Women’s water polo attributes loss against Stanford to mental game
Senior attacker Emily Donohoe said the Bruins were too caught up in the external factors when they lost to the Cardinal up in Stanford on Saturday. Donohoe emphasized UCLA’s need to focus in on its own game. (Daily Bruin File Photo)
By Nicole Becannon
April 14, 2015 1:39 a.m.
The UCLA women’s water polo team is equipped with high-scoring offensive players, an experienced, All-American goalkeeper and a staunch defense that has served as a staple for the Bruins.
The team’s 20 wins this year are a testament to its skill. Nevertheless, No. 2 UCLA has failed on two occasions this season to defeat defending national champion No. 1 Stanford (20-1, 5-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation), which doubles as UCLA’s biggest rival.
It might be tempting to attribute the fall to a skill deficiency. Statistically, the Cardinal has the Bruins beat in every category except overall saves. However, UCLA has proven it is capable of pulling a victory over Stanford earlier in the season and the weekend’s 7-8 loss was a close push-and-pull with a gap that never extended beyond three points. Senior attacker Emily Donohoe has another explanation for the Bruins’ inability to break into the Cardinal lead.
“We need to focus on how we’re playing and not so much on external factors,” said Donohoe. “In a big game, there’s a lot of nerves and excitement.”
The team knows all too well the importance of mental presence and poise in a game, and, in the face of a fast, physical Cardinal opposition, the Bruins lost sight of their game plan.
During Stanford’s runs where the Cardinal was able to create gaps in the score, particularly in the opening of the first quarter, Donohoe said the Bruins were caught up in the moment, forgetting about their own style of play.
During practice last week, coach Brandon Brooks said the team would have to maintain composure and force Stanford to play UCLA’s game, stressing the importance of inhibiting the Cardinal from making runs off of fast breaks. What actually happened during execution was the exact opposite, as evidenced by the Cardinal’s early lead and the Bruins’ inability to usurp that lead at any point in the game. It was on UCLA to fight to close in on Stanford during the entirety of the matchup.
Losses are few and far between for the Bruins, but junior attacker Kodi Hill said the team won’t dwell on it.
“When they’re up by three and they just keep scoring, sometimes it’s hard to keep going,” Hill said.“But we knew that losing wouldn’t be the end of the world and winning wouldn’t have been all that great either because we still have the rest our games to focus on.”
UCLA will likely take on Stanford once again in the MPSF finals as well as the NCAA’s, repeating last year’s showdown, but first the Bruins must finish off their regular season.
UCLA takes on No. 3 USC this weekend in yet another top-level matchup.
