The sixth-ranked Triton men’s water polo squad traveled to Stanford on Oct. 24 to take on the No. 3 Cardinal in their second meeting of the season. UCSD was looking to upset the reigning national champions after the Tritons suffered a 14-8 early season loss. But, history repeated itself on Oct. 24 with UCSD losing to Stanford, 13-7.
Trouble at the farm: The visiting UCSD men’s water polo team could not contain the offensive onslaught of the Stanford Cardinal in their 13-7 loss.
Judging by the first two minutes of play, it appeared that UCSD was in for a long game as Stanford exploded into a 3-0 lead with goals by junior All-American, two-time NCAA Player of the Year and U.S. National Team member Tony Azevedo and teammates Greg Crum and Peter Varellas.
But the Triton offense ignited with two back-to-back goals by red-shirt sophomore Chris Finegold in the third and fifth minutes of play, bringing UCSD within a goal of Stanford at 3-2.
Stanford’s Mark Moser jumped on a counterattack opportunity to earn a stable lead of 4-2 with 2:10 remaining in the first period, but the quarter was far from over.
Senior captain Matthew Ustaszewski scored when the clock passed one minute, returning UCSD to a one-goal margin of 4-3. However, Stanford’s J.J. Garton squeezed in a final score with just 21 seconds remaining in the first period, bringing the score to 5-3.
The counterattack mentality was established on both sides in the first period and remained prevalent throughout the match, as neither team was able to gain any significant advantage in a half-court offense. Defensively, the Tritons and Cardinals held their ground against the set offense, but it was transition goals that quickly added up.
“”We self-destructed on our counterattack defense,”” junior Clark Peterson said. “”Our set defense was pretty good. We contained them on the half court and had good two-meter defense, but it was mostly turnaround goals that killed us Š we wouldn’t convert on our set offense, then they would come back for a one-on-nobody or two-on-one goal.””
The inability for either team to slow the pace of the game reduced the match to looking like a swim meet with a ball. In addition, for Triton players that typically pride themselves on their speed and counterattacking prowess, it was difficult to constantly sprint the length of a 30-meter tank without becoming fatigued and committing fundamental errors. Stanford was able to capitalize on too many of these slipups, accounting for the goal differential.
“”That’s a tough way to start, especially against a team ranked above you,”” junior Nate Cooper said, referring to the early three-goal deficit. “”Our non-counterattack defense was strong and we only allowed one or two goals out of the set offense.””
The second period proved somewhat easier to bear, though the Cardinal continued to widen their lead as they pushed the score up to 8-4. Azevedo knocked in two more goals for Stanford as the Tritons were shutout through the first 6:30 of the period, finally scoring with just 29 seconds remaining in the half.
In addition to his five goals, it was clear that Azevedo led his team by orchestrating the offense and helping Stanford maintain control.
“”Even if he doesn’t score every goal, he runs their team,”” Cooper said. “”If we take Tony [Azevedo] out of the game, we can beat Stanford.””
Clearly, Azevedo’s five points were not the distinguishing factor in the decision, but his ability to establish control within the game allows him to be a shot-caller.
“”I think that we could have contained him better,”” Peterson said . “”He was just scoring the counterattack; otherwise, he only earned one goal off our set defense.””
The Tritons lost each of the first two quarters by two goals, but were able play better for the closing periods. In the third quarter, the Tritons managed to hold Stanford to two goals to their own one.
The speed of the game slowed in the waning quarters as each team felt the effect of its intense counterattacking. Both sides were able to set up their offense and defense for suitable lengths of time to run more plays than in earlier periods.
“”We were able to run the set offense later,”” Cooper said. “”We had a couple of half-court goals and a couple of man-up goals.””
Those late-game conversions would not be enough to bring UCSD back in the game before the clock expired, Stanford up 13-7.
The Tritons agreed that the pace of the game was out of hand. This squad relies on controlling the speed and rhythm of play. When that advantage was lost, the ability to regulate the match is lost.
Azevedo’s five goals were a Stanford team high of 50, while UCSD leading scorer Jonathan Hopkins and his brother, Stanford’s second-highest scorer, Thomas Hopkins, were both scoreless.
“”We made a lot of stupid plays, but hopefully we can make up for that and play them again at the NCAA tournament,”” Cooper said.
