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Top-seeded UCLA defeated No. 3 California 7-4 Sunday night at Speaker Aquatics Complex to win its eighth NCAA women's water polo championship and 12th national championship in program history.
Not only did the Bruins win the title, they did it perfectly, finishing the season with a 26-0 record.
UCLA improved to 65-14 against the Golden Bears, achieving the third undefeated season in school history (the 2005 and 2008 teams accomplished the feat with 33-0 records). Only four other teams have had a perfect record at the NCAA Championships, including USC, which won twice (2004 and 2016).
UCLA's freshmen took center stage Sunday, with Pani Szegedi scoring three goals. Fellow freshman standout Lauren Steele started in the cage, making 17 saves while giving up four points (one in each quarter).
Also scoring for the Bruins were freshman Natasha Kieckhafer, senior Anneliese Miller and sophomores Genoa Rossi and Taylor Smith.
The Golden Bears (19-7) took the lead, but the Bruins tied it with 15 seconds left in the first quarter on a score by Miller.
The Bruins took their first lead at 4:59 of the second quarter on Kiekhafer's goal. UC's Roseanne Fallbert scored at 3:31 to tie the game, and both teams went into intermission tied at 2-2.
The second half was all UCLA.
Szegedi gave the Bruins a 4-3 lead late in the third quarter after Rossi and California's Maddy DeMattier traded goals.
Szegedi scored on the power play to start the fourth quarter and make it 4-2. Then Smith's power play goal gave UCLA a 5-2 lead.
De Mattia pulled Cal with two points with 32 seconds remaining, but seconds later Szegedi sealed the title with a hat trick into an empty net.
