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  Freshman driver Brett Ormsby prepares to pass the ball in Sunday's 10-6 loss against Stanford. Stanford 10 UCLA 6 UCLA 15 Pacific 5

By Eric Perez and Adam Titcher

Daily Bruin Contributors

A much-anticipated clash between top-ranked Stanford and No. 3 UCLA lost its focus as raucous fans intervened and caused a commotion.

During Sunday’s 10-6 Cardinal victory over the Bruins, a fan attempted to throw Stanford’s mascot into the pool, while many more taunted the Stanford team. Play was stopped with 4:23 left in the third quarter, as some fans were escorted away by police.

“She (the mascot) was able to defend herself, and the Stanford band came to her side and tackled the assailant,” UCPD officer Sgt. Paul Stewart said. “The mascot decided not to press charges, but a police report was filed.”

While the crowd almost got out of hand, the game was mostly lost. Stanford went up 8-2 in the third quarter after scoring five consecutive goals.

“Our performance was okay,” UCLA head coach Adam Krikorian said. “They’re (Stanford) a tough team and, to be honest, they should not lose all year.”

On Saturday, as preparation for their showdown against the Cardinal, the No. 3 Bruins (4-1 overall, 2-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) soundly defeated No. 10 University of Pacific 15-5. An intense defensive effort led to multiple steals and rough play.

Junior goalkeeper Brandon Brooks was pulled after the first half of the game because the defense did not need its All-American for the second half.

But Sunday Brooks gave up 10 goals in a near blowout loss. UCLA scored in the first minute of play, but Stanford (4-0, 2-0) came back fighting with three goals in less than four minutes.

The Bruins never recovered from the early Cardinal run, as Stanford comfortably led for the rest of the game. UCLA got into early foul trouble and could not counter-attack.

“Our offense was struggling,” UCLA undergraduate assistant coach Sean Kern said. “We really did not have much of a window of opportunity, and when we did have it, I don’t think we really realized it.”

After playing a strong counter-attacking game against Pacific (1-4, 0-3) on Saturday, UCLA failed to build on that momentum in its non-conference loss to Stanford – the first match-up between these two powerhouses in 2001.

“We played with lots of emotion, with lots of heart,” Brooks said. “But as far as tactically, we made some mistakes and it cost us some goals.”

The game was characterized by missed shots from the Bruins, as the Stanford defense stifled UCLA’s offense.

The Bruins could not answer the Cardinal defensively. For every goal UCLA scored, Stanford had another goal or two, and sometimes three to answer.

The Bruins will review their performance this week in practice, as the road doesn’t get any easier in the near future.

“We gotta just learn from it,” Krikorian said. “We have a tough game against No. 2 USC, and it’s going to be a battle.”

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