Friday, December 1
Los Angeles, CA
12:00 PM
UCLA
25-2
20
vs
7
Biola
21-13
1
2
3
4
F
Biola
2
3
0
2
7
UCLA
6
6
5
3
20
Hayden Nightingale had three steals, two goals, one assist, and drew one exclusion in the win over Biola.
Photo by: Ross Turteltaub
Top-Seeded UCLA Advances to NCAA Semifinals
December 01, 2023 | Men's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES -- No. 3 UCLA (25-2), the 2023 NCAA Championship's top seed, won every quarter against Biola en route to a 20-7 quarterfinal win on Friday afternoon at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Bruins improved to 2-0 all-time against the Eagles.
The Bruins had 11 players score in the contest, led by four goals from redshirt sophomore Grant Loth. Six other Bruins, Frederico Jucá Carsalade, Rafael Real Vergara, Gray Carson, Jack Larsen, Wade Sherlock, and Hayden Nightingale each contributed two scores to the Bruins' blowout victory.
Senior Garret Griggs got the start in the cage and played the first half, picking up three saves while allowing five goals. Senior Bernardo Maurizi came on in relief and played the second half, tallying five saves while surrendering two goals.
The Bruins won the first period, 6-2. After the Eagles scored first (6:38) on a power play, Sherlock netted his first with a man advantage (6:00) to tie the game at 1-1. Redshirt sophomore Eli Liechty scored his only goal with a strong catch and finish at set (5:31) to put the Bruins up 2-1. After Biola tied it up with another power play (4:08), Loth connected from two meters for his first of the game (3:56). That sparked a 4-0 scoring run and the Bruins would never be threatened again. Carson scored his first from the front court (3:16) and Loth followed with his second from two meters (1:44) and the Bruins led 5-2. Senior Hayden Nightingale ended the scoring in the first (0:39) on a nearside skipper.
The Bruins won the second period, 6-3, to take a 12-5 lead into the break. After a goal by the Eagles (7:33), Real Vergara answered with a penalty conversion (6:47) that was drawn by Eli Liechty for his first goal of the contest. After another power play goal for Biola (6:11) made it 7-5, the Bruins scored the last five goals of the period to build a commanding lead. Loth completed his hat trick (5:00) followed by another score from Nightingale (4:18) to put the Bruins up 9-5. Sophomore Noah Rowe would score his lone goal on a power play (3:16) and Jucá Carsalade followed with his first (1:45) from the front court to push the lead to 11-5. Real Vergara ended the scoring in the second period with his second goal (0:48) to make it 12-5 UCLA.
UCLA pitched a 5-0 shutout in the third period to build a 17-5 lead heading into the final stanza. After the Bruins scored the last five goals of the second period, they scored the only five goals of the third and would score the first in the fourth quarter to go on a 11-0 scoring run. Redshirt freshman Ben Larsen scored his only goal of the game (6:34) to open the scoring in the third. Senior Jack Larsen followed with his first score (4:55) and freshman Ben Liechty scored his only goal of the game (2:52) to extend the lead to 15-5. Jack Larsen would follow with a second tally (1:27) and Sherlock would follow suit on a power play at the buzzer (0:00) to end the scoring in the third period.
The Bruins won the fourth quarter, 3-2, to provide the 20-7 final. Carson netted his second of the game (7:11) on a power play to put the Bruins up 18-5. After the Eagles snapped the Bruins' 11-0 run (6:45), Jucá Carsalade scored his second on a power play (6:06) and Loth registered his fourth of the game (4:35) to put UCLA up 20-6. The Eagles scored the final goal of the game to end the scoring.
UP NEXT: The Bruins now face No. 5 Princeton in the first semifinal of the 2023 NCAA Championship on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2:00 p.m. at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
No. 3 UCLA vs. Biola (NCAA Championship - Quarterfinals - Game 27)
6x5 - UCLA - 6/9 - BU - 4/9
Penalties - UCLA - 1/1 - BU - 0/0
BU Goals: Roman Saroyan 3, Nolan Rapp 2, Caleb Heernandez 1, Adam Lavoy 1
BU Saves: Mitchell Carpenter 2, Joshua Dachenhausen 2
UCLA Goals: Grant Loth 4, Frederico Jucá Carsalade 2, Rafael Real Vergara 2, Gray Carson 2, Jack Larsen 2, Wade Sherlock 2, Hayden Nightingale 2, Eli Liechty 1, Ben Larsen 1, Noah Rowe 1, Ben Liechty 1
UCLA Saves: Bernardo Maurizi 5, Garret Griggs 3
The Bruins had 11 players score in the contest, led by four goals from redshirt sophomore Grant Loth. Six other Bruins, Frederico Jucá Carsalade, Rafael Real Vergara, Gray Carson, Jack Larsen, Wade Sherlock, and Hayden Nightingale each contributed two scores to the Bruins' blowout victory.
Senior Garret Griggs got the start in the cage and played the first half, picking up three saves while allowing five goals. Senior Bernardo Maurizi came on in relief and played the second half, tallying five saves while surrendering two goals.
The Bruins won the first period, 6-2. After the Eagles scored first (6:38) on a power play, Sherlock netted his first with a man advantage (6:00) to tie the game at 1-1. Redshirt sophomore Eli Liechty scored his only goal with a strong catch and finish at set (5:31) to put the Bruins up 2-1. After Biola tied it up with another power play (4:08), Loth connected from two meters for his first of the game (3:56). That sparked a 4-0 scoring run and the Bruins would never be threatened again. Carson scored his first from the front court (3:16) and Loth followed with his second from two meters (1:44) and the Bruins led 5-2. Senior Hayden Nightingale ended the scoring in the first (0:39) on a nearside skipper.
The Bruins won the second period, 6-3, to take a 12-5 lead into the break. After a goal by the Eagles (7:33), Real Vergara answered with a penalty conversion (6:47) that was drawn by Eli Liechty for his first goal of the contest. After another power play goal for Biola (6:11) made it 7-5, the Bruins scored the last five goals of the period to build a commanding lead. Loth completed his hat trick (5:00) followed by another score from Nightingale (4:18) to put the Bruins up 9-5. Sophomore Noah Rowe would score his lone goal on a power play (3:16) and Jucá Carsalade followed with his first (1:45) from the front court to push the lead to 11-5. Real Vergara ended the scoring in the second period with his second goal (0:48) to make it 12-5 UCLA.
UCLA pitched a 5-0 shutout in the third period to build a 17-5 lead heading into the final stanza. After the Bruins scored the last five goals of the second period, they scored the only five goals of the third and would score the first in the fourth quarter to go on a 11-0 scoring run. Redshirt freshman Ben Larsen scored his only goal of the game (6:34) to open the scoring in the third. Senior Jack Larsen followed with his first score (4:55) and freshman Ben Liechty scored his only goal of the game (2:52) to extend the lead to 15-5. Jack Larsen would follow with a second tally (1:27) and Sherlock would follow suit on a power play at the buzzer (0:00) to end the scoring in the third period.
The Bruins won the fourth quarter, 3-2, to provide the 20-7 final. Carson netted his second of the game (7:11) on a power play to put the Bruins up 18-5. After the Eagles snapped the Bruins' 11-0 run (6:45), Jucá Carsalade scored his second on a power play (6:06) and Loth registered his fourth of the game (4:35) to put UCLA up 20-6. The Eagles scored the final goal of the game to end the scoring.
UP NEXT: The Bruins now face No. 5 Princeton in the first semifinal of the 2023 NCAA Championship on Saturday, Dec. 2 at 2:00 p.m. at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
No. 3 UCLA vs. Biola (NCAA Championship - Quarterfinals - Game 27)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| Biola | 2 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| No. 3 UCLA | 6 | 6 | 5 | 3 | 20 |
Penalties - UCLA - 1/1 - BU - 0/0
BU Goals: Roman Saroyan 3, Nolan Rapp 2, Caleb Heernandez 1, Adam Lavoy 1
BU Saves: Mitchell Carpenter 2, Joshua Dachenhausen 2
UCLA Goals: Grant Loth 4, Frederico Jucá Carsalade 2, Rafael Real Vergara 2, Gray Carson 2, Jack Larsen 2, Wade Sherlock 2, Hayden Nightingale 2, Eli Liechty 1, Ben Larsen 1, Noah Rowe 1, Ben Liechty 1
UCLA Saves: Bernardo Maurizi 5, Garret Griggs 3
Team Stats
BU
UCLA
Shots
31
35
Goals
7
20
Assists
7
12
Points
14
32
Exclusions
9
9
Steals
5
12
Sprints
2
2
1
Caleb Hernandez
6:38
Wade Sherlock
6:00
Eli Liechty
5:31
Roman Saroyan
4:08
Grant Loth
3:56
Gray Carson
3:16
Grant Loth
1:44
Hayden Nightingale
0:39
2
Adam Lavoy
7:33
Roman Saroyan
7:07
Rafael Real Vergara
6:47
Nolan Rapp
6:11
Grant Loth
5:00
Hayden Nightingale
4:18
Noah Rowe
3:16
Frederico Jucá Carsalade
1:45
Rafael Real Vergara
0:48
3
Ben Larsen
6:34
Jack Larsen
4:55
Ben Liechty
2:52
Jack Larsen
1:27
Wade Sherlock
0:00
4
Gray Carson
7:11
Nolan Rapp
6:45
Frederico Jucá Carsalade
6:06
Grant Loth
4:35
Roman Saroyan
1:52
Game Leaders
Players
Shots
4
Goals
4
Assists
0
Points
4
Shots
4
Goals
2
Assists
1
Points
3
Shots
3
Goals
2
Assists
2
Points
4
Shots
3
Goals
2
Assists
1
Points
3
Players Mentioned
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