Men’s water polo to shoot for bronze in 2015 World University Games

They knew there would be predators in the water before they even leaned over the edge of the pool in the Yeomju Indoor Aquatics Center to take a peek.

Standing on the side of the pool dressed in gray robes with “USA” stitched on the chest, the UCLA men’s water polo team eyed the perfectly still water, the silent crowd and motionless pool deck – aware that it would all transform into a tumultuous international battlefield in mere moments.

After the initial plunge into the highly competitive and unforgiving waters, the national champions built a 5-2 record in the 2015 World University Games, but faltered against Hungary in the semifinals – losing its chance to rise from 2014 national champions to 2015 world champions.

The United States’ loss pits the team against Serbia for a chance at bronze on July 14. If the Americans leave South Korea with a win in their final match, it will be the first time a U.S. team has won a medal at the World University Games in men’s water polo since 1993.

Here’s a game-by-game breakdown of their tournament matches so far:

USA vs. Japan: July 2

The U.S. started preliminary Group B competition with a scare – a 13-12 nail-biter victory over Japan characterized by seesaw scoring.

Though the United States was first to tally a point with a two-meter shot from redshirt sophomore center Matt Farmer, Japan bounced back with a distance shot and two power-play conversions. Before the first quarter buzzer was able to seal the United States’ early two point deficit, junior attacker Jack Fellner put away a shot with help from junior attacker Ryder Roberts.

At the start of the second quarter, Farmer wasted no time in scoring his second goal of the game to tie the score at three.

With two seconds left in the half, team USA drew another exclusion and junior defender Chancellor Ramirez took advantage of Japan’s lacking defense, bolstering the United States to a 6-5 lead.

The third quarter was again dominated by back and forth action. Though the United States was able to push its lead to two after redshirt sophomore attacker Maxwell Irving’s bar down goal, but Japan marched down the pool on the counter-attack to narrow the gap. Roberts came out of an assisting role to score his first goal of the game off a spin, regaining team USA’s two-point lead.

With the game eventually crystalizing into an 11-11 tie in the fourth quarter, coach Adam Wright made his first goalie swap and substituted redshirt sophomore Alek Ruzic for incoming freshman Alex Wolf.

Roberts converted the only penalty shot of the game, bolstering the USA with 2:07 remaining. Fellner’s fourth goal was ultimately the game winner, as he completed one of three USA hat tricks.

USA vs. Turkey: July 4

With its feet already wet in the competition, the U.S. advanced to 2-0 after a 12-8 win over Turkey on the Fourth of July.

Turkey took a 1-0 lead after an early United States exclusion. Team USA answered after a connection was made between Ramirez and Fellner, who saw an opening in the cage. The U.S. entered into the the second quarter tied at 3-3.

The beginning of the second period was a cold war, with strong defensive showings on both sides of the ball. Senior defender Anthony Daboub finally spurred offensive action after a counterattack with under four minutes left. Roberts sealed his second tournament hat trick with 1:26 remaining to give the United States a 5-3 lead.

The start to the second half was completely dominated by the United States. The lead rose to 10-6 – Irving started and closed the quarter with goals, Roberts tallied his fourth of the day and Daboub again converted on a counter-attack.

Turkey dominated in creating 6-on-5 opportunities, finishing 6-for-11. Eleven of the United States’ goals were in 6-on-6 situations, as the United States converted only one power play out of three opportunities.

USA vs. Russia: July 6

Team USA’s winning streak was halted after a 9-6 loss to Russia. Both the United States and Russia headed into the matchup unbeaten in Group B play.

Russia opened up the first period with two goals, the first from 5 meters and the second from distance. The United States responded with two successful power play conversions by Irving and Daboub to tie the game.

Roberts took care of scoring in the second quarter for the United States, finding the back of the cage twice, but the second quarter ended much like the first, with both teams tied at four.

Although the U.S outscored Russia 2-1 in the third quarter and started the fourth quarter sprint with a one-point lead, the fourth quarter was completely dominated by Russia, who scored four goals and prevented the U.S from netting a single goal.

USA vs. Serbia: July 8

Desperate to regain its footing and remain in contention for the quarterfinals, the U.S. headed into the Serbian matchup revamped. In what turned out to be a fight to the final seconds, the United States tacked another win on their record with a 7-6 victory over Serbia.

The U.S. formed a 2-1 lead in the first quarter before an eight-minute scoring drought ensued and demanded highly alert defenses from both teams.

Roberts and Fellner scored two goals to start the third quarter, but Serbia answered with four goals of its own to steal the lead from the United States and head into the fourth quarter with a 6-5 advantage.

A United States penalty shot at the start of the fourth tied the match at six apiece. With all defensive cylinders firing throughout the fourth, the United States called a timeout around the one-minute mark.

Seconds later, a Serbian steal brought the ball into USA territory. The attack was stopped, allowing Roberts to seal the game with his third goal – a bullet from long distance that found the back of the cage with nine seconds remaining.

USA vs. China: July 10

The United States continued its win streak and punched a ticket to the quarterfinal after a 12-8 takedown of China.

After taking a 3-2 lead in the first quarter, eight minutes of defense ensued in the second quarter with neither team putting shots away. The quarter tested both goalies’ resilience in the cage – Wolf was credited with five saves that quarter, while China had two.

Whatever inaccuracy or lack of offense the United States had during the second quarter flip-flopped in the third with Team USA finding the back of the cage six times.

China quickly scored two exclusion goals, tying the game. Energy came back to the U.S. in multiplied force, aiding the U.S to three consecutive goals and an 8-5 lead.

With the score at 9-6 heading into the fourth quarter, rising redshirt freshman attacker Austin Rone scored his first goal and initiated a back-and-forth scoring trend that continued until the final buzzer solidified the 12-8 final score.

USA vs. France: Quarterfinal – July 11

After trumping China and slingshotting its way to the quarterfinals, the United States knocked down another threat on the quest for gold, defeating France 11-9.

Roberts tallied the first two points of the game and the United States held a two-point advantage heading into the second quarter. Fellner hit the target first in the second quarter, expanding the lead to three. Yet, as was the trend throughout the tournament for the United States, power seemed to shift into the opponents’ hands just as a comfortable lead was created.

France answered with two consecutive goals, compressing the United States’ point advantage to a single goal.

Following the third-quarter sprint, strong defense on both sides prevented any scoring until the 4:45 mark, when Ramirez attacked on 6-on-5. The quarter finally ended with the U.S. ahead, 8-6, after junior center Alec Zwaneveld put a shot away.

With only 6:25 remaining in the match, France completed two scoring drives, tying the game and dwindling the clock. However, with 1:41 remaining, France received a red card after a player elbowed Fellner, who rebounded to score an exclusion goal. Farmer secured the victory with a goal at the 15-second mark.

The United States finished with its best 6-on-5 performance of the tournament, converting six of seven opportunities.

USA vs. Hungary: Semifinal – July 12

The United States lost to defending World University Games champion Hungary 4-3. The combined total of seven goals was the lowest for the entire tournament.

Team USA was the first on the board after a 2-meter shot by Zwaneveld in the opening minute. Defense controlled the remainder of the quarter until Hungary struck to tie the game with 53 seconds left.

Defense dominated again in the second quarter until Irving connected with Roberts during a United States 6-on-5. Hungary immediately answered in its next possession to tie the game at 2-2 heading into halftime.

United States again took the lead after an exclusion goal at 5:59 by Ramirez and remained rigid on defense until the final 12 seconds when Hungary closed out the quarter with a tying shot.

The game remained tied as each team batted away shots and struggled to put them away for the majority of the fourth quarter. The deciding goal for Hungary came at the 1:49 mark.

Team standouts

Heading into the final game, Wolf has tallied a total of 57 saves, coming in at sixth for all goalkeepers. Roberts is tied for sixth in the tournament with 18 goals and Fellner is tied for ninth with 16.

Compiled by Annie Bardet, Bruin Sports reporter.