UCLA’s men’s water polo team waited patiently while
the University of Pacific bid farewell to its seniors in front of
family and friends on Saturday Senior Day.
The team waited again because a referee did not show up; it was
finally decided that one referee would officiate the match.
Then the Bruins did what they do best during crunch time ““
win strongly, 11-7 over the No. 7 Tigers.
“It felt good despite being a little shaky in the first
quarter,” UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian said.
“Offensively, we played well the entire game.”
Both teams started out shooting well, and the bulk of scoring
came in the first quarter, with nine combined goals. But the Bruins
(12-7, 4-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) came up on top 5-4,
and never really looked back after that.
Pacific did tie the game at five a piece in the second quarter,
but it was not enough. UCLA tromped them in the next 13 minutes of
play. Backed by sophomore driver Brett Ormsby’s five goals,
the Tigers (10-12, 3-5) had nothing to stop the hotter Bruins.
“I felt pretty good but that was because there was lot of
sitting around before the match,” Ormsby said. “I got
to shoot a lot before the game.”
For UCLA, it was the final conference game of the season and a
badly needed win to improve its postseason position.
“I think we know it’s coming down to the end and we
know what to do,” Ormsby said.
UCLA played tremendous defense against Pacific. After the tie,
the Bruins shut out the Tigers until the final minutes of the
match, when Krikorian put in his substitutes.
With senior Brandon Brooks’ seven saves in goal, and
senior Matt Flesher’s two goals on two shot attempts, the
game was sealed.
“We looked at this game as a “˜must-play-well’
game, not a must win,” Flesher said. “This was a step
in the right direction, and we have motivation.”
The Bruins can now look ahead to their final regular-season
match against USC, and then the MPSF tournament. Their exact
seeding is still unofficial, but they will not have to face No. 2
Stanford, against whom they are 0-6 in the last two years. That
task will go to Pacific.
The other good news is that the team is confident and happy with
a final conference victory.
“This is our time to shine,” Krikorian said.
“When we communicate and play well together, we are
incredible in the water and pretty tough to beat.
“It’s been a wild season but we’re over it and
looking forward to the tournament.”