UCLA
Occidental
No. 2 UCLA Blasts Occidental, 23-2
September 14, 2014 | Men's Water Polo
LA VERNE, Calif. -- The No. 2 UCLA men's water polo team completed a busy week of seven games (three full-length exhibition games) to improve to 8-0 on the year, with a 23-2 win over Occidental on Sunday afternoon at La Verne in the Inland Empire Classic.
The Bruins, which outscored its four opponents in regulation games this week, 81-13, were led in scoring by Christopher Meinhold, who had a career-hight five goals against the Tigers.
UCLA dominated from the start, opening the game with a 6-0 lead at the end of the first period and scoring the first 13 goals of the game. Sophomore Alec Zwaneveld got things going with a goal at two meters, followed by a penalty goal from freshman Alex Roelse. Meinhold then scored his first from the front court before Roelse completed a hat trick with a power play score and a counter attack strike. Redshirt freshman Jesse Camou added an exclusion goal to end the first period scoring..
The Bruins won the second period, 7-1, to build a 13-1 lead by halftime. Redshirt freshman Danny Marshall picked up back-to-back scores (front court, counter attack) and then another redshirt freshman, Jack Grover, made it 9-0 with a counter attack strike. Meinhold made it 10-0 with a counter attack goal, followed by Camou completing a hat trick (front court, counter attack). Redshirt freshman James Robinson then scored from the front court as UCLA led 13-0. But just before the buzzer, Occidental got a goal from long distance to end the second period scoring at 13-1.
UCLA won the third period 6-1 giving up another goal from distance. Sophomore Patrick Woepse completed a hat trick in the third with two goals from set and another on a 6-on-5 opportunity. Meinhold also completed a hat trick in the third period with a counter attack score. Redshirt freshman Matt Farmer got in on the scoring with a power play goal before Marshall completed his hat trick with a goal from the front court to give the Bruins a 19-2 lead heading into the final period.
The Bruins pitched a shutout in the fourth while picking up four more goals to provide the 23-1 final score. Zwaneveld scored his second of the game with an exclusion goal and then Meinhold netted a counter attack strike to make it 21-1. Camou then scored his fourth of the game (front court), followed by Meinhold's fifth score, also from the front court, to end the scoring.
The Bruins were 5-for-6 on power plays while the Tigers were 0-for-3. UCLA was 1-for-1 on penalty shots.
Senior Stephen White started the game and played the entire contest in goal for UCLA, registering a career-high 11 saves while recording three steals and two assists.
Occidental vs. No. 2 UCLA
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| Occidental | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| No. 2 UCLA | 6 | 7 | 6 | 4 | 23 |
UCLA Goals: Christopher Meinhold 5, Jesse Camou 4, Alex Roelse 3, Danny Marshall 3, Patrick Woepse 3, Alec Zwaneveld 2, Matt Farmer, James Robinson, Jack Grover
UCLA Saves: Stephen White 11
Players Mentioned
