From the second period timeout huddle in the far corner of the deck, only one line could be heard. It rose loud and clear over the music, fans and settling waters of Dirks Pool.
“I don’t care what the score is,” said coach Adam Wright. “All I care about is how we play.”
Although top-ranked UCLA men’s water polo defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 12-4 and ran away with a 20-1 victory over Chapman on Saturday to boost its undefeated record to 11-0, the margin of victory was not as important to Wright as making sure his players adhered to the system of play he set in place in the preseason.
“I didn’t think our level was where it needed to be in the first game at all. It’s not who we are playing, it’s how we play,” Wright said. “I just didn’t think (the level of play) was where it needed to be, so that was a little disappointing. The second game, we did a much better job.”
The first game of the afternoon versus the CMS Stags exhibited a Bruin offense that lacked in consistently creating a open shots. Regardless, the Bruins’ offense was better equipped than the Stags’, dropping the visitors into a four-point hole in the first period of play.
Junior attacker Joey Fuentes opened scoring for the Bruins on a first possession power play. Junior attacker Ryder Roberts drew an exclusion with under two minutes to play and finished on a live ball, capping-off first period scoring and bolstering the lead to 4-0.
Junior goalie Garrett Danner played the first half for the Bruins. After a CMS steal on UCLA’s first possession, Danner rejected a skip-shot from outside, and registered a pair of saves in sequence on Claremont’s first 6-on-5 opportunity of the game.
Two minutes after the last scoring drive that brought the lead to 5-0, Wright called a timeout and brought his team away from the pool, out of earshot. The Bruins, who were making mistakes despite the score, were quickly brought back to reality from the timeout conversation with Wright and immediately capitalized off a 6-on-5 for the first time since the end of the first period.
“Offense is sometimes a little out of rhythm,” Roberts said. “It’s good that we are a defensive-based team because when your offense is lacking, you can always fall back on your defense.”
UCLA’s six-man and five-man defense remained rigid throughout the first half, applying pressure to the point that the Stags would either dump the ball or be unable to get a shot off in their thirty-second possession windows.
The third quarter was a different story.
CMS attacked first off the sprint, putting a much-needed, confidence-boosting point on the board. In the entirety of the third period, freshman goalie Alex Wolf was able to stop four attempts. But the Stags eventually tallied three goals, matching the Bruins in scoring for that period.
With reminders from the deck to “play their game or not at all,” UCLA only allowed one power-play goal from CMS at the start of the fourth period and finished with three goals of its own to culminate the 12-4 final score. Freshman attacker Spencer Farrar and Roberts scored three apiece. Sophomore goalie Alek Ruzic played in the cage for the fourth period, highlighting Wright’s characteristic technique of switching up lineups.
“Our consistency goes through our depth,” Roberts said. “One line goes in and they go as hard as they can and then the next line goes as hard as they can, and that keeps a consistent effort going. … I totally agree with changing it up as much as possible and getting fresh bodies in.”
The same standard procedure was carried through into the game against Chapman an hour later. UCLA’s crushing 20-1 victory was largely reminiscent of the last time the Bruins played the Panthers just seven days prior.
Sophomore attacker Max Irving, who tied his career-high with four goals in the game, felt that the Bruins made a quicker impact on offense than the last time they played the Panthers.
“The last time we played Chapman we kind of got off to a slower start,” Irving said. “We were really focused this time on making sure we were getting a good warm up so we could start the game off strong and get out to a good lead.”
After a penalty shot from sophomore utility Alex Roelse to open up scoring, the Bruins built a 14-0 lead with help from consistent defense that shutout the Panthers for three straight periods.
Though a 20-1 final score usually points attention to a firing offense, the defense’s ability to prevent any lethal Panther scoring opportunities was the unsung hero of the match.
“We just focused on our details and playing defense the way we know how to play,” Irving said. “Not letting up on any possessions, not looking up at the score. Every possession is the most important. … We just have to take them one at a time.”