The UCLA men’s water polo team left for Berkeley last weekend in need of a statement victory, and it wasn’t about to come home without one. The Bruins were successful, snagging an 11-10 nail-biting win against No. 3 California in one of the toughest road environments in the country.
Sophomore Ben Hohl contributed the majority of the scoring effort, tallying four goals in the game. The Bruin offense, which had struggled against top-notch opponents recently, put together its second consecutive strong performance.
“I think it’s really huge, especially against Cal,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “The weekend we had prior to that was tough, and for us to be able to rebound and play well in front of a couple thousand people showed a lot of heart and a lot of character.”
This win was made special for several reasons. It moved UCLA (11-4, 3-1 MPSF) back into the upper echelon of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation by overcoming a late deficit. After trailing entering the fourth quarter, California (11-5, 0-2) scored four goals, taking a 10-9 lead with just more than two minutes to play. Hohl played the part of the hero, netting the winning shot with two seconds remaining. It was a nice change for a team that has suffered its own share of last-second losses this season.
Following this key victory, the Bruins throttled another MPSF opponent, Pacific, with a 14-2 win at the Tiger’s home pool in Stockton. Redshirt junior attacker Scott Davidson, who had been relatively quiet on the offensive end for the previous few matches, broke out for a five-goal performance in the win.
“Scott means a great deal,” Krikorian said. “He doesn’t necessarily need to score for us to be successful. He has been struggling a little bit lately, but he’s a very determined athlete and any time you have someone that focused, he’s going to be a little bit frustrated. Hopefully that will help him.”
The 14 goals marked the third consecutive game that UCLA’s offense has reached double-digit scoring marks. The Bruins have scored a total of 39 goals in the team’s last three outings.
“We spent a little more time during the week executing in terms of shooting, and it’s certainly good to see,” Krikorian said. “I’m not sure if there was a whole lot of difference in the way we played. We just came through in opportunities that we struggled to convert on.”
SBUTEGA PLAYER OF THE WEEK: UCLA redshirt senior attacker Krsto Sbutega is getting used to the accolades he has received. For the second time this season, Sbutega was named the MPSF player of the week. His performance during the weekend, in which he scored a total of six goals, helped seal the award for the Montenegro native. Sbutega has been an offensive leader for UCLA, contributing with his superior abilities at passing and scoring the ball.
“Krsto certainly deserves that award, because he played great over the weekend,” Krikorian said. “I could have seen other players winning that award as well, but Krsto has been playing consistently the entire season.”
ROUGH CROSSING: The UCLA men’s water polo team has completed two-thirds of a brutal three-game stretch in which it has taken on three of the nation’s top teams in consecutive weeks. The Bruins are 1-1 during the course of that stretch, losing to No. 2 Stanford and capturing a huge road win over then-No. 3 California.
Next week, the Bruins will embark across town for a showdown with undefeated No. 1 USC, which barely beat the Bruins, 6-5, earlier in the season.
“USC is not just winning games,” Krikorian said. “They’re blowing teams out. They’re deep, a lot to handle, talented and experienced. They don’t have any weaknesses on that team.”
AROUND THE MPSF: No. 1 USC remained undefeated over the weekend, knocking off No. 5 Pepperdine, 14-5. Stanford, which sits at second place in the conference standings, grabbed two victories during the weekend, upending Long Beach State and Pacific.
Meanwhile, two other players captured conference player of the week honors alongside UCLA’s Sbutega. USC’s Matt Sagehorn and UC Irvine’s Brandon Johnson were honored for their outstanding weekend performances.