UCLA Hosts Stanford in Top-Five Clash
April 20, 2016 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The second-ranked UCLA women's water polo team returns to action when they host defending NCAA champion and third-ranked Stanford on Saturday. The highly-anticipated conference clash gets underway at 11:30 am PDT at Spieker Aquatics Center.
The match will be televised live on Pac-12 Bay Area and via tape delay on Pac-12 Los Angeles at midnight.
UCLA (21-3, 4-1 MPSF) is fresh off a commanding win over fourth-ranked Arizona State. The Bruins dictated the pace of the game from the first sprint, outscoring the Sun Devils in each quarter. Redshirt junior Alexa Tielmann earned MPSF/Kap7 Player of the Week honors for her performance in the game, which included four goals on four shots in the Bruins' 16-6 win. Sophomore Devin Grab notched three goals and a trio of Bruins netted two apiece—Lizette Rozeboom, India Forster, and Kelsey O'Brien. Overall, UCLA was a well-oiled machine against ASU, assisting on nine of its 16 goals and converting five of seven power plays. Defensively, the squad tallied seven steals and five field blocks. In the cage, senior Alex Musselman stopped eight shots on goal and dished an assist to Grab.
The Bruins are led by the usual suspects in scoring, with Forster and Grab at the helm with 35 goals apiece. Barr and Rozeboom have also posted more than 30 goals on the season—the former with 34 and the latter with 32. The Bruins have assisted on 164 of 293 goals—Barr and Grab have dished out 22 apiece. Defensively, O'Brien leads the squad with 34 steals and nine blocks. Barr and Grab are close behind with 29 steals and 26 steals, respectively. Charlotte Pratt leads the team in field blocks with 12.
Scouting the Cardinal
Last time out, top-ranked USC snapped Stanford's eight-game win streak. The 8-3 loss was the Cardinal's first regular-season league defeat since 2009. Stanford (19-3, 4-1 MPSF) had won a conference-record 43 consecutive MPSF contests. Kat Klass, Jordan Raney, and Anna Yelizarova tallied a goal apiece for Stanford, which was unable to convert its man-up chances, going 0-for-7. In the cage, Julia Hermann stopped seven shots.
Jamie Neushul leads the squad in scoring with 39 goals on the season. The junior is fourth in the MPSF in scoring, averaging 1.77 goals per game. Klass checks in at second on the team with 37 goals, while Gurpreet Sohi and Yelizarova have 31 and 28, respectively. In goal, Hermann has tallied 174 saves in 82 quarters, ranking sixth in the MPSF in saves per game (8.49). She has allowed 114 goals for a goals-against average of 5.56.
Stanford has suffered three losses this season, two at the hands of top-ranked USC. In their first meeting, the Trojans edged the Cardinal, 7-6. Back in February, Stanford dropped a 5-2 decision to its Bay Area foe Cal.
UCLA is 31-39 all-time against Stanford. In their last meeting, the Bruins fell to the Cardinal, 7-6, in the NCAA Tournament title match. Stanford snapped a 6-6 tie as Kiley Neushul scored on a five-meter penalty shot with 11 seconds to play in regulation.
Saturday's contest looks to be fairly evenly matched. The squads are tied for second in the MPSF. Stanford is the second-ranked team offense in the conference, averaging 12.41 goals per game, while UCLA ranks third with a 12.21 average. Swapping spots defensively, UCLA ranks second in the MPSF and Stanford is third. The Bruins allow 5.17 goals per game while the Cardinal allow 5.36.
For live updates during Friday's game, follow UCLA women's water polo on Twitter.