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

Photo

Sophomore Krsto Sbutega gets up to pass during the Cal Baptist game on Sept. 14. Sbutega leads th

Coming off a blowout victory against UC Irvine last week, the No. 3 UCLA men’s water polo team looks to maintain that momentum against No. 4 Stanford this weekend in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation season opener. Immediately preceding the scheduled football game versus Stanford, the Bruin water polo team (5-1) will face the Cardinal (5-3) at the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center at 3 p.m.

The Cardinal is coming off a disappointing loss to No. 7 Pacific in double overtime. Before that matchup, Stanford fell to the Bruins at the NorCal tournament, 7-6.

Despite the early upsets of the season, the Bruins are not taking the Cardinal lightly – it is a top contender for the national title year in and year out. Like UCLA, Stanford repeatedly finishes the season in the top echelon of water polo teams and will be a serious threat despite its record thus far.

“I expect a tough battle (against Stanford,)” coach Adam Krikorian said. “They lost to University of the Pacific recently, which was a pretty big upset, so they’re going to be excited to come back and play us.”

The Bruins have yet to play Pacific, but it is surprising when any of the top four or five teams lose to lower-ranked opponents in the water polo world. The Cardinal will certainly be out for redemption.

“They’re a tough, smart team,” Krikorian said. “They’re not going to beat themselves; they’re going to make us beat them.”

Already the Bruins are showing signs of differentiating themselves from the fifth-place team of last season. With three losses to Stanford last season, the Bruins are hoping to go 3-0 this year against the Cardinal but will take the season one game at a time.

“Every game is so crucial,” Krikorian said. “We cannot afford to give up any games at any time during the season.”

With a season- and career-high five-goal game against UC Irvine last week, senior captain Logan Powell knows the capabilities of his veteran squad. With seven returning seniors, it boasts more depth than the Cardinal.

“We’re a really deep team, so we’re looking to push it and really keep the tempo going,” Powell said.

Offensively, UCLA is led by sophomore Krsto Sbutega, who has netted 12 goals over the first six games. Powell finishes a close second with 10.

The home pool for the Bruins is typically the Sunset Canyon Recreation Center Pool, but as in years prior, the location was moved to the Rose Bowl Aquatics Center in hopes of attracting more spectators already in Pasadena for the night football game. The facilities in Pasadena accommodate far more fans and will likely be filled with fans wearing either blue and gold or red and white.