No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo team dispatched its four ranked opponents in dominating fashion this weekend.
Offense was the name of the game as coach Adam Wright’s squad (9-0) outscored their competition in New Jersey by forty-seven goals.
The Bruins’ offensive philosophy revolves around equal responsibility, no one player holds the burden of the entire offense.
“It doesn’t matter who scores the goals on the team as long as we’re getting victories,” senior attacker Ryder Roberts said.
That sort of selfless play was on display early at the Princeton Invitational, as UCLA steamrolled No. 14 Brown University to a tune of a 17-2 victory Saturday morning. Nine different players found the back of the net and in different fashions as well.
Scoring came fast and often against the Bears as the Bruins scored via counter attacks, power plays and penalty shots. Attacks came from all over the pool – from two meters out to the frontcourt, the varied offensive attack kept the Bears’ goalkeeper spinning.
The team followed with a 20-8 victory over No. 16 Johns Hopkins University Saturday afternoon. Eleven players found the back of the net and power play conversions led the way – UCLA converted nine of twelve opportunities while a man up.
The Bruins then downed the host No. 11 Princeton University 18-9 Sunday morning, with eight different Bruins scoring in a row at one point.
True freshman attacker and utility player James Vlachonassios scored once against the Tigers, but impressed Wright with his vision and passing throughout the game and the weekend.
“He had some passes (this weekend) where he set up (senior attacker) Ryder Roberts and others well,” Wright said to ESPN.
The team finished with a 16-5 victory over No. 20 St. Francis College, a game in which four different players finished with hat tricks – the Bruins’ collective offensive unit in solidarity once again.
UCLA’s offense did not exist in a vacuum, however – it worked in tandem with stifling defense. The Bruins held opponents to under three goals fourteen of the weekend’s quarters, surrendering three or more in a quarter only twice.
Still, Wright maintained that the two-time champions had much to work on defensively in the pool.
“We’ll focus on shot blocking and zone defense (in practice),” Wright said to ESPN.
Senior goalkeeper Garrett Danner was not in the back of the cage this weekend, with junior goalkeeper Aleksandar Ruzic logging significant minutes in his stead.
Ruzic impressed with 27 saves over the four official games, and had two assists and a steal against the Blue Jays.
“Defensively, we’re dependent on Danner,” Wright said to ESPN. “Playing without him allows us to see where we are.”