Once again the UCLA women’s water polo team has conquered the USC Trojans in what is beginning to seem like a pattern whenever the two crosstown rivals meet. In this case, it was an eerily familiar scene for both teams, for it was only eight months ago that fans saw the same match in the late afternoon at the end of a tournament in Northern California.
Sunday’s final score was 11-10 in favor of the No. 2 Bruins, who made a late but offensively strong comeback in the second half to defeat the top-ranked Trojans.
USC held the lead in the first period before the Bruins tied it up 4-4 at the half.
By the end of the third period, USC was in the lead again with an 8-6 advantage, leaving the Bruins in dire straits.
In the last period, the Bruins took their offense up a level, pushing past the Trojan defense to score five goals while only allowing two for USC.
Top scorers for the Bruins were junior Jillian Kraus with three goals, and senior Kelly Rulon, sophomore Katie Rulon and junior Courtney Mathewson with two goals each.
The UCLA women’s water polo team’s tournament victory against USC at the Stanford Invitational comes only after three other hard-fought victories against No. 4 California, No. 5 Hawai’i and No. 20 Indiana.
Saturday, the Bruins played California in their first matchup of the season and crushed the Bears 10-2. UCLA came out strong, ending the first half with a 6-1 lead, then came out aggressively in the second half to extend their lead to 10-2.
Hawai’i proved to be a more formidable opponent. The Bruins fell behind early, ending the first quarter down 3-2; however, once again proving that they were still a championship-worthy team, the Bruins played the rest of the game as an offensive powerhouse, eventually winning the game 12-4.
Sunday, in their match against Indiana, UCLA began the day strong, exploding onto the scene with eight goals at the end of the half.
It wasn’t until the third period that Indiana was able to pass through the Bruin’s formidable defense, scoring two goals.
However, it was obvious from the previous days that UCLA was a force to be reckoned with, and the Bruins won the match 10-3.
Their early victory in the first tournament provides an early season look at what is to come for the 2007 UCLA women’s water polo team.
Prior to this weekend, the Bruins had yet to play any opponent other than each other in scrimmages.
The Bruins have proven that this is a team to keep a steady eye on in the next few months, as the women of the UCLA water polo team work toward a third consecutive national title and the school’s 100th NCAA title overall.