Men’s water polo defeats No. 3 Pacific, marking 3rd straight win

The Bruins recorded their third straight win against a top-10 opponent.

No. 2 UCLA men’s water polo (12-1) defeated No. 3 University of Pacific (11-3) on Friday at Spieker Aquatics Center by a score of 14-10, finishing its six-game streak against top-10 teams with a 5-1 record.

“Tonight was (redshirt senior goalkeeper Alex Wolf’s) best game to this point in the year,” said coach Adam Wright. “We’re going to make mistakes, but it’s nice to have a goalie back there that’s locked in. He was locked in tonight, and when he does that, he’s a top goalie in the country.”

While Pacific’s offense came out firing with the first five shots of the game, the Bruin defense prevented the Tigers from converting on their shot opportunities. Wolf’s four saves and a defensive block by junior utility Felix Brozyna-Vilim kept the score at 0-0. Wolf’s 12-save effort against Pacific marked his third straight game with double-digit saves.

After its win over Pacific, UCLA has defeated its opponents by a margin of four goals in three straight matches. The Bruins averaged about the same margin of victory in their previous six wins against top-20 opponents.

UCLA tallied six fewer shots than Pacific, but won the shooting percentage battle with the Tigers, .500 to .294. Junior attacker Nicolas Saveljic said the team’s preparation gave its offense an effective point of attack against Pacific’s pressing defense.

“We were trying to move the ball as much as possible to break (Pacific’s) high-man press,” Saveljic said. “I think that worked tonight, and benefited us in our court. … We knew exactly what they were going to do.”

Besides Brozyna-Vilim sharing the Bruins’ scoring lead against No. 5 UC Santa Barbara (15-4) and Pacific, three different players have led or co-led UCLA in scoring over its three-game win streak. Brozyna-Vilim shared the lead with sophomore attacker Jake Cavano on Friday, with each player scoring four goals for the Bruins.

Cavano said he attributed his share of the scoring lead to the team’s selfless style of play.

“Before the game, I told the guys, ‘There are no stars at UCLA, all of us have each other’s backs,’” Cavano said. “The reason why (the Pacific defenders) were off me was because there was (another Bruin) in the middle or a good cross-pass.”

Cavano’s goals came early, as he tallied his third hat trick of the season in the second minute of the second period. Cavano – who scored his final goal of the night less than a minute later to put the Bruins up 6-3 – accounted for four of the Bruins’ six goals through the first 11 minutes of the game.

On the Bruins’ defensive front, Saveljic secured a steal on Pacific’s first possession. Wright said Saveljic – whose family surprised him with their arrival prior to the match against Pacific – appeared different in his performance against the Tigers.

“It’s tough to be living so far away, I’m sure he’s excited and was surprised,” Wright said. “Tonight he was much more focused.”

Saveljic, a native of Kotor, Montenegro, had his family in attendance Friday, with his mother and sister watching him in-person for the first time in his collegiate career. Saveljic said their familiar faces aided his success as he shared the team lead in assists with three, along with one goal scored for UCLA.

“It was my mom and my sister’s first time being in the U.S.,” Saveljic said. “They surprised me a couple of days ago, I never even really dreamed of that. It was nice, because it brought the flashbacks of my mom and my sister watching me every single game back in Europe for like five, six, seven years.”

UCLA will begin a double-header Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center facing another top-20 opponent as it takes on No. 20 California Baptist University at 3 p.m. followed by Whittier at 5 p.m.