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Bruin senior goalkeeper Joseph Axelrad finished with a career-high 14 saves in Saturday’s 7

One of the main goals for UCLA’s men’s water polo team heading into Saturday’s game against Stanford was the containment of star Stanford attacker Tony Azevedo.

If the Bruins could limit his scoring and contain the opportunities he gives his teammates, they felt they’d have a good chance of edging out their rival.

With a flurry of defenders thrown at him and with Bruin goalie Joe Axelrad having a career game, UCLA managed to limit Azevedo to only two natural goals, with two others coming on penalties.

The Bruins held the rest of the Cardinal players scoreless in the 7-4 romping of the Cardinal.

“We had great awareness,” coach Adam Krikorian said. “We knew where (Azevedo) was at all times.

“Peter Belden, Albert Garcia, and Brett Ormsby all did an unbelievable job.”

Axelrad, who had a career-high 14 saves on the day, was the last line of containment against Azevedo.

By saving all but two of Azevedo’s non-penalty shots on goal, he had what his coach called the best game of his career.

“I was a little extra pumped up for Stanford,” the senior said. “In our team defense against (Azevedo), continuing to play as a unit was the key to success.

“I attribute all our success to Team D.”

While Azevedo, a 2004 Olympian, is used to having opponents send a few defenders in his direction, he still complimented the Bruins after the game, saying they came out on fire and capitalized on Stanford’s mistakes.

“Today we didn‘t play to our capabilities,” Azevedo said.

“We played hard,” he added, “but we didn‘t play a structured, smart game.”

In the midst of his impressive performance against Stanford, Axelrad recorded his 300th career save.

“He is similar to the value of a hockey goalie,” Krikorian said. “This game is a tribute to his work ethic and mental preparation.”

Axelrad continued his successful play on Sunday in the Bruins’ 11-6 victory over Long Beach State, notching seven saves on the day.

His two most stellar saves came toward the end of the game on a breakaway and then on a penalty shot.