Turning point turns wrong way for polo

By Colin Yuhl
Daily Bruin Contributor
[email protected]

It’s a common sports cliché: the “turning
point,” that one defining moment that makes the difference
between winning and losing. It’s a cliché, but
nonetheless it seems to ring true in every game. In the NCAA title
match between Stanford and UCLA, the “turning point”
was clear.

It happened in the third quarter, with the Bruins trailing 4-2.
They were down, but not out. The faces of the players were still
hopeful, confident even. They could still pull out a victory and
achieve the three-peat. Robin Beauregard, a junior center defender,
threw a bullet towards the goal.

The ball hit the top of the goal post, and fell just beyond the
fingertips of Stanford goalie Jackie Frank. But then the ball just
kind of spun around, right on the line, mere centimeters away from
a goal.

UCLA players weren’t sure what was going on. It looked
like a goal, but no signal had been given. Stanford recognized this
and quickly advanced the ball, while most of the Bruins were still
looking around on the offensive end. Stanford scored easily,
pushing the score to 5-2.

Instead of trailing by a single goal going into the fourth
quarter, UCLA now faced a three-goal deficit against one of the
best defensive teams in the nation.

“That was a backbreaker, definitely,” Bruin head
coach Adam Krikorian said. “It could have been a real turning
point for us.”

Yes, it’s a cliché. Still true.

As soon as the Cardinal scored to open the fourth period and
push the lead to 6-2, whatever hope the players still had of
winning the game had basically vanished.

The players anxiously looked at the clock, realizing that their
season was ticking away. And this time, there would be no national
championship to celebrate.

“Sometimes the ball just doesn’t bounce your way,
and today it certainly didn’t,” Beauregard said.

Again, cliché. But still true.

Credit, though, is certainly due to the Bruins, who despite not
having any real possibility of winning, continued to play
aggressively and intensely.

Utilizing a press defense, the Bruins staged a ferocious rally
and came within two goals late in the game. But ultimately, like
Beauregard’s third period shot, they fell just short.

On a day that the Bruins didn’t get any breaks from
Stanford (or the officiating crew), they had to look within
themselves to find enough to win. UCLA had their opportunities, but
fate, it seemed, had other ideas.

An inch more in the third period, and the whole game is changed.
Maybe if that shot goes in, the Bruins march on to victory.
Maybe.

The Bruins, despite being on the wrong end of the “turning
point,” were very un-cliché in defeat.

“We showed a lot of class, and a lot of heart,”
sophomore center Natalie Golda said. “We played like
champions.”