For a team accustomed to large leads, Saturday’s MPSF semifinal was anything but routine.

No. 1 seed UCLA women’s water polo (19-4, 6-1 MPSF) hosted No. 4 seed California (18-5, 3-4) on Saturday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Center, where UCLA narrowly beat the Golden Bears in a 15-14 victory to secure a spot in the MPSF final match Sunday.

Last year, the Bruins defeated the Golden Bears in both the MPSF and NCAA championship matches, making the two teams far from strangers in this ongoing rivalry.

The Golden Bears found an early lead in the semifinal match, marking their territory in the first five minutes – but it was a lead they wouldn’t hold for long. 

Sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele opened the first quarter with a steal outside of the goalpost and a penalty shot save, giving UCLA a much-needed push with one minute left to the quarter and the score locked at 3-2 in favor of the hosts.

“Offensively, they (Cal) were on the same page the whole game,” said assistant coach Brooke Maxson. “They were finding open pockets and open windows and where we had miscommunications on defense, and they really executed in that situation. Their centers played really well as well. We don’t like to give up that many center goals, and we did.”

With the Bruins used to being down in the first quarter – a consistent trend across their regular season – and fighting their way from behind this time around, it was going to be a game of inches, not miles, across the second half.

“For us to give up 14 goals – that’s not who we want to be,” Maxson said. “Sometimes we were leading before we had the ball, or we thought we had to steal. A lot of miscommunications – so that’s definitely something that we need to tighten up a bit.”

The Golden Bears scored three consecutive points, but a certain Brazilian was the Bruins’ saving grace toward the end of the second quarter.

A Brazilian flag flew above the Spieker Aquatics Center crowd as junior center Bia Mantellato scored three of the Bruins’ five goals up to that point. With one minute left, the lead was reduced to one, thanks to goals from senior attacker Molly Renner and junior utility Anna Pearson. 

“Our attack is a consequence of our good teammates, and we’re working for each other,” Mantellato said. “When I’m in center, I’m working for my teammates, getting players to drop. And I always want the ball and challenge for it, but it’s always for my team.”

Junior attacker Taylor Smith scored the equalizer to tie the game at 8-8. With two seconds remaining, Smith found the back of the net once more in a comeback to give the Bruins a 9-8 lead as they closed out the first half.

For a team accustomed to settling into its offensive rhythm in the second half, that sentiment rang true as the team began to produce more goals toward the end of the third quarter.

But compared to its regular season goals, the team’s normal sentiment ran short.

With two minutes left of play in the match, the pressure was on, with no team gaining more than a two-point lead. But the fight was far from over.

With 56 seconds on the clock and the score locked at 15-14 in favor of the hosts, the Bruins knew they needed to push through for a chance at an MPSF final appearance. 

The Bruins were still leading in terms of their defensive prowess, with 18 saves – almost half of the Golden Bears’ – from Steele that tied her season high against Fresno State. They were shooting 48.4% – almost 10% more than their foes – but all that didn’t seem to matter with 26 seconds and a 1-point difference. 

“She’s (Steele) amazing,” Smith said. “She amazes me every single game. Her presence on the goal is amazing, and her communication is great. It’s really great to have a teammate like her – someone that we know has our backs and the goal.”

A steal by Smith might have just been the only way the Bruins defeated the Golden Bears in what could only be categorized as a game of inches, as the Bruins move on to the finals for the second consecutive year.

“It was not just me,” Smith said. “​​It was my teammates. The person putting pressure on the pass is why I was able to come back and apply it. The center defender walked in making sure it didn’t go to her player. So it was a team suit.”