Early in the second quarter of the NCAA semifinal, the top-seeded UCLA women’s water polo team was granted a promising 6-on-4 advantage. As the ball fell toward junior Tanya Gandy, wide open just inches from the goal, it bounced off her fingers and into the hands of the nearest UC Davis defender.
With each team scoring only a single goal in the first quarter, the Bruins looked frustrated on offense, and this blown opportunity only gave more hope to the underdog Aggies.
The Bruins needed a boost to grab control of the game, and, luckily for them, Gandy was more than ready to redeem herself.
Immediately after the halftime break, the attacker fired three consecutive goals in just over three minutes to put UCLA up 6-2. That sizable lead would never again be threatened, and the Bruins earned a spot in their fourth straight championship game with an 11-4 victory.
UCLA (32-0) did not surprise anyone by winning with sheer talent and three national titles worth of experience, but the Bruins’ composed ability to shake off a bad start was impressive. Even before the ball hit the water, it was clear the fifth-seeded Aggies (27-9) would not bow to the reigning champions.
The Bruins would prove with their toughness exactly why they have been so successful.
UC Davis senior center Laura Uribe scored the first goal of the game, shocking a small Davis contingent of fans into eruption. It took the entire first quarter for the Bruins to score. The Bruins’ early game was marred by uncharacteristic wide shots on the offensive end and excessive fouling in front of their own goal.
“I’ve got to give Davis a lot of credit,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “They played us so tough in the first half. I think they had us a little anxious.”
But with Gandy’s single-quarter hat trick, the momentum shifted back to UCLA.
“That spurt by her, individually, really changed the whole flavor of the game,” UC Davis coach Jamey Wright said.
Later in the quarter, senior Courtney Mathewson added her second and third goals of the game before junior Katie Rulon found the net to make her one contribution to the scoreboard. The Bruins took a hard-earned 9-3 lead to the final quarter.
“It was a hard game, and I think we were expecting that, but they were definitely ready to compete today,” Gandy said. “That’s what we play for. We love to compete.”
Both teams’ desire to win was clearly visible in the pool and on the stat sheet: Mathewson and freshman Kelly Easterday fouled out of the game with three exclusions on the day.
That pace could work out in the Bruins’ favor.
“I’m glad it was physical because I think that we needed that going into tomorrow’s game,” junior Anne Belden said. Belden also had two goals on the day.
UCLA will face rival USC on Sunday for the championship. The No. 3-seed Trojans upset host Stanford in Saturday’s other semifinal game with a 10-6 victory.
The Bruins and Trojan last met on April 27, when UCLA won a close, 8-7 contest in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament championship. Sunday’s title game will mark the second time in three years that the two teams have met for the national title. Game time is set for 6 p.m. UCLABruins.com will broadcast the game live.