• printer friendly
• mail this article
• iPod format
• digg

Photo

Senior Logan Powell, right, gave a solid performance in UCLA’s battle against USC on Saturd

It was one of those games you remember. After reaching a deficit of three goals in the third quarter, the third-ranked UCLA men’s water polo team fought its way back to send the match against top-ranked USC into overtime, culminating in a period of sudden-death.

Sadly for the Bruins, they could not come out on top, though the battle to the final score of 9-8 elicited nervous jitters and constant cheering from the overcrowded McDonald’s Stadium.

After coming out flat in the first quarter, the game seemed to be over early on for UCLA, as the Trojans outplayed the Bruins in the first half. USC had a 6-3 lead early in the third quarter, and up to that point, any time the Bruins put points on the board the Trojans would put up a few more.

Yet, after a plethora of missed Bruin shots, the UCLA players finally began to find the net, with back-to-back goals by junior Justin Johnson and sophomore Krsto Sbutega in the last two minutes of the third quarter. The goals brought UCLA within one goal of tying the match, an idea that earlier in the quarter seemed like a whimsical wish.

“I don’t think we played very well in the first quarter, and I don’t think they necessarily believed,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “But I think as the game wore on they became believers. They did a great job coming back from two- (and) three-goal deficits. They showed a lot of heart and character.”

From the fourth quarter on, the teams battled back and forth for control of the scoreboard, and the Bruins took their first lead of the game on a breakaway by senior Logan Powell, who scored his second goal of the game with 2:50 left.

“In a fight, the person who throws the first blow is usually the person who wins,” Powell said. “They jumped on us really early on, and we were clawing our way back all the way from them. It was definitely fun, until the end.”

The Bruins could not hold on to the lead for long, as USC responded with a goal 41 seconds later to tie up the game, 7-7.

And after four timeouts, as the teams tried desperately to score in the final two minutes of regulation, the game ended in a tie, forcing overtime periods.

Both teams scored in the second overtime period, propelling the match into a three-minute period of sudden death.

Sudden death began with UCLA winning the initial sprint, but after a missed Bruin shot, USC responded with a 6-on-5 advantage goal to seal the Bruin defeat.

“Our team played well. I think that in the second half and in overtime we were on it and we brought it to them,” Powell said. “I think we may have had the edge a little bit, but we came out a little flat. Playing against a team like USC, you can’t have a first half like the one we played and expect to win. I mean, it still came down to the wire, but I think if we had come out a little tougher and a little more energy, it could have been different.”

Despite the loss, the Bruins brought themselves up to the level of the top team in the nation. Freshman Chay Lapin clocked nine saves for the Bruins in front of the cage in his first MPSF match as the starting goalkeeper.

“Chay played excellent,” Krikorian said. “It was his first real big game. He was confident, comfortable, and he really did a nice job.”

UCLA is now 1-1 in the MPSF conference with a schedule of tough away games ahead, but the performance at USC this weekend showed signs of great potential.

“I am proud of them,” Krikorian said. “That was the first time this year that I have really, truly been proud of them.”