The small crowd gathered at Sunset Recreation Center to witness the UCLA women’s water polo team’s first home game of the season got a good taste of what the three-time defending national champions look like on their home turf.
The No. 1 Bruins (6-0) handily defeated the No. 10 Hartwick Hawks (0-3), 19-7, in a match that seemed decided in the first quarter.
Outscoring the Hawks 7-1 in the first period and 13-1 by halftime, UCLA made sure it had firm control of the game before pulling its starters late in the second half.
Junior Tanya Gandy led the Bruins with a season-high five goals in the contest, followed by three from senior Courtney Mathewson.
With quick outlet passes to streaking forwards, the Bruins turned a slew of fast breaks into more than a few goals.
“I think we were just naturally a little quicker,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “We’re one of the fastest teams in the country, but we also work on it (in practice).”
However, it was the stellar play of the Bruins in front of their own goal that produced so many scoring opportunities for the offense.
“If we do a really good job defensively, which I felt like we did in the first half, then that usually leads to opportunities for us on the fast break,” Krikorian said. “(Today) that was certainly the case.”
The Bruins have been working hard at practice to keep the pressure on the opposing offense. It proved effective, as the Hawks had trouble keeping control of the ball on the inside due to the tough protection given by senior forward Brittany Rowe and junior goalie Brittany Fullen, who finished with 13 saves.
After starting the second half with a sizeable lead, Krikorian decided to give some of the team’s more inexperienced players a chance in the water.
The Bruins have 11 freshmen on the team this year, many of whom found themselves getting time in at the end of the game.
Although they struggled on defense in the fourth quarter, when the Hawks scored five of their seven goals, at this point in the season, the team just wants bench players to get playing time.
“It was exciting. The whole team got to play and get some share in the win,” freshman Priscilla Orozco said.
After five games on the road to start the season, the Bruins played their first game at home since winning their third straight NCAA championship last spring.
“It’s always fun to play in front of the home crowd, in our own house,” Mathewson said.
BACK ON THE ROAD: The team’s appearance in Westwood will be brief, as its next home game will not come until its Mountain Pacific Sports Federation showdown with Stanford on March 8.
For now, it is off to Palo Alto, where the Bruins will face some stiff competition in the Stanford Invitational this weekend.
Stanford has only played one game so far this season. It was against Santa Clara on Feb. 3, which the Cardinal won, 16-6.
Stanford is currently ranked No. 3 in the country, behind the Bruins and No. 2 USC.