No. 2 UCLA women’s water polo powers past No. 3 Stanford in overtime
Sophomore attacker Devin Grab secured UCLA’s final conference win Saturday. (Aubrey Yeo/Daily Bruin senior staff)
By Kelsey Angus
April 23, 2016 4:28 p.m.
Just 30 seconds into UCLA women’s water polo’s first sudden-death overtime of the season, sophomore attacker Devin Grab was given the opportunity to secure the win.
Without hesitation, Grab approached the 5-meter line and powered the ball just past Stanford’s Julia Hermann.
“I wasn’t going to do anything fancy, wasn’t going to do anything new – just shoot the ball like I know that I can do,” Grab said.
Having a penalty shot decide a game between No. 2 UCLA (22-3, 5-1 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) and No. 3 Stanford (19-4, 4-2 MPSF) was nothing new. The Cardinal won last year’s NCAA championship off a penalty shot with 11 seconds left in regulation, but this time the Bruins were able to come out on top.
“Going off of last year, we just really wanted to prove to them that we really are a good team,” said junior defender Aubrie Monahan. “That was the first time we’d beat them in conference play since 2008 so that was a big deal for us.”
Monahan scored the first goal of the game off a power play, helping UCLA cruise to an early 3-0 lead. Although the Bruins were the first to make it on the board, Stanford found new life in the second quarter and left the two teams tied 3-3 at the half.
Throughout the second half, neither team led by more than one goal. With just over three minutes remaining, the teams were once again tied 6-6 and the Bruins had to fight to force overtime.
“I think just defensively – knowing that we had to get a stop – we were treating it like a life-or-death situation because we did not want to lose the game,” Grab said.
On the final possession of regulation, it seemed as though Stanford was finally going to break through UCLA’s defense, but senior goalie Alex Musselman was able to reach high and stop a lob shot from entering the goal.
“Alex was hustling out there. She wants to win, she’s a very competitive person, and she worked very hard,” said coach Brandon Brooks. “She came up with some big saves all around.”
Musselman, who had eight saves on the day, was crucial not only at the end of the game but also in the second and third quarters, when she was able to make pivotal saves to limit Stanford’s scoring.
Along with strong individual performances, among them Grab’s four goals, this match highlighted the team’s overall strengths and ability to bounce back.
“When we would give up a goal we were able to let that go and move onto the next play, which was big,” Brooks said. “That’s something that I’m very proud of – we never really got down on ourselves.”
With the win, the Bruins clinched the No. 2 seed for next weekend’s MPSF tournament, and will look to carry on this momentum into the postseason.
“I thought it was a real coming-of-age game. It was our first overtime, our first sudden death this whole year,” Brooks said. “It feels great to just stop and let myself enjoy it for a second here. It’s great to see them step up when we need it and get a win and make some shots.”
