The UCLA men’s water polo team heads north to Palo Alto this weekend where they’ll face a familiar foe in fourth-ranked Stanford on Saturday. They’ll then take on Santa Clara and Santa Cruz on Sunday.
The third-ranked Bruins last saw the Cardinal on Sept. 16 in the third-place game of the NorCal Tournament.
UCLA won that game surprisingly comfortably, 13-9, marking the fifth straight time they’ve beaten Stanford.
But as both teams open their Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference schedules, coach Adam Krikorian is expecting a much tougher test for the Bruins.
“We’re expecting a completely different game,” he said.
“When you’re playing in a one-game setting, there’s a lot more energy and excitement involved. They’ve got a great crowd. I think it’s going to be much more difficult (than before).”
In their previous meeting, with both teams having already played three games earlier in the weekend, UCLA’s superior depth played a key role in helping the Bruins outlast the Cardinal.
This time around, both teams will be coming fresh off a week of practice, so Krikorian does not expect that depth to be as major a factor.
“In a one-game situation, everyone is going to be in pretty good shape,” he said.
UCLA will have to improve on its interior defense, which Krikorian termed “a big disappointment” after allowing seven goals to center Tim Hutten in last Saturday’s 12-11 sudden-victory overtime win over UC Irvine.
Another obstacle for the Bruins will be the Cardinal’s home pool advantage.
The game will be played at Stanford’s Avery Aquatics Center shortly before a home football game, so the crowd could be a factor.
“It’s a fun situation for us to play in,” said sophomore Scott Davidson, who was honored as the MPSF player of the week for his five-goal performance against Irvine.
Davidson, who leads the team with 15 goals on the season, said he appreciated the honor but that he and the rest of the team were more focused on the task at hand. His coach echoed that sentiment.
“Our focus this week has been not to get complacent,” Krikorian said. “We want to keep moving in the right direction.”
Though for now the Bruins’ focus is on the Stanford matchup, the Bruins will also face a pair of games in Santa Cruz the following day.
The Bruins previously defeated Santa Clara 15-4 on Sept. 15 in the opening game of the NorCal Tournament and have yet to play Santa Cruz.
It is in these two later games, Krikorian said, that he expects UCLA’s depth to “definitely” come into play.
“Santa Clara is a solid team,” he said. “A team like Santa Cruz, they might struggle a little more to keep up with us. But we’re not thinking about that (until after Stanford).”