Call it the final four of women’s water polo.
The No. 2 Bruins (21-4) earned an at-large bid to the NCAA
tournament with a second place finish at the MPSF tournament this
past weekend, eliminating USC’s hopes for a tournament bid in
the process.
Senior driver Jessica Lopez provided the match-winning goal in
sudden death overtime as the Bruins outlasted the Trojans 7-6.
“The USC game was huge for us,” junior driver
Natalie Golda said. “We knew that whoever won would get into
the tournament.”
After falling to Stanford on Sunday in five sudden death
overtime periods, 3-2, UCLA needed the win over the Trojans to
capture the at-large bid to the NCAA tournament. Stanford (20-2)
received an automatic bid to La Jolla, along with Loyola Marymount
(23-8) and Indiana (26-9).
“We have to be proud of ourselves, eliminating our rivals
and getting into the NCAA tournament,” senior goalkeeper
Jaime Hipp said.
After the MPSF tournament in Stanford, where a couple
thousand fans enjoyed back-to-back overtime contests, the scene
will shift to UCSD for the NCAA tournament.
“It was a great show (in the MPSFs),” said UCLA head
coach Adam Krikorian. “It was great for the fans and a great
tournament overall.”
Golda again led the Bruins in scoring with eight goals in the
tournament, but was held scoreless against the Cardinal. UCLA and
Stanford are both heavily favored to square off in the championship
game for the third consecutive year. The Cardinal defeated the
Bruins in last year’s NCAA title game, 8-4.
“The older players know how difficult it is to get an
opportunity to play in the final four,” Krikorian said.
“It is the most difficult part of the whole year.”
The Bruins will have a week and a half to prepare for their
first-round date with LMU on May 10, a team they defeated 12-5 and
7-4 earlier this season. The team will focus on shooting drills and
game simulations to improve on the 5 percent scoring rate that
Stanford held them to in the MPSF (two goals on 42 shots).
“We truly enjoyed the season,” added Krikorian.
“We can’t get sentimental about our senior group
playing in their final games. We are here to win the championship
as a team.”
LMU is coming off its third straight Western Water Polo
Association championship. The Lions also picked up seven WWPA
awards, including player of the year honors for junior utility
Teresa Guidi and coach of the year honors for John Loughran (both
winning their respective awards for the third consecutive
year).
Guidi scored five times during the WWPA tournament, including
two in the championship game, to eliminate host UCSD from the NCAA
tournament.
The top-seeded Cardinal will take on Indiana. The victors of
both matches will play the following day for the championship.
The matches are single elimination, with a runner-up match to
determine third and fourth place.