UCLA, Cal in Water Polo Final
UCLA put on an offensive display Friday to defeat UC San Diego, 21-10, and reach the NCAA water polo final at Stanford.
On Sunday, the Bruins will face top-seeded California, which scored six goals in the first quarter and defeated Massachusetts, 10-6.
UCLA, which lost the 1991 championship match to Cal, 7-6, will be looking for its first water polo title since 1972.
Jeremy Braxton-Brown scored six goals for the Bruins, including three in the decisive third quarter, when UCLA outscored UC San Diego, 7-2, to take a 16-9 lead.
“We were counterattacking pretty well and shooting the ball well,” UCLA Coach Guy Baker said. “You also have to play pretty good defense to score that many goals, to get the ball back that many times.”
UC San Diego was led by Michael Nalu with six goals.
“Their press defense was relentless,” Triton Coach Denny Harper said. “We never had too many free people to create scoring opportunities.”
Cal has defeated UMass three years in a row in the tournament.
Go beyond the scoreboard
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