UCLA Men's Water Polo Seeks National Championship #122 Today

The Bruins will look to de-throne the two-time champion UC Berkeley Golden Bears this afternoon.

Head coach Adam Wright and the Bruins will look to capture UCLA’s 122nd NCAA title this afternoon when they face the two-time defending champs. (Photo Credit: Don Liebig/uclabruins.com)

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UCLA came into the the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Tournament as the top seed this year after winning their first 23 games of the season. The Bruins weren’t defeated until they faced Southern Cal in the MPSF Tournament. They also lost the MPSF Third Place game to Stanford in double overtime.

But the Bruins returned to their winning ways in the first round of the NCAA Tournament by defeating Biola on Friday, 20-7. That win sent top-seeded UCLA into a National Semifinal matchup against sixth-seeded Princeton yesterday.

The 17-13 final score against Princeton looks like a football score. In fact, given the way the Bruin football team played in November, it might have been the score if UCLA faced the Tigers on the gridiron instead of in the pool.

Last Time Out

Princeton drew first blood with 7:34 to go in the first quarter when Vladan Mitrovic scored on a Tiger power play. With 6:15 to go, Jack Larsen tied it up for the Bruins, but Princeton re-took the lead with 4:32 left. Just under a minute later, the Tigers picked up another goal to go up 3-1.

The rest of the quarter belonged to UCLA. Wade Sherlock closed the gap to one with 3:06 to go, and 42 seconds later, he tied it up. Rafael Real Vergara gave the Bruins their first lead with just two ticks left on the clock and UCLA led 4-3 after one.

Sherlock completed his hat trick when he scored the first goal of the second quarter, but Princeton narrowed the gap back to one with 4:25 left in the half. Ben Liechty scored to increase UCLA’s lead back to two, 6-4, with 3:38 to go. Momentum swung the Tigers’ way as the half wound down as Princeton scored four of the next five goals. UCLA’s only goal in the remainder of the half came from Larsen with under a minute to go. But the Tigers’ barrage still left the Bruins trailing 8-7 at the half.

Makoto Kenney tied the game back up for the Bruins with the first goal of the second half. Gray Carson and Giorgio Alessandria made it three in a row for UCLA to start the half and put them up 10-8. Following another Princeton goal, Larsen finished his hat trick on a power play goal with 1:10 left in the third. Princeton scored the final goal of the quarter to make it 11-10 after three.

The Tigers tied it up with the first goal of the fourth quarter, but UCLA followed with three consecutive goals. The first came from Real Vergara on a power play. Alessandria followed with his second, but it was Larsen’s fourth of the day that proved to be the game winner. The Tigers finally responded with 2:52 left to make it 14-12 and that was as close as they would get. Alessandria became the third Bruin to pick up a hat trick and Frederico Jucá Carsalade put UCLA up by four, 16-12, with 45 seconds to go. Princeton’s final goal came with 31 seconds left while Garrett Griggs got one more for the Bruins 26 seconds later to give UCLA a 17-13 final score.

UC Berkeley Golden Bears

The Bears come into today’s Championship Game as the two-time defending champs. But three of Berkeley’s five losses this season have come at the hands of the Bruins. UCLA has beaten them in Westwood by four, in Berkeley by three and at Southern Cal’s Uytengsu Aquatics Center by three, which is where today’s title game will be played.

Outlook

Having beaten them by an average of three points in three contests, the Bruins should probably be considered a three-point favorite heading into this afternoon’s title match.

But I’m going to give the Bears some credit and predict a 10-8 final with UCLA adding an insurance goal in the final minute.

NCAA Men’s Water Polo National Championship Game

Opponents: #1 UCLA Bruins (26-2) vs. #2 UC Berkeley Golden Bears (23-5)
Game Time: 3:00 pm PT, Sunday, December 3, 2023
Where: Uytengsu Aquatics Center, Los Angeles, CA
Live TV/Audio: ESPNU
Live Stream: NCAA.com
Live Stats: TheFosh.net

NCAA Tournament Central

Go Bruins!!!

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