UCLA
Whittier
No. 1 UCLA Thrashes Whittier 18-5
November 05, 2016 | Men's Water Polo
Eric Goldenberg led the Bruins with four goals against the Poets.
SOCIAL MEDIA:ย MWP on Twitterย |ย MWP on Facebookย |ย MWP on Instagram
LOS ANGELES, Calif.ย --ย The top-ranked UCLA Bruins scored the game's first seven goals and cruised to an 18-5 victory over Whittier in the last game of a doubleheaderย on "Senior Day" on Saturday eveningย at Spieker Aquatics Center. With the win, UCLA improved to 24-0 overall and extended its winning streak to 57ย in a row.
Redshirt freshman Eric Goldenberg led the Bruins with a career-high four goals. Juniors Max Irving and James Robinson, sophomore Austin Rone and freshman Jake Simpson each scored twice for the Bruins. Junior Aleksandar Ruzic started in the cage for the Bruins and played the first half, recording four saves while allowing one goal. Senior Elliot Ordwayย played the second half in goal for UCLA, registering three stops while giving up four scores. Christopher Ibarra started in the cage for Whittier, making two saves in the first half while surrendering 11 goals. Andrew Wettsteadย played the second half for the Poets, making four stops while giving up seven goals.
The Bruins jumped out to a 5-0 lead at the end of the first period. Irving got things started with a power play goal (6:53) followed by a breakaway score from sophomore David Stiling (6:28). Junior Alex Roelse made it 3-0 (5:31) with power play goal after Whittier's goalie was excluded. Freshman James Vlachonassios scored on a counter off a feed from Stiling to make it 4-0 (4:53). Rone ended the scoring in the first with the Bruins holding a 5-0 lead with a nearside skip shot at the 2:31 mark.
Irving opened the scoring in the second period with a power play strike (6:39). Then Goldenberg put UCLA up 7-0 with a cross-cage power play goal off a nice pass from Stiling (5:12). Mark Miocicย snapped the Bruins' scoring run with a goal at even strength (4:51) to cut the lead to 7-1. But the Bruins would tack on another four goals after that. Senior Joey Fuentes scored on a nearside skipper on a counter attack set up again by Stiling (4:17). Rone added his second on a top shelf shot at the right corner (3:38) to make it 9-1. Robinson scored back-to-back goals at even strength (2:23 and 0:22) to end the scoring in the second with UCLA leading 11-1 at the break.
Mihailo Vuja opened the scoring in the third with a goal from the front court (6:16) to cut the lead to 11-2. The Poets scored two straight when Wedge Molthen scored from two meters (5:39). Goldenberg got his second score on a cross-cage power play shot (0:54) to end the scoring in the third with the Bruins holding a 12-3 advantage.
Tyler Fields scored the first goal of the final period (7:14) with an off-speed shot to cut the lead to 12-4. But the Bruins reeled off five unanswered to put the game out of reach. Sophomore Kent Inoue started the run with a goal from the front court (6:08), followed by a rebound putbackย by Simpson for his second score (5:27) off a bar-out shot by redshirt freshman Raphael Raede. Inoue fed Zwaneveld at set who turned and fired for his first goal of the game (4:21) to extend the lead to 15-4. Simpson then got his second tally of the night on a skip shot (2:39) that made it 16-4. Goldenberg would complete his hat trick on a counter (2:01), but Whittier got a goal from Aidan Tol seconds later (1:43) to make it 17-5. Goldenberg added his fourth goal of the game (1:24) on a rocket shot after an ordinary to provide the 18-5 final.
The Bruins return to action on Saturday, Nov. 12 at 11:00 a.m. on the Pac-12 Networks as they take on archrivalย No. 2 USC in the regular season finale.
Whittier at No. 1 UCLA (Non-Conference Game)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| Whittier | 0 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| No.ย 1 UCLA | 5 | 6 | 1 | 6 | 18 |
6x5 -ย UCLA - 5/11 - Whittier - 0/2
Penalties -ย UCLA - 0/1 - Whittier - 0/0
UCLA Goals:ย Eric Goldenberg 4, Austin Rone 2, Max Irving 2, Jake Simpson 2, James Robinson 2, James Vlachonassios 1, Kent Inoue 1, David Stiling 1, Alex Roelse 1, Joey Fuentes 1, Alec Zwaneveldย 1
UCLAย Saves:ย Aleksandar Ruzic 4,ย Elliot Ordwayย 3
Whittier Goals:ย Mihailo Vuja 1, Marko Miocic 1, Aidan Tol 1, Tyler Fields 1, Wedge Molthen 1
Whittier Saves:ย Andrew Wettstead 4, Christopher Ibarra 2
