Men’s water polo team wins all three weekend matchups behind Hohl’s 10 goals
By Daily Bruin Staff
Nov. 1, 2010 2:05 a.m.
After getting by a tough weekend that included three games in two days, the UCLA men’s water polo team can finally look ahead to its biggest game of the year.
UCLA defeated Long Beach State 11-5 Sunday in the final game of an eight-game homestand that lasted more than two weeks at Spieker Aquatics Center.
Now, the Bruins can look forward to a rematch with USC that will decide UCLA’s fate in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. But on Sunday against Long Beach, No. 3 UCLA (15-3, 4-1 MPSF) looked like it was in a trap game, at least for one half.
The No. 8 49ers (7-10, 0-4) found the back of the net first in the MPSF matchup and converted their first two power play opportunities to stay close early on. UCLA went into the halftime break up only two goals, and coach Adam Wright used the break to readjust his team’s focus.
“You don’t want to let a team start off two-for-two on 6-on-5; then they start getting in a groove,” Wright said. “We’ve got to work on (stopping) that, but overall, it was a nice turnaround in the second half.”
A defense that appeared slightly lackadaisical in the first half was clearly reinvigorated in the second. Long Beach earned two exclusions, but did not convert either chance and scored only once in the final two periods.
“We had a good meeting at halftim, and we came out strong in the third quarter, just to put the game away,” senior defender Emilio Vieira said.
UCLA was led on the score sheet by a pair of attackers: sophomore Griffin White and senior Ben Hohl, who each had a hat trick on the day.
White rebounded in a big way on Sunday after failing to score in either of UCLA’s Saturday non-conference wins over UC San Diego and Pomona-Pitzer. His three goals made him the third-leading scorer for UCLA with 20 on the year.
“Yesterday, in both games, I didn’t play very well,” White said. “I know that, and I wanted to come out and prove myself today.”
Hohl eye-to-eye with Wright
Ben Hohl concluded a big weekend with a goal that put a smile on his coach’s face.
The senior attacker’s perfectly placed lob shot with 6:18 to play in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game capped off a 10-goal weekend and moved him into a tie for eighth place on UCLA’s all-time scoring list, equal with none other than Wright.
“I didn’t even know my own goal mark,” Wright said after the game.
Hohl had a chance to move ahead of Wright in the fourth, but found the post on a shot attempt.
Injury update
The injury bug has bitten the Bruin goalkeepers again.
Redshirt junior Andrew Mesesan, who had been hampered the past month by a shoulder injury, sat out the weekend with a hyperextended elbow.
Redshirt sophomore Matt Rapacz, the opening-day starter for UCLA, saw his first action since hurting his shoulder at the NorCal Tournament on Sept. 18. He started and had 10 saves in the win over Pomona-Pitzer, while freshman James Hartshorne started the other two weekend games for UCLA.
