Late actor Michael K. Williams unknowingly set the scene for the Bruins’ Bay Area contests over 20 years ago.
“You come at the king, you best not miss,” his character Omar Little uttered to adversaries in the eighth episode of HBO’s “The Wire.”
No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo (17-0, 3-0 MPSF) traveled to rival territory and forced its challengers – No. 2 California (13-2, 2-1) and No. 5 Stanford (10-5, 1-2) – to miss, defeating the schools on Saturday and Sunday by scores of 14-11 and 11-7, respectively. The Bruins’ dual-conference victories kept their undefeated run intact and cemented their seat at the head of the table as their final regular-season contests near.
“It’s been a long time since our conference has done home and aways,” said coach Adam Wright. “That’s the way it used to be back in the day, and anytime you’d come up to the Bay Area, if you can get one – and if you can get two wins – it’s a great weekend.”
Senior attacker Makoto Kenney, who led the Bruins in scoring in both games en route to repeat victories over the Golden Bears and Cardinal, tallied seven of his nine goals this season during the contests.
The Costa Mesa local – who reentered the lineup after suffering a concussion – said his season-high four-goal performance against Cal was a product of his squad’s confidence in him.
“It feels great to be back,” Kenney said. “Being out with an injury is not what anyone wants. Luckily, my teammates all support me, so it feels great.”
After the Bruins led the Golden Bears 7-6 heading into the second half, Kenney converted two of the former’s four third-period goals – helping separate them from their foes and claim victory at the Spieker Aquatics Complex.
One of the goals, which came with under two minutes remaining in the stanza, extended UCLA’s lead to three after Kenney beat Cal goalkeeper Adrian Weinberg with a skipped shot into the bottom right corner of the net.
“Having him back is a huge, huge plus for us,” said senior goalkeeper Garret Griggs. “He’s a huge piece for our team offensively (and) defensively.”
On Sunday, Kenney provided more of the same from an attacking standpoint. His three goals and UCLA’s suffocating defense led to another victory over Stanford at Avery Aquatic Center, holding the Cardinal to the third-lowest scoring output the Bruins have allowed this year.
Griggs tallied 14 saves against Stanford after notching 11 the day prior, simultaneously flaunting his versatility with the addition of one steal and an assist against the Cardinal.
He said the Bruins’ defense was to credit for his 25-save weekend.
“The guys in front of me really helped me out a lot with being able to hold these teams to low goal amounts,” Griggs said. “I wouldn’t be able to do – or have – any saves if it weren’t for the guys in front of me and getting the ball to me so where I can make saves.”
The 6-foot-9 shot blocker emerged as UCLA’s starting goalkeeper when fifth-year Bernardo Maurizi began the season injured. And Griggs has held steady at the spot, leading the NCAA with 124 saves so far this season.
However, Maurizi has made a late-season entrance.
The Bruins’ longtime goalkeeper returned to action on Sept. 30 against Air Force – recording three saves in two periods – and even played against Cal, but failed to record a save.
Wright said the position battle shows the wealth of his top goalkeeper options.
“He’s (Maurizi) been a really special goalie over his time here,” Wright said. “Garrett, his progression through the summer and into this season, has just been truly special to watch. His command of the goal, and his presence and his communication has been uplifting.”
With six games remaining before the MPSF tournament, Griggs said the Bruins are ready for what’s to come.
“All these teams are really good teams and obviously, we prepare for them,” Griggs said. “But I think if we just keep our focus on us, I think we’re pretty tough to beat.”
Comments are closed.