No. 2 Trojans host No. 1 Bruins in most important game of the year

For the No. 1 UCLA Bruin and the No. 2 Trojan men’s water polo teams, Saturday’s season finale is more than just a rivalry game. It’s redemption.

As documented in the UCLA-USC rivalry, there is no sport as contentious as men’s water polo during regular and postseason competition in recent years.

In their final home game of the 2016 regular season, the Trojans (19-1) will battle the Bruins (24-0) for the nation’s number one spot, intercity bragging rights and most importantly, revenge after UCLA defeated USC in the 2015 NCAA Championship game.

“Our expectation every single game is to get better. We want to focus on the little things and trying to get every little thing right so that when we get into these big moments we can execute and play our game,” junior utility James Walters said. “If we shut them down the way we want to, I’m sure we’ll win.”

Though USC downed UCLA in the 2009, 2011 and 2012 NCAA finals, the Men of Troy have lost the past two NCAA championships to their crosstown rivals.

In an apparent stray from tradition, Saturday’s game is the first time that the two teams will play each other all season despite being in the same conference.

USC will have to strictly rely on game footage and statistical analysis to prepare for this game.

UCLA boasts an unblemished 24-0 record in 2016 and 57-game winning streak.

Thanks to a balanced offensive attack and shut-down defense, UCLA has sustained a No. 1 ranking in the NCAA throughout the season.

On offense, Patrick Fellner leads the Bruins with 33 goals scored and there are an additional four players who have scored more than 20 goals. As a team, UCLA averages 13.1 goals scored per game, while starting goalie Garrett Danner is averaging 10.4 saves and 5.3 goals-against per game.

Freshman driver Marin Dasic stressed after the Trojan’s 19-1 victory over San Jose State on Sunday that while UCLA — and 6-foot-7 center Alec Zwaneveld — are impressive defensively, head coach Jovan Vavic will prepare them well.

“They are a very good team defensively. We have to watch out for their center because he’s so big,” Dasic said. “That’s what Coach has told us, and whatever Coach tells us to do, we go and do it. He is the mastermind of this team.”

Thankfully for a USC team that is 65-54-1 all-time but 0-7 in the last seven games against UCLA, this year’s team is efficient on both sides of the ball.

Along with averaging over 16 goals offensively, USC’s junior goalie McQuin Baron is averaging 10.85 saves and just 4.0 goals-against per game, both tops in the MPSF.

In fact, USC’s defense is so suffocating that it has shut out opponents in 33 out of 80 total periods this year (41 percent), with just five games with over four goals allowed. Baron’s job, however, would not be complete without this season’s powerful offensive performances by junior two-meter Lachlan Edwards (30 goals) and junior drivers Blake Edwards (36), Matteo Morelli (36) and Grant Stein (25).

Though UCLA has yet to lose a game, the Trojans have dominated teams that UCLA barely escaped.

For example, against top-ranked Stanford, Cal, UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State, Pacific and San Jose State, UCLA scored an average of 8.4 goals while giving up 6. Compared to the Bruins’ 3-goal margin of victory, the Trojans fared much better against top competition, defeating those schools by an average margin of nearly seven goals per game (122 scored, 50 allowed).

Regardless of what happens on Saturday night, this will be a huge indicator of what will come later on in the season — particularly the 2016 NCAA Championship.

“I’m really excited for this game, because they’ve beaten us in the past few games,” Morelli said. “There should be a huge crowd, and we’re ready for it. The two biggest games of my career were in the finals against them. A win will be crucial for us going into the MPSF [playoffs].”

The game begins at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.