On September 9, 2023, at 1:00 PM PT, the University of California Los Angeles’ Spieker Aquatic Center, UCLA’s 2023 Men’s Water Polo Team competed against Stanford’s 2023 Men’s Team. This game was an influential one as it was one of the first in the season and against two incredibly powerful opponents. UCLA’s coach, Adam Wright, and Stanford’s Coach, Brian Flacks, did a great job coaching as it was definitely reflected in the players’ performance in the water.

The first quarter was slightly in Stanford’s favor with them in the lead (2-1). Two shots were made by Stanford’s Ethan Parrish (Senior, driver) and Grant Watson (Redshirt Sophomore, driver). UCLA’s Eli Liechty (Redshirt Sophomore, center) managed to find the back of the goal with an assist from teammate Makoto Kenney (Senior, attacker) in the last forty seconds of the quarter. 

During the second quarter, both teams tied an equal number of shots. The first shot came from Stanford’s Gavin West (Freshman, driver). A quick hard shot on 6-5 came from UCLA’s Rafael Real Vergara (Senior, attacker) during the last forty seconds of this quarter. This shot was again assisted by Kenney. This left the score 3-2, with Stanford still holding the lead by the end of the quarter.

Again in the third quarter, both teams tied the same number of shots with four made by each team. This was an exciting quarter for fans and spectators viewing as both teams continued fighting to gain a lead over the other. These were the goals shot, player information, and times (times are marked by how much time was left in the quarter starting from the eight-minute mark):

• Stanford, Tanner Pulice, Junior, Driver, 05:37
• UCLA, Ben Liechty, Freshman, Utility, 05:13
• Stanford, Riley Pittman, Senior, Driver, 04:53
• UCLA, Frederico Juca Carsalade, 03:29
• UCLA, Frederico Juca Carsalade, Redshirt Freshman, Attacker, 02:42
• Stanford, Cj Indart, Redshirt Sophmore, Attacker, 01:10
• UCLA, Rafael Real Vergara, Senior, Attacker, 00:53
• Stanford, Jack Merrill, Sophmore, Center Defender, 00:28

Stanford continued to stay in the lead ending this quarter at 7-6 with Merrill’s goal. UCLA still kept in high spirits and knew they were still completely in this game. They knew that now was the time to win.

This quarter started with a penalty shot at 07:29 from Stanford’s Jackson Painter (Senior, Driver) leaving the score 8-6. This unfazed UCLA as they plan a quick attack. UCLA gains a fast lead with goals from:

• Rafael Real Vergara, 05:34
• Jack Larsen, Redshirt Senior, Attacker, 04:41
• Gianpiero Di Martire, Redshirt Junior, Attacker, 03:18
• Rafael Real Vergara, 02:28
• Ben Liechty, 00:23

This sensational comeback puts UCLA at a lead of (8-11). Stanford wasn’t ready to give up just yet as Riley Pittman found the back of the net with a shot at the buzzer (last second of the game) on a wide-open cage leaving the final score 11-9.

UCLA’s victory was also thanks to goalkeeper, Garret Griggs with 11 saves and sacrificing 8 goals. Good work to Stanford’s Goalkeeper, Nolan Kurtonog, with 6 saves and Griffen Price with 1. 

UCLA now moves on to play UC San Diego on Sep 10, 9:30 PT, at Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. Stanford’s next game is against LMU on Sep 10, 11 a.m. PT. This game was an intense one and fans hope to see more great games from both teams in the future!

-Water Polo Terminology-

– Quarters are eight minutes long in college water polo games (creating a total of about a 45-minute game)

– Drivers: Fast swimmers whose goal is to get the ball into the best scoring positions, usually at positions 2 and 4.

– Attacker: Two-meter defender that is also capable of playing a variety of positions as well (Driver, Wings, etc.), also known as utility

– Center Defender: One of the strongest players in the pool, makes sure that the person on offense in center isn’t on the side the ball is on, on offense this player typically plays at position 3

– Penalty shot: When there is a major foul inside the six-meter zone, the opposite team is allowed to score a free goal from the five-meter mark 1 on 1 (no defenders, just the goalkeeper, and the shooter)

– 6-5: This happens if a player from the opposite team gets kicked out (harming another player, foul language, getting on a player’s back, etc.) so both teams are set up in a different position (seen in the photo below) to help score/defend better)

– Goalkeeper: This person is one of the most important players in the pool. They are the ultimate defender and the backbone of the team. The goalie protects the cage by blocking or stealing the ball to prevent a goal. The goalie also has a view of everything happening in the surrounding waters and must communicate where players should be, where the ball is located at, the time left in possession, and where they want the ball to go to. These players also must be able to throw the ball far distances (about a whole pool’s length).

6-5 positioning (x= defense, o=offense)

http://www.waterpoloplanet.com/HTML_Hunkler_pages/27_Defense_6_on_5_part1.html