Men’s water polo hopes to hand No. 1 UCLA first loss

The men’s water polo team will face its toughest test yet on Sunday afternoon, facing the No. 1- ranked UCLA Bruins on the road in the final match of the regular season.

Ranked fourth in the nation, a Trojans’ victory against the top-seeded Bruins would go a long way toward improving their psyche heading into the MPSF and NCAA Tournaments.

“The boys are really pumped up to play UCLA next week, and hopefully we come away with a win,” junior driver Blake Edwards said.

It won’t come easy. The Bruins are undefeated this season, coming in at 24-0 overall and 8-0 in MPSF competition. Dating back to last season, they have won 26 consecutive games, their second longest streak in school history.

Though the Trojans came away victorious over the Bruins in last year’s SoCal Tournament by a 10-6 score, UCLA has won four straight matches over USC, including the 2014 NCAA Championship.

Last week, the Bruins beat No. 6 UC Santa Barbara at home 9-4 and No. 8 Long Beach State 11-4 on the road, which locked up the No. 1 seed for UCLA in the MPSF Tournament next week. UCLA goaltender Garrett Danner had 28 saves on the weekend, and his 5.98 goals against per game ranks first in the conference.

Preparing for UCLA will be difficult, but USC appears confident and ready for the challenge.

“We focused a lot on our defense,” Edwards said. “Throughout the season our defense has been our best stat, and the past few games the other offense has really hurt us, so [defense is] our focus as we go into the next game.”

Teams like to say they treat every opponent the same, but redshirt senior Mac Carden could not resist hyping up the rivalry.

“We prepare for every team the same,” Carden said. “It’s a big game. Crosstown rivalry. We’re looking to come out with a win.”

Though UCLA, the defending national champion, is a proven powerhouse, the Trojans have plenty of talent and the ability to compete with the Bruins. The only other meeting between these two teams this season came in the SoCal Tournament Final, and it took a tiebreaking goal by UCLA’s Patrick Fellner with 15 seconds to play for the Bruins to escape with a 10-9 win.

“We just need to relax a little bit more,” Edwards said. “Stay calm and confident going into the next game. We have some good vibes. Everyone’s excited, and we look forward to it.”

USC is coming off a 14-8 win over No. 7 UC Irvine on Senior Day last Sunday, which snapped a two-game losing streak. Edwards recorded four goals and the Trojans used a spurt in the second period to pull away. Goalie McQuin Baron recorded 11 saves, the ninth time he has reached double-digits in saves this season.

After Sunday’s match, the Trojans will prepare to host the MPSF Tournament at home from Nov. 20-22, where they will either be seeded third or fourth.