Women’s water polo faces Stanford in NCAA final

 

Stanford has thwarted the UCLA women’s water polo team in the NCAA tournament final twice since 2014. The Bruins hope the third time will be the charm.

After a 14-11 win over Cal in the semifinal Saturday, UCLA will face the Cardinal in the championship game Sunday at 12 p.m. PT in Indianapolis. It’s the third meeting between the MPSF foes in the NCAA final during the past four years. Stanford is making its seventh straight finals appearance and won four of the past six championships.

Maddie Musselman led the top-seeded Bruins (24-1) against the Bears with four goals. Mackenzie Barr and Rachel Fattal each added three goals.

Stanford edged out USC in the other semifinal. The Bruins already have two wins against the Cardinal this year, including a 6-3 victory in the MPSF tournament final.

UCLA leads the country in women’s water polo NCAA titles with seven, but hasn’t hoisted the trophy since 2009.The championship match will be live streamed on NCAA.com.