This post was updated Oct. 7 at 11:43 p.m.
Taking the upper hand against top opponents requires focus and grit.
Doing it four times in two weeks shows hunger to top it all off.
No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo (17-0, 2-0 MPSF) kicked off conference play Saturday in Berkeley, defeating No. 2 California (12-2, 1-1) 14-7 at the Spieker Aquatics Complex. It followed up the feat with a 14-11 victory against No. 4 Stanford (8-4, 0-2) at the Avery Aquatic Center on Sunday.
The Bruins beat both conference rivals during the MPSF Invitational in Westwood two weekends ago, besting both by just a combined three points. However, the scorelines widened this time around, with UCLA earning a positive goal difference of 10 across the two games.
[Related: UCLA men’s water polo wins Overnght MPSF Invitational title for 3rd straight year]
“It was nice to play more comfortably this time,” redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher said. “After seeing them the first time – seeing those shots from their good players – they made me feel better about myself in goal.”
The Bruins held the Golden Bears to their lowest goal tally of the season, with Tauscher making a then-season-high 12 saves.
Offensively, UCLA won Saturday’s first two quarters 3-1 and 3-2, respectively, and widened the scoreline significantly to six goals during the third quarter on the back of a pair of goals from sophomore attacker Ryder Dodd.
While the Golden Bears outshot the Bruins 33 to 22, UCLA’s 64% shot-to-goal ratio erased that deficit, and this efficiency was spread across the roster’s depth, with nine different scorers.
Dodd ended the contest with a game-leading six points, including four goals, and redshirt junior attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade scored a pair to round out a statement Bruin victory against California.
“I was able to capitalize on the attention that my teammates were drawing,” Dodd said. “At the end of the day, it is what we’ve been working on in practice every day.”
Dodd played a similar role in the Bruins’ first matchup of the season, leading them with a five-goal performance – one of his four five-goal games this season.
On Sunday against Stanford, an early UCLA lead was reversed by five Cardinal goals across the second and third quarters, creating a 10-9 deficit for the Bruins entering the fourth frame. Stanford driver Ben Forer breached the Bruin defense six times.
However, a 5-1 rally in the final period allowed UCLA to hold onto its undefeated record, with its 20th straight victory dating back to 2024. In their previous contest against the Cardinal, the Bruins faced a similar predicament heading into the fourth quarter – down by two goals but coming away with a narrow one-goal victory.
Both Dodd and Carsalade followed their Saturday performances with four and three-goal outputs, respectively, against the Cardinal on Sunday. Carsalade’s hat trick brings his season goal total to 14.
The Bruins led the game in steals, with 10 to the Cardinals’ two. Additionally, Tauscher notched a career-high 14 saves, showcasing the back-and-forth nature of the contest.
“The fourth quarter – the way we were crashing on the ball and getting our hands on the ball and blocking – things came around,” coach Adam Wright said. “To come back after a tough game yesterday and back it up today and find a way in the fourth quarter against one of the top teams in the country … is big.”
UCLA will face both Stanford and California one final time in the regular season in four weeks. In the meantime, the Bruins will return home to play Princeton on Oct. 11 before continuing conference play against crosstown rival USC on Oct. 18 in a rematch of last year’s NCAA title match.
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