water polo.”