With their season spiraling into a tailspin after three consecutive losses, the UCLA men’s water polo team desperately needed to get back on track.
No. 4 UCLA (9-4, 1-1 MPSF) emerged from the weekend with mixed results, dropping a 12-2 contest to No. 2 Stanford (14-2, 1-0 MPSF) and capturing a much-needed 14-2 win over No. 18 Brown (11-7).
Saturday’s contest with the Cardinals turned sour early, as UCLA struggled to stop Stanford. For the Bruins, who lost the teams’ previous matchup 7-4 in the SoCal Tournament last weekend, Saturday’s rout marked the team’s third-straight defeat.
“I don’t really know how to explain it. Tactically, physically … it was all bad,” senior Krsto Sbutega said.
The Cardinals were able to shut down the UCLA offense completely, including Sbutega, who is UCLA’s leading scorer on the season.
“I’d be lying to you if I said we were going to score 14 or 15 goals a game,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “That means we’re going to have to rely on our defense a lot.”
That defense, which has been a strength of the Bruins’ play for much of the season, was dominated at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center. Stanford tallied goals from 10 different players, including a hat trick from Cardinal star Janson Wigo.
“We didn’t get off to a good start,” Krikorian said. “From that point, it was all mental. It was sort of like: “˜Oh no, here we go again.'”
UCLA looked to get back on track Sunday afternoon against Brown and wasted no time in rebounding from their slow start the previous day. Sophomore Jacob Murphy netted two easy goals early in the first quarter, setting the tone for a dominating performance by the Bruins.
“In this sport, anytime you feel sorry for yourself, things go downhill,” Krikorian said. “We needed to come back and show that we were tougher than that.”
Brown, playing the third game of a four-game West Coast swing, was overwhelmed on both sides of the ball. UCLA’s defense was much stronger than it had been the previous two games, forcing several shot clock violations and deflections.
“It’s good to come back, and we’re all playing for each other now,” goalie Chay Lapin said.
Lapin, who recorded only two saves on Saturday, dominated in the net against Brown, allowing the Bears to score only two goals, and consistently stopping any chances for the Ivy Leaguers.
On the other side of the pool, Sbutega got his game back on track, shining offensively with a hat trick and three assists. The Bruins were able to sprint their way into more than one breakaway, converting outlets by Lapin into easy scores.
After a poor performance Saturday, the Bruins’ physicality and intensity seemed to return as their opponent wore down. It was a crucial win for UCLA, who struggled in all facets of the game against Stanford.
The win, however, did not help UCLA’s MPSF standing, and the Bruins will need to improve quickly with California and USC waiting in the coming weeks.
For the moment, however, Krikorian’s squad was glad to get back to the winner’s circle, no matter the opponent.
“The bad taste isn’t out, and it won’t be out for awhile,” Sbutega said. “But at least for half a day, we didn’t have to think about it.”