UCLA
Stanford (Semifinal)
Bruins Fall to Cardinal in NCAA Semis
May 15, 2016 | Women's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, Calif. – The Bruins' quest for the 2016 NCAA title was cut short on Saturday evening as the third-ranked UCLA women's water polo team fell to second-ranked Stanford in the NCAA semifinals. With the 7-4 loss, the Bruins will play for third place in Sunday's finals.
“First, I have to give praise to my girls for playing as hard as they could; they came with all their effort,” said UCLA head coach Brandon Brooks. “At the same time, Stanford deserved that win. I don't like saying it or admitting it, but my hat goes off to Stanford. They executed when they needed to and capitalized on opportunities, and that's the way it goes.”
Stanford got on the board first as Dani Jackovich found the back of the net just under two minutes into the first quarter. Two minutes later, Devin Grab drew an exclusion on Jackovich to give UCLA a six-on-five opportunity. Off an assist from Charlotte Pratt, Grab notched the equalizer. At the end of the first, the score was tied at 1-1.
The squads traded goals to start the second period. Jamie Neushul struck first to regain the lead for Stanford, but Alexa Tielmann responded for UCLA to knot the score at 2-2. The Cardinal then notched two unanswered goals to take a 4-2 lead to close out the half.
The Bruins outscored the Cardinal 2-1 in the third period. Mackenzie Barr tallied both of UCLA's goals. Barr ended a 6:34 scoring drought for the Bruins when she converted a power play off an assist from Aubrie Monahan. Her second was also a power play goal, this time assisted by Lizette Rozeboom. Heading into the fourth quarter, UCLA trailed Stanford 5-4.
In the final eight minutes, Madison Berggren and Neushul registered back-to-back Cardinal goals to extend the lead to 7-4, and the Bruins were unable to overcome the deficit. As time expired, Stanford held on for the win.
“I don't think we didn't have opportunities, I think we had plenty of good opportunities,” said Grab of the Bruins' scoreless fourth quarter. “Their goalie had a great game and she did a really good job. I think our shots were just not going in.”
Next up, UCLA faces Michigan in the third-place game on Sunday at 3:30 pm PDT. The game will be live streamed via www.ncaa.com. Fans can also find updated results and tournament statistics by visiting UCLA Athletics' Tournament Central.
No. 2 Stanford (1, 3, 1, 2 – 7)Neushul – 3; Jackovich, Sohi, Klass, Berggren – 1
No. 3 UCLA (1, 1, 2, 0 – 4)
Barr – 2; Grab, Tielmann – 1
Saves: Stanford (Hermann – 8); UCLA (Musselman – 4)
