Saturday evening was familiar territory for the Bruins.
Not just the actual location – which is the same as the MPSF tournament – but the circumstances as well: a competitive in-state foe in the way of an opportunity to get back to the national championship.
No. 2 seed UCLA men’s water polo (26-2, 5-1 MPSF) overcame No. 3 seed Stanford (18-8, 2-4) 9-7 Saturday evening at Avery Aquatic Center in Palo Alto, California, in the NCAA semifinal round. The Bruins will now move on to the national championship match for their third consecutive appearance and a rematch against crosstown rival USC.
Before any player even entered the water, competition was fierce – as opposing audience sections decked in blue and red, respectively, seemed to jostle over who could cheer louder than the other’s boos.
And that energy reverberated into the water.
After both squads traded goals to construct a 2-1 UCLA lead by the 5:09 mark, neither team scored for the remainder of the first frame. However, of the seven shots that were missed, six were Cardinal attempts, with the Bruins being prevented from even taking a strike at the goal for slightly over seven minutes – a stretch that was not ended until a miss by sophomore attacker Ryder Dodd in the second quarter.
“We have to be willing to step up and shoot the ball if they leave us,” said coach Adam Wright. “We have great shooters, and we can’t be hesitant at this point. As long as it’s the right moment to go, then we have to go with confidence.”
The Bruins made numerous attempts from the center throughout the match, which has otherwise been a strong point for the Westwood offense, with the team’s leading scorers behind Dodd being utilities sophomore Bode Brinkema and junior Ben Liechty. However, on Saturday, UCLA’s second-through-fourth-leading scorers on the season – Brinkema, Liechty and redshirt senior attacker Chase Dodd – went without a single goal attempt until 2:16 left in the first half, largely credited to Stanford’s four first-half steals.
And the Bruins were not clean from their frontal attack, either, with Ryder Dodd missing five of his first-half shots and finishing the game with a .250 goal percentage. A tight Stanford defense, which allowed single-digit goals to UC Davis in the tournament’s first round Friday, pressured UCLA into several forced shots late into possessions.
Despite the Cardinal attempting two more shots than the Bruins, UCLA’s defense was effective enough itself – totaling nine steals – to force a back-and-forth affair. Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher powered the Bruins to hold the Cardinal to their fewest points in a game all season, bolstered by his career-high 16 steals.
Liechty’s only goal of the game came off the right elbow straight into nylon, right after junior attacker Wade Sherlock’s score from the same spot, to create the game’s first multiscore difference – one that did not last for even one full possession after, following a Cardinal goal.
“Focusing on what’s in front of us,” Liechty said. “We know what we’re supposed to be doing. We know what our job is, so executing that to the best of our abilities.”
And that gap would never be replicated until the game’s final seconds.
However, Stanford responded in the third quarter by exceeding its entire first-half score with four goals, including a pair from attacker Ryan Ohl, to secure its first lead of the entire game. Meanwhile, the Bruins were limited to just three attempts in what would be a defining aspect of the match.
Stanford’s leading scorer – attacker Botond Balogh – was held scoreless on three attempts, while attacker Gianpiero Di Martire and center Alex Gheorghe were limited to a combined one goal on nine shots.
But like most of the Bruins’ fiercest matches, achieving victory comes down to late-game execution.
And the final minutes may be all that matter.
Through three quarters, no Bruin had more than one goal. That would change after Ryder Dodd tied the game three minutes into the final stanza and redshirt junior utility Ben Larsen caught a lob off Liechty to take the lead with 1:50 left in the match – the first score since Ryder Dodd’s second goal.
“It was a tough game,” Ryder Dodd said. “It was physically demanding and also emotionally demanding. We have to turn the switch, flip it for tomorrow. We definitely didn’t play our best, but at the end of the day, it doesn’t matter. At this point in the season, it only matters if you win.”
But when Stanford had what could have been its cleanest target at the net, Tauscher stood tall to force a save off iron.
And when redshirt junior attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade stormed off on a fast break in the waning seconds, his final uncontested punch into the net also punched the Bruins their ticket to the national championship – one final test to become back-to-back champions.
“The work is done,” Wright said. “Tomorrow is about who’s going to execute their brand the best. I would bet on our guys.”
