No. 2 men’s water polo beats No. 1 UCLA

Saturday will be remembered as the day the Trojans traveled up to Seattle and handed the No. 4 Huskies their first loss of the season. However, four hours earlier and 1,137 miles south, USC pulled off another major upset — in the pool — as the No. 2 men’s water polo ended No. 1 UCLA’s 57-game win streak in an 8-7 thriller at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

Sarah Kim | Daily Trojan
In the clutch · The Trojans triumphed over the top-ranked Bruins on Saturday thanks to junior driver Blake Edward’s late go-ahead score.

Junior driver Blake Edwards scored the game-winning goal with 38 seconds to play to hand UCLA a surprising defeat and claim the top spot in the MPSF tournament for the Trojans.

Saturday’s seesaw affair saw four ties and four lead changes in the second half after USC led 4-3 at halftime. For most of the third quarter, both offensive efforts were thwarted until UCLA tied the game at 4-4. Junior driver Lazar Pasuljevic fired back with a long shot of his own that exploded past UCLA goalkeeper Garrett Danner. Then, the Bruins quickly seized the momentum, scoring two quick goals and entering the pivotal fourth frame riding a 6-5 lead. In need of a spark for his team, head coach Jovan Vavic provided that with an impassioned speech before play resumed in the final quarter.

“He just fired us up,” junior goalie McQuin Baron said. “He said this is our home pool, our crosstown rival.”

Vavic’s words must have motivated the Men of Troy, because soon after the break, senior diver Nick Bell tied the game up at 6-6 with the assist coming from a nifty no-look pass by Edwards.

“I just thought it was something I had to do,” said Bell. “The ball came to me at the right moment, and I knew I had to finish that opportunity and I stuck it.”

An intense five minutes of gridlock followed, with keepers Danner and Baron trading save after save. One Bruin shot looked like a sure goal with three minutes left, but Baron shifted to his side at the last second, deflecting on what was his most impressive stop.

Finally, Grant Stein put USC ahead 7-6 with just under three minutes to go, but the Bruins’ Chancellor Ramirez managed to find the back of the net with a little over a minute left. With the game even at 7-7 with a minute left, Edwards provided the winner. At the top of the formation, Edwards launched a screamer that landed into the corner of the net. Uytengsu became unglued as Baron made the game’s final save with 15 seconds left.

“We finally beat them,” Baron said, reflecting on his immediate thoughts after the win.

“It’s gotta be the best feeling ever,” Bell said. “I told the boys, ‘I want this bad.’ Last time UCLA played us, we ended up losing to them by four goals, so beating them today like this was an amazing feeling.”