Women’s water polo’s win places check on Stanford’s reign

Coach Brandon Brooks said the atmosphere during the final seconds of the UC Irvine Invitational championship game was tense.

Sitting on the edge of his seat, Brooks watched as the clock slowly ran down and his team captured a 7-6 double-overtime victory over No.1 Stanford.

“To get to overtime, we had to make a couple of good defensive stops,” Brooks said. “I was pretty excited that we were able to make those stops when we needed to, which is great for our team.”

During the last stretch of the double overtime period, both the Cardinal and the Bruins were unrelenting. Stanford continued to try and attack UCLA’s defense, while the Bruins tried desperately to protect their lead. Stanford had control of the last offensive possession with one final scoring chance, while UCLA had to protect the cage one last time.

In the end, UCLA was able to put up strong defense and secure the win.

Junior attacker Charlotte Pratt contributed three goals in the UCI Invitational championship game against Stanford – one of the goals being the game-winner in the overtime period. Pratt scored the game-winner on a 6-5 power play and capped off the two-day tournament with a total of six goals.

“I think every tournament we look at as competitive,” Pratt said. “But I think that this one is more competitive because it’s farther along in the season and a lot of teams are starting to find their groove and starting to play with more cohesion.”

The Bruins were able to hand the Cardinal their first loss this season and snap its 27-game overall win streak. In a previous encounter this season against Stanford, UCLA fell short by four goals with an overall score of 10-6. This loss was UCLA’s (14-1) first defeat in the season. However, they would follow that loss with four straight wins – three of which came in the first three rounds of the UCI Invitational.

Stanford has been UCLA’s nemesis over the past year, defeating UCLA in the 2014 national title game in comeback fashion. Before UCLA’s win Sunday, the Cardinal had won four straight against the Bruins.

But since the beginning of this year’s season, the Bruins made it clear that they have the hunger to avenge their previous defeats.

At the beginning of the season, sophomore utility Mackenzie Barr said how this season will be different.

“It’s always going to be a new team and a new experience every time we play (Stanford) so hopefully we’ll just bring our best when the time comes,” said Barr back in January.

Now, as the the Bruins have already faced the Cardinal twice this season, the teeter-tottering games between the two teams suggest that the UCLA-Stanford series may no longer be so one-sided. Stanford has a strong attacking offense, but UCLA counters with its stalwart defense.

Midway through the season, the UCI Invitational showed that UCLA had an answer against Stanford. Struggling to find an offensive and defensive rhythm against the NCAA’s reigning champions has proven to be a challenge for the Bruins in past seasons. But this tournament showcased the improvement UCLA has made over the past couple weeks.

That being said, if past is prologue, UCLA’s win over Stanford at the UCI Invitational should be taken with a grain of salt.

UCLA beat Stanford in the UCI Invitational last year as well, but ended up losing all three of their rematches against the Cardinal later in the year, including in the NCAA Championship game. The momentum and determination that UCLA continues to show, however, demonstrates that their work this year is not over yet.

“It’s always nice to get the win,” Pratt said. “But now we a focusing on the next teams.”