LOS ALAMITOS “”mdash; There wasn’t one dry face after the
game.
Mixed with sweat, water and tears, the UCLA women’s water
polo team found itself deadlocked at two apiece against archrival
Stanford heading into the final period of the women’s water
polo MPSF Tournament semifinal game.
With the Bruins’ season teetering and tottering in the
final eight minutes, Stanford freshman Katie Hansen’s skip
shot at the 1:01 mark broke the Bruins’ heart, giving
Stanford the 3-2 victory.
“Because this team is so young, I think they’re
taking the loss harder,” coach Adam Krikorian said.
“It’s a learning experience and motivation for future
years.”
Despite the Bruins’ win over Long Beach State 6-4 on
Sunday to capture third place in the MPSF Tournament, this will be
the first time since Krikorian became head coach of the program
that the Bruins have failed to earn a spot in the NCAA
tournament.
Though the outcome of the MPSF semifinals match ultimately came
down to Hansen’s last-minute heroics, the Bruins feel they
have no reason to put their heads down.
“We’ve grown so much from the first day of school.
We gelled as a team,” freshman goalie Emily Feher said.
“It sucks it had to end this way.”
Despite an entirely new lineup from a year ago due to players
graduating and redshirting to train with the U.S. National Team,
the Bruins still managed to finish 22-5 overall.
However, coming so close to possibly having a chance in the NCAA
Championships was disheartening for the Bruins, especially when the
final goal of the game came on a Stanford 6-on-5 penalty situation
after UCLA freshman driver Jenna Murphy was ejected.
“It’s really hard to swallow,” Krikorian said.
“But we left it all out there; that’s all you can
ask.”
Down by one after Hansen’s goal, the Bruins still had two
cracks at the Cardinal goal. However, despite having a 6-on-5 power
play situation of their own, UCLA was unable to convert as the
clock and its season ran dry.
“It was so even, it could’ve swung either
way,” sophomore driver Katherine Belden said. “It was
that close.”
Comprised of only freshmen and sophomores, UCLA went through a
trying year. For the most part, it was a learning experience every
time the players jumped into the pool.
The six active sophomore players, which include co-captains
Kristina Kunkel and Lauren Heineck, had more than just the weight
of the team on their shoulders. They had the weight of the UCLA
program as well.
“Imagine just having one year of experience, being on a
team that has won six national championships, and you as a
sophomore are expected to lead this team,” Krikorian said.
“It’s a tremendous task of responsibility and pressure.
Each one of the sophomores did a remarkable job providing
leadership.
“It truly is amazing, and it finally comes down on them
right now. “¦ All the hard work, responsibility, pressure, it
kind of hits them in one moment. That’s why it’s so
tough.”
UCLA and Stanford found themselves in a low-scoring affair in
the first period as both teams saw no action on the scoreboard.
It wasn’t until nearly 10 minutes into the game that the
Cardinal finally broke the scoreless tie by connecting on their
first goal and collected their second at the end of the first
half.
Incessant screaming from the Bruin fans finally ignited a sense
of urgency as the Bruins attacked relentlessly in the third period.
An eight-meter rocket by Kristina Kunkel with 4:13 to play and
freshman driver Molly Cahill’s lob shot with just under two
minutes to go tied the game.
“You can get close sometimes, but close sometimes just
doesn’t cut it,” Krikorian said.
Undoubtedly, the loss will remain with the players until next
season. But during that time, Krikorian feels the hurt will be
beneficial in the long run.
“Sometimes defeat can be more of a weapon,”
Krikorian said.