Only two matches separate UCLA women’s water polo from the postseason and a No. 2 seed in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation tournament. But the road, however short, will not be easy, as both remaining opponents are ranked in the top four.
Before ending the regular season against No. 3 Stanford (19-2, 4-0 MPSF), the first challenge in No. 2 UCLA’s (20-3, 3-1) path is No. 4 Arizona State (17-5, 3-2). The last time the two teams faced off, on April 4, 2015, the Bruins cruised to a 11-5 victory.
However, this year’s Sun Devils boast wins over four top-10 teams and will not be taken lightly by the Bruins. Although UCLA has not yet met Arizona State in the pool this season, the Bruins said they know to expect a unique style of defense.
“They play a big zone, so everyone is back, so everyone is free on the outside to pass and to shoot,” said coach Brandon Brooks. “But there’s a lot of blockers so you have to be able to find passing lanes and shoot the ball on target.”
Arizona State is historically known to run its signature zone defense, which forces the opposing offense to shoot outside shots.
“I think that we’re pretty used to teams that come out and press really hard, that push the counter really hard,” said junior utility Mackenzie Barr. “It’ll be interesting to see how we can finish in zones.”
Along with preparing for the Sun Devils’ defense, the Bruins have placed an emphasis on better capitalizing scoring opportunities. The failure to finish has been a major difference-maker throughout the season, including last weekend’s match against No. 1 USC when UCLA outshot the Trojans 24-18 but were outscored 8-5.
“We’ve just really been stressing finishing a lot this year in general, and so we’re just going to have to put in a little extra work, take that extra second, get on our legs and really believe in our shot,” Barr said.
Although UCLA was not able to break through against USC, the match allowed for the team to gain experience in high-pressure situations and helped the Bruins understand what needed to be fixed to win a championship.
“I think that with our loss to ‘SC we are seeing what we need to improve upon,” said senior goalie Alex Musselman. “We’ve been improving all season but I think we’re getting to the point where the focus is attention to detail, and we know exactly what we need to fix in order to win.”
The Bruins will have to take the concept of finishing a shot and apply that to finishing out the season, as the difference between a championship and a disappointing postseason will come down to the details.
“I think that we are gaining experience and understanding the importance of preparation more and more,” Brooks said. “Toward the end of the season I think it becomes even more about the smaller details and doing everything the right way.”