The top-ranked UCLA women’s water polo team seems to
understand how important it is to make a good first impression.
The Bruins have dominated the opening period of every game they
have played this season, holding their opponents to only four goals
and outscoring them by a 27-goal margin.
And Sunday’s home opener against No. 10 UC Santa Barbara
was no different for UCLA.
The Bruins jumped out to a four-goal lead and blanked the
Gauchos in the first period as UCLA (8-0, 1-0 MPSF) crushed UCSB
13-4 on a stormy afternoon at Sunset Canyon Recreation Center.
Though UCLA coach Adam Krikorian stated that he is more
interested in seeing his team play well throughout the game, he
knows that getting off to a strong start like his team did on
Sunday is a definite plus.
“We want to play well the entire game, but it’s
always great to get off to a quick start,” Krikorian said.
“It sets the tone for the rest of the game.”
Setting the tone was exactly what center forward Natalie Golda
did on the Bruins’ first possession of the game.
Just 19 seconds into the game, the senior scored the first of
her two goals.
“It’s good to put a team back on their heels,”
Golda said.
After Golda’s quick score, UCSB (4-3, 1-2) never seemed to
recover.
Kacy Kunkel and Kelly Rulon scored shortly thereafter, and Golda
punctuated the Bruins’ dominant first quarter with her second
goal of the game late in the period.
UCSB’s Katy Kunkel, sister of Bruins’ Kacy and
Kristina Kunkel, tried to lead her team to a comeback when she
tallied the Gauchos first goal of the game early in the second
quarter.
But UCLA responded with three unanswered goals and took a
commanding 7-2 lead into the half.
For the rest of the game, UCLA had its way with the apparently
exhausted UCSB squad and used its speed to widen its margin of
victory.
In the third period, the Bruins demonstrated their ability to
simply outpace the Gauchos when UCLA goalkeeper Emily Feher made a
length-of-the-pool pass to freshman Gabrielle Domanic for a
goal.
“I knew it was coming,” Domanic said.
“The Feher to Domanic connection is golden. I know because
we’ve played a lot together in our age group
before.”
Bruin freshman Brittany Rowe continues to be a pleasant surprise
for UCLA on the offensive end. The driver, who leads the team with
15 goals on the season, scored her first home goal as a Bruin later
in the third period.
The victory improves the Bruins’ all-time record against
the Gauchos to 30-1.