The No. 14 UCSD men’s water polo team has two more regular
season games, but all of its focus is on the Western Water Polo Association
Conference Championships later this month. Although the Tritons could have made
a statement against No. 2 UCLA on Nov. 3 at Canyonview Pool, the Bruins proved
too much for the Tritons, trouncing UCSD in a 6-14 blowout.
Despite being unable to overcome a top-ranked squad, the
Tritons were not worried about their fifth straight loss and have shifted their
efforts to the WWPA Conference Championship in
beginning Nov. 16.
“We went out there and played as hard as we could,” senior
two-meter Simon Schafer said. “These are pretty much practice games for us.
Results, in terms of wins and losses, aren’t as important to us right now. Our
goal is the conference championship.”
UCSD’s effort was
evident from the start of the game, when freshman goalkeeper Mark Stemler made
an impressive save against UCLA’s first possession. After a Bruin player was
ejected to give the Tritons a 6-on-5 advantage, sophomore two-meter defender
Steven Donohoe scored to give UCSD an early lead. But UCLA answered back with a
quick score, tying the game 1-1 after only one minute of game play.
The Bruins scored three more times in the quarter, while
holding the Tritons scoreless, to give UCLA a 4-1 lead after the first quarter.
The Tritons drew two more ejections but were unable to convert on the man-up
opportunities.
The Tritons opened up
scoring again in the second quarter, this time with senior driver Curtis
Williamson scoring off a foul. The Bruins scored on the ensuing possession to
extend their lead to 5-2. Sophomore utility Peter Gresham converted on yet
another UCSD man-up opportunity to cut the UCLA lead to 5-3 with 5 minutes, 25
seconds left in the quarter.
The Bruins pulled away during the rest of the second
quarter, starting with a counterattack goal 6-3 with 4:13 left in the half.
They scored three more goals in the half, capitalizing on messy offensive play
from the Tritons to take a 9-3 halftime lead.
The third quarter was more of a defensive battle than the
first half of the game. The Tritons had two more 6-on-5 opportunities but were
unable to score on either of them. UCLA then scored the quarter’s only goal to
take a 10-3 lead going into the final period.
UCLA added two more goals at the beginning of the fourth
quarter to up their lead to 12-3. Senior driver Benjamin Miller, Gresham and
sophomore utility Ian Bausback added scores for the Tritons in the fourth
quarter, but by then the game was out of reach.
Even though the Tritons lost the game, their man-up offense,
which has struggled all year, showed some marked improvements. UCSD converted
on four of its nine opportunities, yielding a respectable conversion
percentage.
“We really need to work on our man-up offense for
conference,” Gresham said. “Conversions for that are really important. It
hasn’t been gelling but it was better [against UCLA]. We need to take a
loosey-goosey laid-back approach. We’re not going to drastically change
anything.”
The Tritons were playing without starting two-meter man
sophomore Daniel Garcia because of team-related issues. Garcia, who is the
Tritons’ leading scorer, will return for their next contest against UC Irvine.
“He’ll be back for the next game better than ever,” Schafer
said.
UCSD is hoping that playing a strong team like the Bruins
will help prepare itself for the WWPA championships.
“After playing UCLA, all the other teams should seem slower
and weaker in comparison,” Gresham said.
The game against UCLA was the Tritons’ last home game of the
season and UCSD honored its three seniors — Miller, Schafer and Willamson —
before the game.
“It’s a difficult experience — it’s bittersweet in a way,”
Schafer said. “Everybody on our team laid it on the line and the seniors really
appreciate that.”
The Tritons will end their regular season on the road
against No. 5 UC Irvine on Nov. 7 and No. 5 Pepperdine University on Nov. 10.
And although they’re looking past the next two matches, UCSD isn’t going to
take the challenges lightly.
“We’re playing against two great opponents in
need to work on improving and tightening up our overall game so we are ready
for conference.”
