Goalie Garrett Danner continues historic rise with men’s water polo

A large, red USC flag was draped lifeless over the ledge of Spieker Aquatics Center’s upper seating as the fourth period ticked away, held by two pairs of hands that had lost the motivation to wave it.

It wasn’t the rain or wind chill that drained the enthusiasm from Trojan fans and player alike over the course of Sunday’s conference matchup. It wasn’t physical exhaustion, or a lack of school pride.

It was the 19 promising shots on goal that couldn’t get past a sole obstacle – Garrett Danner.

When UCLA defeated USC 11-6 on Sunday for its fifth consecutive win over the crosstown rival, the junior goalie notched a career-high 19 saves and tied a previous career-high of seven steals. On Monday, he was named MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week – the only player in the league to be awarded the honor twice this season.

“He is, in my opinion, the best goalie in the nation. He comes to play every single game,” said senior defender Anthony Daboub. “He adds special aspects to the game that no other goalie can bring. He comes out and steals the ball a lot … He’s our main guy. When he’s on, we are really hard to beat.”

Although the Bruins have spent the 2015 season rewriting history books, Danner’s consistency in the cage is nothing new. During his freshman year, the Coto de Caza native made 29 starts for UCLA and was named the school’s first-ever MPSF Newcomer of the Year after his 262 saves broke the school’s single-season record.

Danner eclipsed his freshman debut with First Team All-American and First Team All-MPSF selections last season, inflating his career save total to 495.

The goalie’s ability to block shots from almost every angle and height isn’t the sole reason Danner finds himself in the national limelight. His unusual comfort in leaving the cage to serve as a last-second extra field player for the Bruins makes him a double-edged sword.

Danner led the the team in steals for both his freshman and sophomore seasons, tallying 60 in his first year and 59 in the next.

In the 2015 campaign, he’s only gotten better.

As the Bruins head into the playoffs this weekend, Danner’s current total of more than 50 steals will undoubtedly multiply and surpass last year’s total. He is also currently en route to outshine last season’s final save count. Danner travels to the MPSF tournament with 202 saves – at this point last season, he had 176.

This weekend, the goalie will likely surpass UCLA’s all-time saves record of 719, as he is just 22 saves away in only his third collegiate season.

Coach Adam Wright’s fine-tuned defense has flourished over the past couple seasons with the combination of talent in the pool and Danner’s increasing tunnel vision when the ball comes anywhere near the cage.

“I think our defense today was really, really good, starting with Garrett in the goal – he was incredible in there today for us,” Wright said after Sunday’s game. “Give credit to our defense too, they put him in a good situation, but … he saves us a lot.”

Danner is only able to fill postgame highlight reels with incredible saves if the five or six other Bruins in the pool do their job in slowing the opposition’s attack. UCLA has maintained the league’s overall top-ranked defense with all positions working in sync.

“It says a lot about our team’s character that we’re able to stick to our plan the whole time and limit … a high number of goals,” Danner said. “My defense allows me to see low-percentage shots, which is amazing … they take away part of the cage and I’m able to take away the other part.”

UCLA prevented USC from scoring for nearly 17 minutes on Sunday and, although the Trojans created 12 power plays, they could only convert two with Danner in the cage. When the Bruins found themselves down a field player, Danner’s urgency kept them at full strength as he blocked eight power play shots that managed to slip past defenders.

Yet even as he spent the entire game effectively fighting off Trojan attacks, three letters tied Danner emotionally to the opposition he was trying to outplay – JDW.

The Trojans played with it stitched on their caps, USC coach Jovan Vavic stood poolside with it printed on his jacket and Danner guarded the net with it permanently inked on his back.

Jon Walters, a standout for USC at 2 meters during his freshman year, died in January 2014 after complications brought on by mixing anxiety medication with alcohol.

Walters’ death devastated his biological family, his USC family and a player considered family at a rival school 14 miles away. That year, Danner mourned the loss of a friend he’d had for more than six years.

“Almost every weekend or every other weekend in high school we’d spend the whole weekend together,” Danner said. “It’s definitely a relationship I cherish — (the Walters) are one of my second families … That relationship will always be there my whole life.”

The two played for rival club teams, and though they had hopes of playing together in college, they ended up on opposite sides of the spectrum again.

While USC has put Walters’ life at the heart of each game they’ve played since his passing, Danner has, too. The fallen Trojan’s memory was alive Sunday on both ends of the pool – just as it was a year ago in the 2014 NCAA title game.

While most red-and-gold-clad fans left Spieker Aquatics Center with the pain of another conference loss, Danner’s career-high success was reason for a couple of Trojan fans in the stands to applaud.

“I guarantee, after this game, I’ll walk up those stairs over there and Jacque and Bill (Walters) will be waiting for me to give me a hug,” Danner said Sunday. “Obviously they want USC to win … But if we’re able to score more than them at the end of the game, they’re happy for me and the rest of the kids on our team. Last year, when we were able to beat them finally in the NCAA championship, they were some of the first people to congratulate me.”

To keep his school in the No. 1 spot, Danner had to secure two wins this season against the team “fighting on” for the same reason he is, even as Jon’s brother, sophomore utility James, suited up for the Trojans.

In the intense atmosphere of penalty shots, shouting, exclusions and final quarter timeout huddles that accompany rivalry matchups, Danner has played his best. The hidden emotions brought on by the prevalence of the letters JDW on the pool deck have motivated the Bruin goalie in both his success against USC, and consequently, in his rapid climb to the top of the NCAA.

Another national title isn’t out of the question for the Bruins with a perfect regular season under their belts and Danner at the helm.

The best part?

He’ll be back next season.