Struggling to stay afloat after a three-game losing streak, the UCLA men’s water polo team needed a win or two over the four-game weekend to regain some momentum.
The Bruins got all four.
“There were a lot of positives to take out of these games,” coach Adam Wright said. “We worked really hard, and we came out of this going in the right direction.”
The Bruins snapped their skid in an emphatic way on Thursday, defeating Loyola Marymount 10-5 on the road. No. 4 UCLA (16-5, 2-2 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) jumped out to an early lead, building a 4-0 halftime advantage over the No. 6 Lions (13-6), and never looked back as it defeated Loyola Marymount for the second time this season.
On Saturday, UCLA hit the road again, this time traveling to UC Irvine to face the No. 7 Anteaters (13-6, 1-1). The two teams had met once before, with the Bruins prevailing 10-4 in a nonconference showdown at the Spieker Aquatics Center. This time around, with a crucial MPSF victory on the line, UCLA built a 7-2 lead in the second half before a furious Anteater rally evened the score at 7-7 late in the fourth quarter. UCLA junior attacker Ben Hohl converted a 6-on-5 goal with 1:46 left that stood out as the game-winner in an 8-7 Bruin triumph.
“It was a really fun game,” Hohl said of the UC Irvine match. “We were winning by a significant amount when they turned it on, and before we knew it there was a minute left and a tie game. We managed to get a 6-on-5, and Cullen (Hennessy) set me up really well, and I was able to put one away for the win.”
The goal was Hohl’s third of the match, and although the Anteaters subsequently drew a 6-on-5 of their own, the Bruins’ defense held strong for the win, a stand that Wright called “huge for this team.”
UCLA returned home on Sunday to host a double-header against MPSF-foe Pacific and nonconference opponent Chapman. The Bruins got a pair of goals apiece from redshirt senior Scott Davidson, freshman Josh Samuels, redshirt sophomore Brett Hays and redshirt junior Kevin Kuga in defeating the No. 14 Pacific Tigers (12-10, 0-3).
With four games in as many days, redshirt freshman goalkeeper Matt Rapacz got the start in the cage over redshirt senior Chay Lapin. Rapacz recorded five saves before yielding to redshirt sophomore Andrew Mesesan to finish the game.
Against Chapman, the Bruins again managed to utilize their depth. Rapacz and Mesesan alternated quarters in goal, and UCLA jumped out to a huge lead before cruising the rest of the way to a 15-7 victory.
Suddenly the outlook for the Bruins’ season was brighter than the mid-afternoon sun that shined over Spieker after the Sunday victories. The four wins give UCLA momentum heading forward, although Wright emphasized that the team would not dwell on this weekend, particularly since the Bruins were the higher-ranked team in each matchup.
“Here at UCLA, those are games that we should win,” Wright said. “They’re good teams, but if we want to be the team we say we want to be, we had to win those games.”