It’s a friendly rivalry in the truest sense.
Cal State Northridge women’s water polo coach Molly Barnes
and UCLA coach Adam Krikorian, roommates in college at UCLA,
continue to remain close friends today, despite the fact that they
now coach for different universities.
But just because Barnes, a member of the 1996 and 1997 UCLA
women’s water polo championship team, was a familiar face to
Krikorian didn’t mean that the Bruins were going to take it
easy on the Matadors.
In Wednesday afternoon’s game at the Sunset Canyon
Recreation Center, the top-ranked Bruins trounced the No. 19
Matadors with a final score of 14-4.
Her team having just been thoroughly outplayed by UCLA, Barnes
had nothing but praise for Krikorian’s Bruins.
“It’s the best women’s water polo team ever
assembled,” Barnes said. “All you can do is try to
compete against them.”
UCLA’s defense stifled CSUN’s (6-7, 1-5 Mountain
Pacific Sports Federation) offensive attack all game long, forcing
the Matadors into dumping the ball off in numerous possessions
without allowing them decent scoring chances.
The Bruins also pressured the Matadors into committing frequent
turnovers, leading to easy opportunities on offense as UCLA (16-0,
4-0) jumped out to a commanding 7-2 lead.
“We’ve been working on our press; that was one of
our points of emphasis,” senior Natalie Golda said.
Junior driver Kelly Rulon, one of the Bruins’ stalwarts on
defense, felt that it was easy for her team to steal the ball from
Wednesday’s overmatched opponent.
“It’s easier to get a steal with a team who
can’t hold onto the ball that well,” said Rulon, who
scored two goals.
Rulon wasn’t the only factor on offense, as nearly every
Bruin got a chance to play on Wednesday, with nine different
players recording at least one goal.
Even Bruin sophomore goalkeeper Emily Feher, who had three
saves, made her way into the scoring column, tallying her first
collegiate goal at UCLA.
With 1:49 left in the first quarter, Feher corralled a save and
launched a full-pool shot after seeing Matadors’ goalie
Graziella Caredda out of the cage.