Saturday, November 20
Stanford, CA
11:15 AM
UCLA
18-3
6
vs
5
USC
16-2
1
2
3
4
F
UCLA
3
3
0
0
6
Southern California
3
1
1
0
5
Graduate Nicolas Saveljic led all scorers with a hat trick in the Bruins' win over the Trojans.
Photo by: Minette Rubin
No. 3 UCLA Advances to MPSF Championship Game
November 20, 2021 | Men's Water Polo
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LOS ANGELES --ย No. 3 UCLA (18-3) advanced to the MPSF Championship with a 6-5 win over No. 2 USC (16-2) on Saturday afternoon at Stanford's Averyย Aquatic Center. With the defensive win over the Trojans, UCLA improved to 91-88-1 in the series history.Graduate Nicolas Saveljic led all scorers with three goals. He was the only Bruin to score multiple goals.
Junior Bernardo Maurizi got the start in the cage and went the distance, registering seven saves. Maurizi and the Bruin defense held USC to just five goals and 0-for-11 on power play opportunities.
PERIOD ONE
> Both teams played to a 3-3 draw in the opening period.
> Junior Tommy Gruwell got the Bruins on the board first with a power play goal that was assisted by graduate Chasen Travisano (7:23).
> Freshman Chase Dodd converted a penalty shotย (2:16) that put the Bruins up 2-1.
>ย Saveljic scored on a power play (0:50) that was assisted by sophomore Guillermo Ocasio to put UCLA up 3-2.
ย
PERIOD TWO
> The Bruins outscored the Trojans 3-1 in the second period.
> The Bruins scored the first two goals of the second quarter on power plays to lead 5-3. Saveljicย scored his second of the game (6:27) and redshirt freshman Gianpiero Di Martire netted his first (3:11) with Gruwell assisting on both goals.
> After a goal by the Trojans, Saveljic completed his hat trick with a penalty shot conversion (0:39) to end the scoring in the period with the Bruins leading 6-4 at the break.
ย
PERIOD THREE
> The Bruins were held scoreless in the third quarter.
> UCLA's defense had a solid quarter holding the Trojans to just one late goal (1:36) by Wyatt Barker, his second of the game.
PERIOD FOUR
> Both teams battled to a 0-0 draw in the last frame to provide the 6-5 final.
> UCLA was 0-for-4 on power plays in the final period while USC was 0-for-2.
UP NEXT
The Bruins will face No. 4 Stanford in the title match after the Cardinal upset top-seeded California in overtime. The game is slated for 2:45 p.m. PT on Sunday, Nov. 21. The winner will earn the automatic bid into the NCAA Championship, which UCLA is hosting Dec. 2-5.
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 2 USCย (MPSFย Championship - Semifinals)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 3 UCLA | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 6 |
| No. 2 USC | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 5 |
6x5 -ย UCLA - 3/12ย - USC - 0/11
Penalties -ย UCLA - 2/2 - USC - 1/1
UCLA Goals:ย Nicolas Saveljic 3, Tommy Gruwell 1, Chase Dodd 1, Gianpiero Di Martireย 1
UCLA Saves:ย Bernardo Mauriziย 7
USC Goals: Wyatt Barker 2,ย Hannes Daube 1, Alexander Lansillย 1, Marcus Longtonย 1
USC Saves:ย Nic Porter 12
Team Stats
UCLA
USC
Shots
27
29
Goals
6
5
Assists
4
4
Points
10
9
Exclusions
13
16
Steals
8
3
Sprints
3
1
1
Tommy Gruwell
7:23
Marcus Longton
6:26
Chase Dodd
2:16
Alexander Lansill
1:17
Nicolas Saveljic
0:50
Hannes Daube
0:14
2
Nicolas Saveljic
6:27
Gianpiero Di Martire
3:11
Wyatt Barker
2:56
Nicolas Saveljic
0:39
3
Wyatt Barker
1:36
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
5
Goals
3
Assists
0
Points
3
Shots
5
Goals
1
Assists
2
Points
3
Shots
5
Goals
0
Assists
0
Points
0
Shots
2
Goals
1
Assists
0
Points
1
Players Mentioned
ATK
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GK
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UTL
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ATK
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