Jeff Tully
BURBANK -- Alfonso Tucay did all he could to help his UCLA men's water
polo team win its third straight NCAA championship.
However, despite two goals from the former Burroughs High standout,
the Bruins fell Sunday to top-ranked Stanford, 8-5, in the title match at
Palo Alto.
It was the third time this season Stanford (22-1) defeated the Bruins
(16-5).
Brett Ormsby also had two goals for UCLA.
The Bruins suffered from a sputtering offense early in the match, as
the Cardinal jumped out to a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter.
Stanford, led by Tony Azevedo, increased its advantage to 5-1 at
halftime, with UCLA's only goal coming off a backhanded blast from Tucay
that got past goaltender Nick Ellis.
Tucay scored his second goal on a turnaround two-meter shot at the
1:33 mark of the third period.
The Bruins clawed back to trail, 6-4, at the end of three quarters
before the Cardinal scored two late goals to claim the championship.
UCLA advanced to the title contest after defeating Loyola Marymount
University Saturday, 7-5, at Palo Alto.
Tucay was held scorelss in the semifinal match.
Ormsby scored three goals and paced the Bruins to a 7-2 fourth-quarter
advantage. UCLA converted on five of nine power-play chances.
Former Glandale High star Kevin Witt had two goals for LMU (15-14)
The Lions defeated University of Massachusetts (29-6), 14-6, Sunday in
a third-place match.
In his first season as a starter, Tucay ends his tenure at UCLA with
30 goals this season. As the focal point of the offense, he earned 37
opponent ejections, almost three times as many as any other Bruin player.
For his fine play, Tucay is the only UCLA player earning first-team
Mountain Pacific Sports Federation honors. He also was named to the MPSF
All-Tournament Team.
MCCAMBRIDGE PARK POOL -- First-year Burbank High girls' water polo
Coach John Abdou wasn't upset with his squad's 12-3 nonleague loss to
Temple City.
It wasn't because he felt his team was incapable of winning Monday at
McCambridge Park Pool, but rather, he knew that in only the second match
of the season, mistakes would be inevitable.
"To us, it felt like a preseason game. These girls need more game-time
experience. That's the only way you get better, by playing more," Abdou
said.
And the Burbank (1-1) inexperience was exemplified by scattered
offensive sets and costly ejections. But such problems are expected from
a team is in only its second year of existence.
"We're still learning to play better. There's a big difference between
practice and games. But I think we'll work out the kinks," Abdou said.
And the coach has reason to believe his team can work out the kinks,
as it has played a match and a half of strong water polo.
The team won its first match Thursday against Milken Community, 13-11.
Against Temple City, the Bulldogs only trailed, 4-2, midway through
the contest. However, their fortune quickly evaporated in the second
half, as the Rams went on an 8-1 run.
The swift second-half surge was led by Tammy Trejo, who scored three
of her four goals in the final two quarters.
Temple City (2-3) also made use of its six-on-five advantages by
converting three of its four powerplay chances for goals.
"We were struggling in the beginning, but got better as the game went
on," Ram Coach Brian Roth said. "The girls were just impatient at first,
and once they were aware of that, they started to become more efficient."
Burbank (1-1) got its three goals from Rebecah Thomas, Jessica Ullo
and Kristina Grigoria
