UCLA women’s water polo falls to USC in final of Triton Invitational
Sophomore attacker Emma Lineback looks towards the goal with the ball in her hand. Lineback reached six consecutive hat tricks over the weekend, tying a UCLA record. (Shane Yu/Daily Bruin)
Women's Water Polo
| No. 3 UCLA | 21 |
| No. 24 Cal State Northridge | 3 |
| No. 3 UCLA | 15 |
| No. 18 UC San Diego | 3 |
| No. 3 UCLA | 12 |
| No. 5 Hawai'i | 8 |
| No. 3 UCLA | 8 |
| No. 2 USC | 10 |
By Felicia Keller
Feb. 6, 2023 5:20 p.m.
This post was updated Feb. 7 at 9:22 p.m.
The Bruins dropped their first game of the season to their rivals despite a record-tying weekend for one player.
No. 3 UCLA women’s water polo (9-1, 1-0 MPSF) fell to No. 2 USC (8-0) on Sunday afternoon 10-8 in overtime of the final of the Triton Invitational in San Diego. To make it to the final at Canyonview Aquatic Center, UCLA beat No. 24 Cal State Northridge (3-3), No. 18 UC San Diego (4-8) and No. 5 Hawai’i (8-1) on Friday and Saturday.
“There were so many positives,” coach Adam Wright said. “We put ourselves in a good position throughout the game, but there’s going to be a lot of learning points.”
The Bruins had a strong start to the weekend with three victories and led the Trojans at halftime, but failed to close out Sunday’s finale.
Wright said the team pressed well in the first half against USC, leading 5-3, but the game turned around in the second half.
While the team’s nine-game winning streak came to an end against USC, sophomore attacker Emma Lineback scored her sixth consecutive hat trick against Hawai’i on Saturday, tying a school record.
Lineback is now tied with former attacker Tanya Gandy, who set the record in 2009 and was named Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Division I Player of the Year and NCAA Tournament Most Valuable Player that season.
“It’s a huge honor,” Lineback said. “Tanya Gandy is somebody that paved the way for the rest of us in the sport. And it’s just very humbling. Gave me a lot of gratitude to be on that list with her.”
Lineback led the way in the scoring department against USC alongside graduate student attacker Val Ayala, with both players scoring two goals in the contest.
Lineback said she believes part of the reason for the team’s second-half and overtime struggles was a drop in team energy.
“Going into that second half, we had them where we wanted them,” Lineback said. “Unfortunately, we lost the energy battle in that second half and let them dictate how we played, whereas if we would have kept the energy up from the first half, I think it could have been a different story.”
Lineback said the Bruins know they need to focus on their press defense, as well as responding to other teams’ pressing.
Despite the tough loss to their rivals, freshman utility Anna Pearson, who scored four goals against Hawai’i, said the Bruins were trying to keep spirits high on the bus ride home.
“We’re all just trying to keep our heads up,” Pearson said. “Still pretty early in the season. We’re going to match up with them again, so we’re just looking forward to the next time we play them.”
The Bruins have been racking up the goals this season, as they have now recorded 19 hat tricks in their 10 games. UCLA outscored its opponents 56-24 in its four games over the weekend.
Wright seconded Pearson’s message, adding that the team can take a lot from this weekend.
“There were so many positives,” Wright said. “There are so many things that we can learn and grow from. You can learn a lot more from a loss, and we’re going to take advantage of that.”
UCLA will look to take some of that learning and put it toward Saturday’s game against No. 9 UC Irvine.
