The UCLA men’s water polo team hops back in the pool twice today as they complete play in the USC Round Robin with a doubleheader. The good news for Bruin fans is that neither game should compete against the Super Bowl for your attention. In the Bruins’ first game today, they face Stanford at 10 am PT. Later, they face Southern Cal in the nitecap with an opening sprint that is set for 7 pm PT. So, you can tune in to the live stream just as the Super Bowl is ending.

Last Time Out

Yesterday afternoon, the Bruins met the UC Berkeley Golden Bears for the third time this season and they lost to the Bears for the second time. But, like the first meeting between these teams, this game went to overtime.

The Bruins took the lead early in this one. Tommy Gruwell got UCLA on the board with a goal just 1:23 into the game and Andy Rodgers scored the only other goal for either team in the first quarter with 2:23 left in the period.

UC Berkeley came storming back in the second quarter with a pair of consecutive goals to tie the game up at 2-2. With 2:38 to go in the half, Nicolas Saveljic scored his first goal of the game, but the Bears responded just 18 seconds later. Apparently, Saveljic didn’t like that very much as he broke the tie again with 1:53 to go and UCLA led 4-3 at the half.

After the break, Berkeley scored first less than a minute into the second half and neither team scored again until Mo Kenney put the Bruins back in front on a penalty shot with 4:33 to go. The Bears’ Jack Deeley’s second goal of the game tied the game again, making it 5-5. Jake Cavano put the Bruins ahead again with 2:33 left on a power play goal but Nikolaos Papanikolaou tied it back up 6-6 and the teams headed into the fourth quarter that way.

The fourth quarter was a bit of a surprise as it was very low scoring with each team only able to score one goal. UCLA’s goal put them ahead 7-6 when Bailey Jarvis scored 59 seconds into the frame. The final goal of regulation came with 5:34 to go when Papanikolaou scored his second goal of the game for the Bears.

The Bruins were not able to do much in overtime. UC Berkeley scored first on a penalty shot to take their first lead of the game, 8-7, but Jake Cavano managed to tie it 24 seconds later. With 14 seconds left in the first OT, Nikos Delagrammatikas put the Bears ahead for good as UCLA was not able to score in the rest of the first overtime or the entire second overtime, giving UC Berkeley an 11-7 victory.

Today’s Games

The Bruins take on #1 Stanford at 10 am PT. The Cardinal opened their season yesterday with a 14-8 win over Southern Cal. Later, the Bruins will face Southern Cal for the third time this season. In addition to losing to the Cardinal, the Trojans also lost to UC Berkeley yesterday, 11-8. Here’s hoping the Bruins are able to deliver a little payback for last night’s loss in basketball.

#2 UCLA Men’s Water Polo (3-3)

Where: Uytengsu Aquatics Complex, Los Angeles, CA
Live TV/Audio: None

Opponent #1: #1 Stanford Cardinal (1-0)
Game Time: 10:00 am PT, Sunday, February 7, 2021
Live Stream: Pac-12.com
Live Stats: TheFosh.net

Opponent #2:  #2 Southern Cal Trojans (2-4)
Game Time: 7:00 pm PT, Sunday, February 7, 2021
Live Stream: Pac-12.com
Live Stats: TheFosh.net

Official Preview

Go Bruins!!!

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