UCLA
Stanford (Championship)
UCLA Falls in NCAA Title Game, 8-7
May 14, 2017 | Women's Water Polo
INDIANAPOLIS โ The No. 1 UCLA women's water polo team showed resiliency, but ultimately fell in its quest for an NCAA Championship to second-seeded Stanford, 8-7. The Bruins never led in the contest, but recovered from two three-goal deficits to tie the score with 51 seconds remaining. Maddie Musselman and Alys Williams led the way for UCLA with three goals each.
Stanford got on the board first on a goal by Madison Berggren, assisted by Jordan Raney (7:19). The opening frame was dictated in large part by defensive pressure that led to failed possessions on both sides. Raney made it a multi-goal advantage with a power-play goal at 3:35, but the Bruins would quickly respond. Maddie Musselman struck from distance to put UCLA on the board and cut the Stanford lead in half (3:11).
The Cardinal again scored first in the second, as Jamie Neushul capitalized on an Alys Williams exclusion and found the back of the net off the feed from Maggie Steffens. Nearly three minutes went by before either team was able to score again, and a Bruin redshirt senior was the one to embrace an opportunity. Up a player following a Shannon Cleary exclusion, Kodi Hill cut the deficit back to one with a strike. Having already assisted on a goal, Steffens continued to show why she was selected MPSF Player of the Year with two quick goals to establish a game-high three-goal lead for the Cardinal at 5-2. Stanford would take the lead, and momentum, into the second half.
At 5:57 of the third quarter, two Bruin redshirt seniors teamed up to cut into the Stanford lead, as Rachel Fattal found Williams, who used the six-on-five advantage to give UCLA its second power-play goal of the game. The Cardinal would not allow the Bruins to seize control of the second half, however, as Neushul's second again doubled up UCLA. With the game slipping away, Bruin seniors took charge, namely Williams. The defender took a lob from Mackenzie Barr and cashed it in from just in front of the net at 2:39 to complete scoring through three and send the game into its final frame with the Cardinal leading by a 6-4 score.
With eight minutes left in the careers of seven Bruin seniors, UCLA did not go quietly in the fourth. Williams struck again to begin the fourth off a pass from Hill to cut Stanford's lead to just one at 6-5. Cleary would answer for the Cardinal to hold onto the lead and put a cushion between the top-seeded teams with 6:14 to go. Seeing a two-goal deficit and an opportunity slipping away, it was a freshman who took the reins. Musselman struck at 5:42 to again cut the deficit to one. The teams traded missed opportunities for nearly the next five minutes before Musselman again stepped up. With 51 seconds remaining, the Bruins finally evened the score, as Musselman posted her 69th goal of the year to complete her third hat trick of the tournament and set a new UCLA freshman record for goals in a season.
The teams again traded missed opportunities until Stanford secured possession following a Bruin turnover with 14 seconds remaining. A quick strike by Steffens off the feed from Berggren gave the Cardinal its final lead, as the Bruins were unable to again pull even.
Bruins were prevalent on the NCAA Water Polo Championship All-Tournament Team, as Fattal, Musselman, and Kapana all secured first-team honors. Williams and Hill, meanwhile, made the second team.No. 2 Stanford (2, 3, 1, 2 โ 8)
Steffens โ 3; Neushul โ 2; Berggren, Cleary, Ryan โ 1
No. 1 UCLA (1, 1, 2, 3 โ 7)
Musselman, Williams โ 3; Hill โ 1
NCAA Water Polo Championship All-Tournament Team:
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MVP: Maggie Steffens, Stanford
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1st Team:
Rachel Fattal, UCLA
Maggie Steffens, Stanford
Maddie Musselman, UCLA
Makenzie Fischer, Stanford
Dora Antal, Cal
Stefania Haralabidis, USC
Carlee Kapana, UCLA
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2nd Team:
Maud Megens, USC
Alys Williams, UCLA
Jamie Neushul, Stanford
Anna Illes, Cal
Jordan Raney, Stanford
Kodi Hill, UCLA
Gabby Stone, Stanford
