The UCLA men’s water polo team got back to its winning
ways Saturday, posting a 7-3 victory over Loyola Marymount. The
game featured strong team defense and a balanced scoring attack by
the Bruins.
The third-ranked Bruins were coming off a tough 9-8 loss to
top-ranked USC last weekend, and were playing in their second of
six consecutive road games. But they went into LMU’s Burns
Recreation and Aquatic Center and took control of the game early
on.
UCLA began the scoring less than a minute into the game with a
goal from junior center Marco Santos. Seniors Michael March and
Logan Powell each added goals later in the first half.
On the defensive side of the ball, the Bruins dominated, holding
LMU scoreless in the first half. When asked about the deciding
factor in the game, coach Adam Krikorian credited that defense.
“Overall our defensive effort (was excellent),” he
said. “Specifically our 5-on-6 defense. We did a pretty
incredible job (by holding them) to 2-for-11 (on the power play).
They had some good opportunities, but we did a very good job of
shutting them down.”
The Lions eventually got on the scoreboard in the third quarter
with goals from senior Ben Easton and junior Shaun Flood. But
consistent scoring from the Bruins kept their lead secure. March
and Powell each scored their second goal of the day in the third
period, and sophomore Krsto Sbutega tallied two goals of his own in
the second half. LMU’s Cutberto Hernandez scored the last
goal of the game early in the fourth quarter, resulting in the
final four-goal margin.
After the game, Krikorian was pleased with his team’s
defensive performance, but he felt that the Bruins’ offense
left room for improvement.
“Offensively we weren’t really sharp,” he
said. “But as long as we’re playing defense like that
we’ll be in pretty good shape.”
When asked to explain the Bruins’ offensive shortcomings,
Krikorian suggested that his team was simply fatigued from a
particularly grueling week of practice.
“We were tired,” he said. “We worked very,
very hard last week, and that was by design. That was probably the
toughest week for us since the beginning of the year. I felt like
that was important for us moving into the next few weeks of
conference play. We needed to make sure our conditioning was where
it needed to be. (The team) showed that they were physically and
mentally exhausted from the week of training. We were getting up
and down the pool, but we were just having some trouble finishing
and executing the way we needed to.”
The Bruins will be on the road again next weekend. They play at
California on Saturday and at Pacific on Sunday.
GOALIE PLAY: Once again, redshirt freshman Chay
Lapin started in goal for the Bruins. He posted eight saves and
lowered his goals-against average to 4.86 a game. Krikorian was
pleased with Lapin’s performance.
“He played well,” Krikorian said. “He’s
going to be our goalie going into this week. He’s been
playing better and better. The more confidence he gains the more
comfortable he gets, and the better he plays.”