Women’s water polo focuses on defeating motivated, energetic Cal

Located on the east side of Spieker Aquatics Center is something known as the “Champions Wall.” Blue banners drape down the wooden paneling, showcasing the accomplishments of UCLA’s aquatics teams, past and present.

Accompanied by a list of UCLA Olympians, the east side wall serves as a daily reminder of what the ultimate goal is for UCLA women’s water polo: adding another blue banner to the Champions Wall.

After capping off a 7-3 victory in its conference opener against No. 9 San Jose State, No. 1 UCLA has its sights set on capturing another victory in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, as it hosts No. 4 California Sunday.

“Playing a home game is always fun, and Cal is a great opponent,” said junior attacker Charlotte Pratt. “Hopefully we will get a lot of people to come out and support, but wherever we play, whether it be here, up there, or in a neutral setting, the game is the same.”

UCLA (15-1, 1-0 MPSF) last faced Cal (14-3) on Jan. 31 at the Stanford Invitational. Though the Bruins won 10-5, the game swung back and forth like a pendulum in the first half. UCLA and Cal were tied 4-4 at halftime, but during the final two quarters the Bruins made the pendulum permanently swing in their favor, capturing a five-point victory.

“Focusing on ourselves and playing in the now was really important in getting that win against Cal,” Pratt said. “Defense is always important, but we really played well as one unit in that game.”

Redshirt senior goalkeeper Sami Hill echoed Pratt in stating that UCLA played really solid defense in its previous matchup against Cal. Hill said the strong performance from the defense helped spark the Bruins’ transition and offensive play.

But come Sunday, the Bears could have some extra motivation and energy in the rematch at Spieker Aquatics Center. They are coming off two straight losses, and have not lost three in a row since March 2013. They are also well rested, as their last game was on Feb. 22.

“I don’t think that we count on being five goals better than Cal (again),” said coach Brandon Brooks. “They are a very strong team with a lot of talent. From game to game anything can happen.”

Though UCLA is currently atop of the Collegiate Water Polo Association top-20 rankings, the team said it is not satisfied with that position.

“You’re only as good as your next game,” Hill said. “We are not really thinking of our past games. “It’s more like we have to learn from them and just play our best game Sunday. Our last game (against San Jose State) wasn’t one of our stronger appearances and we are definitely looking to improve.”

The Bruins pride themselves on their strong defense, but counterattacks and six-on-five opportunities continue to be a weakness for UCLA. The Bruins are averaging 12.25 goals per game, while the Golden Bears are averaging 13.88.

Defensively, however, Cal allows 5.41 compared to UCLA’s 4.44. These comparable offensive and defensive numbers suggest that the two teams’ second matchup of the season could be just as back-and-forth as the first.

“I tend to say that we are a little more experienced, but I’m not sure if that’s true because they have players who are only sophomores but have played in a lot of big games in national competitions,” Brooks said. “They haven’t won those (close) games yet but they have definitely been right there competing with everyone.”