Sports
No. 1 UCLA Advances to MPSF Championship
UCLA WATER POLO UCLA WATER POLO LOS ANGELES – No. 1 UCLA (19-4) won its MPSF Semifinal match over No. 4 California (18-5) on Saturday at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins won the match 15-14 to advance to the MPSF Championship on Sunday. With their fifth-straight win over the Golden Bears, the Bruins improved […]
LOS ANGELES – No. 1 UCLA (19-4) won its MPSF Semifinal match over No. 4 California (18-5) on Saturday at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins won the match 15-14 to advance to the MPSF Championship on Sunday. With their fifth-straight win over the Golden Bears, the Bruins improved to 67-14 in the series history.
A total of six Bruins scored in the win over the Golden Bears. Juniors Bia Mantellato and Taylor Smith (tied season high) led the team in scoring with four goals apiece. Both players completed their hat tricks in the first half of play. Molly Renner, Genoa Rossi, and Anna Pearson each notched two goals in the match. Emma Lineback added a goal to contribute to the Bruins’ 15 goals.
Sophomore Lauren Steele was effective in the cage, finishing with 18 saves, tying her season best total and added one steal.
The Bruins led through the first quarter, finishing with a 3-2 lead. The Golden Bears and the Bruins played to a 6-6 draw in the second quarter to take a 9-8 lead into the break. Renner and Smith each scored goals off assists from Lily Gess. Smith scored again with two seconds left on the clock with an assist from Steele.
UCLA outscored Cal 4-3 in the third period thanks to goals from Mantellato, Pearson, and a late power-play goal from Lineback. The Bruins put forward a dominant performance on both ends in the fourth quarter to finish the game on top. Smith scored a power-play goal to notch the Bruins’ 14th goal, and Genoa Rossi scored the eventual game-winning goal and the Bruins made a couple of stops in the end to secure the Bruins’ win.
UP NEXT: The Bruins have advanced to the 2025 MPSF Women’s Water Polo Championship where they will face No. 3 Stanford tomorrow at 2:30 p.m. PT at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center.
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 4 California | 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 3 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 15 |
6×5 – UCLA – 4/7 – CAL – 2/8
Penalties – UCLA – 2/3 – CAL – 1/2
CAL Goals: Julia Bonaguidi 4, Feline Voordouw 3, Miriam Bogachenko 3, Elena Flynn 2, Ruby Swadling 1, Abbi Magee 1
CAL Saves: Talia Fonseca 5
UCLA Goals: Taylor Smith 4, Bia Mantellato 4, Molly Renner 2, Genoa Rossi 2, Anna Pearson 2, Emma Lineback 1
UCLA Saves: Lauren Steele 18