As the game of water polo becomes more intense, a player will sometimes be captivated by the waves, the commotion in the pool and the countdown of the clocks.
In the heat of the moment, he may hold, sink or pull a player who is not holding the ball, causing the referee to blow his whistle twice, resulting in an exclusion.
This five-man situation is what the UCLA men’s water polo team sees as one of its biggest weaknesses.
“Five-man is when one of our players gets ejected and we have to play a man down for 20 seconds,” said redshirt freshman goalkeeper Garrett Danner. “We need to work on these situations.”
Though UCLA won its game against USC on Sept. 22 by a narrow margin, the team allowed three exclusion goals between the first and second period.
“There are definitely things we can improve on every week,” said senior defender Chris Wendt. “Our 6-on-5 blocking is one of them.”
Conversely, the other major focus of the team is taking advantage of the 6-on-5 situation in which the other team has an ejection.
Because 6-on-5 situations are common in water polo, the team sees how crucial it is to master these circumstances both defensively and offensively.
Redshirt freshman center Patrick Woepse succeeded in taking advantage of the 6-on-5 offense in last Saturday’s game, scoring an exclusion goal against Princeton as its goalie was ejected with only three seconds left on the clock.
Despite being ranked No. 1, the Bruins understand that they have a way to go before they are where they want to be, said coach Adam Wright.
“We’re not close to where we can be,” he said. “The guys understand that and we understand that as a staff but … they’ve put themselves in a good spot.”
It is still early in the season and with two months of play left, anything can happen.
“We have to continue to grow as a team both in the water and out of the water,” Wright said. “It doesn’t happen overnight, but that’s just part of the journey of the season.”