UCLA
USC
No. 1 UCLA Hosts No. 2 USC for MPSF Top Spot
April 20, 2017 | Women's Water Polo
No. 1 UCLA will celebrate Senior Day and close out the regular season with a visit from crosstown rival and No. 2 USC in an MPSF showdown on Saturday. Play at Spieker Aquatics Center will begin at 1:00 p.m. and be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks. With a win, the Bruins would claim the top seed at next week's MPSF Championships (April 28-30).
The Series -- The Bruins hold an all-time record of 47-25 against the Trojans. This will mark the second meeting between the teams in 2017, and the first in MPSF play. The teams previously met at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine, Calif,, where USC outlasted UCLA in a semifinal contest, 10-9.
Coming Up -- The MPSF Championships, to be hosted by UCLA at Spieker Aquatics Center, will take place from Friday, April 28 through Sunday, April 30. Each of the seven MPSF teams (Arizona State, CSU Bakersfield, California, San Jose State, Stanford, UCLA and USC) will participate in the three-day event. Three games will take place each day during 11:00 a.m., 12:45 p.m. and 2:30 p.m. time slots. Depending on the outcome of Saturday's game against the Trojans, the Bruins will be seeded between No. 1 and No. 3. Arizona State (No. 4) and California (No. 5) have already secured their seeds.
Senior Day -- Saturday, the Bruins will honor seven seniors playing in their final home games. Of those seven, four are redshirt seniors. Rachel Fattal, Kodi Hill, Alexa Tielmann and Alys Williams began their UCLA careers in 2013. Mackenzie Barr, Aubrie Monahan and Kelsey O'Brien, checked in one year later. The seven seniors have combined for 11 All-American selections and nine All-MPSF honors.
Bruins Jump to No. 1 in CWPA Poll -- For the first time this season, UCLA moved out of the No. 3 spot in the CWPA poll when the Week 14 installment of the rankings was announced Wednesday. With their win over then-No. 1 Stanford, the Bruins usurped the top spot. In other Top-5 action, USC held off California in a low-scoring affair, 6-3, while Arizona State topped San Jose State, 11-3, on the Sun Devils' Senior Day. Stanford and USC are now tied at No. 2, while California and Arizona State are knotted at No. 4.
Hill Named MPSF Player of the Week -- Attacker Kodi Hill was named the MPSF Player of the Week Tuesday. Hill scored three goals and assisted on three others in the Bruins' 10-9 win over then-No. 1 Stanford Saturday. The redshirt senior fed a trio of Bruin goal scorers in the first half before taking matters into her own hands and tallying a hat trick over 4:59 in the third quarter to push the UCLA lead to 9-7. This marked the second Player of the Week award for Hill, who previously earned the honor as a sophomore in 2014. She leads UCLA in assists, with 40.
Musselman Named MPSF Newcomer of the Week -- Attacker Maddie Musselman was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week Tuesday for a conference-record sixth time. Musselman reached the 50-goal mark with her second of two scores in the visiting Bruins' win over then-No. 1 Stanford Saturday. In addition to helping the freshman reach the half-century mark, the second goal also served as the difference maker in the fourth quarter of the 10-9 victory. She filled out the scoresheet with one steal, one field block, one earned exclusion and two sprints won. Musselman has recorded 10 hat tricks on the season and leads the team in steals (41), while sharing the team lead in sprints won with Fattal (30). Fattal holds the record for most goals by a Bruin freshman, with 68 (2013).
Top-Tier Competition -- With UCLA's win over then-No. 1 Stanford, the Bruins improved to 4-1 against Top-4 teams on the season. UCLA has recorded two wins against then-No. 4 California (12-11, Feb, 26; and 10-4, March 18) and one against No. 4 Arizona State (13-5, April 8) and now one over the Cardinal. The Bruins suffered their lone loss to No. 2 USC (10-9, Feb. 25). On the year, the Bruins have outscored Top-4 opponents, 54-39. Individually, Rachel Fattal leads the Bruins with 11 goals and six steals in those contests. Kodi Hill, meanwhile, has posted a Bruin-high 14 assists. Maddie Musselman and Alys Williams have posted nine goals apiece.
Exclusive Company -- The Bruins have outscored opponents 311-82 through 20 games this season. The 311 goals scored stands as the most by a Bruin team over that period of time, a record that it holds by one goal over the 2007 team. The 229-goal difference between UCLA and its opponents, meanwhile, is also a record. The next closest margin of 208 (310-102) was also set by the 2007 team. With the 82 goals allowed, the 2017 Bruins have only been bested by their predecessors from 2003 (56), 1998 (65), 1996 (66), 2006 (73) and 2002 (78).
Fattal Steals the Show -- With three first-half steals in the Bruins' 13-5 win over Arizona State (April 8), Fattal moved into sole possession of first place on UCLA's all-time career steals list. She currently has 184 takeaways. Kelly Rulon (2003, 05-07) previously held the mark at 181. It has been a year of milestones and records for the 2016 Olympic gold medalist, who netted a hat trick against CSU Bakersfield (March 11) to become the fourth member of the school's 200-career-goal club. The list previously included just Kelly Rulon (237 - 2003, 05-07), Coralie Simmons (235 - 1996-98, 2001) and Katie Rulon (201 - 2006-09). Fattal currently sits in third place with 209 career goals.
Head Coach Brandon Brooks -- Brandon Brooks (UCLA '05) returns for his eighth season, having compiled a 178-39 record over his first seven. Brooks, the 2015 MPSF Coach of the Year, has coached UCLA to three MPSF Tournament titles in six seasons (2010, 2012, 2015). In addition, the Bruins have advanced to the MPSF Tournament championship match five times during his tenure. Twenty-three of Brooks' players have earned 39 All-America certificates, and 21 players have earned 38 All-MPSF awards. As an assistant coach with the men's and women's programs, Brooks was involved in four NCAA championships, and as a player, he was part of two NCAA title teams (1999 and 2000). A two-time Olympic goalkeeper, Brooks was the starting goalkeeper for the 2004 U.S. team that won the silver medal in Athens.
