Defender Anthony Daboub displays dependability on offense, defense

The name Anthony Daboub has become synonymous with reliability.

Halfway through the second period in Saturday’s matchup against Stanford, a breakaway on defense presented a three-on-two opportunity for the Bruins on the other end of the pool.

After a teammate’s lob hit the crossbar and landed a foot outside the goal, the senior defender quickly pushed the ball into the cage before Stanford’s goalie or the two Cardinal defenders at 2-meters could stop him from cleaning up the missed shot.

Daboub didn’t celebrate the last-second counter goal, nor did he delay in swimming back for an immediate transition to defense.

“He’s great in all aspects of the game, and one of the best defenders there is,” said freshman goalie Alex Wolf. “He doesn’t lead as much vocally, but with what he’s doing he helps influence everyone else. … He’s able to make up for other people’s mistakes.”

Daboub is also able to force mistakes from his opponents, drawing a team-leading 13 offensive fouls so far this season.

Additionally, Daboub has recorded 10 steals and is tied for third on the team with five field blocks. His ability to remain aggressive without getting into foul trouble has added to his reliability factor – the defender has only be excluded seven times in 16 games.

Daboub has also displayed his best offensive efforts against top competition in close matches, proving a reliable shooter in high-pressure final minutes.

When facing crosstown rival No. 2 USC in the championship game of the Kap7 SoCal Invitational, Daboub registered a career-high four goals before the fourth period even started. Against the No. 4 Cardinal this past weekend, he scored a hat trick.

“As a goalie, I know his shots are very hard to block,” Wolf said.

In the first 14 games of the season, Daboub only scored a total of seven goals. As of late, he has become a go-to scorer for the Bruins, recording at least one goal in each of his last five matches and tallying a total of 12 in that span.

Seamless connections with teammates have also made Daboub a dependable passer on the assist, but his ability to take command of the pool when a shot opportunity presents itself has set him apart as a lethal shooter – especially from outside the 5-meter line.

While the Bruins have been able to power shots into the cage when mismatched at 2-meters, the team has found unique success in scoring from the perimeter – thanks to the long-range accuracy of Daboub.

“When we really attack the goal in the right manner and move the ball from player to player in the right manner while still making the goalie think that (we) are going to be shooting the ball, we’re really successful,” said coach Adam Wright.

Daboub has illustrated what Wright asks of his offense when under high pressure. In the final four minutes of the Stanford matchup on Saturday, Daboub faked four times while sliding left to open up a lane, putting himself in an easy position to extend the Bruins’ lead off a cross pass.

In a sport that is characteristically fast-paced, Daboub doesn’t waste time in swimming back to defend at 2-meters after shooting on offense – a testament to his dependability in transition.

If he is fatigued from the back-and-forth action, it doesn’t show.

“Nobody even understands just how tired he is before he gets to offense,” Wright said. “He’s the guy defending (the opponent’s) center. It’s really impressive, what he’s been doing on both sides of the pool.”

UCLA’s goalies can trust that the mentally energized 2-meter defender will return back to set before an opposing shooter has a one-on-nobody chance – even if he has just scored on the opposite side of the pool.

“He makes my life a lot easier,” said junior goalie Garrett Danner. “I don’t have to worry about as much knowing that he’s going to handle it and have everything on lockdown.”