UCLA women’s water polo one win from a national title

The UCLA women’s water polo team needs one more to retain its zero.

The top-seeded and undefeated Bruins advanced to Sunday’s NCAA championship with a 10-8 semifinal victory over two-time defending champion Stanford on Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Complex at Berkeley.

UCLA, which never trailed against Stanford, will face third-seeded Cal, a 9-6 winner over No. 2 seed Hawai’i, for the title.

The Bruins defeated the Golden Bears (18-6) twice this season – 7-6 on April 13 at Berkeley and 13-10 for the MPSF championship April 28 in Bloomington, Ind.

Freshman Panni Szegedi led UCLA (25-0) with three goals against the fourth-seeded Cardinal (19-7). Fellow freshman Lauren Steele stopped 12 shots and recorded three steals.

The game was tied at 4 at halftime before the Bruins pounced for four goals – two by sophomore Genoa Rossi – in the third quarter. Junior Molly Renner’s goal a little more than a minute into the third gave the Bruins a 5-4 lead they would not relinquish.

With UCLA ahead 8-6 after three, sophomore Taylor Smith’s power-play goal at 4:48 proved to be the winner. After sophomore Anna Pearson drew a penalty with 3:40 left, Szegedi converted it for the hat trick and 10-6 lead to all but cinch it.

Coached by Adam Wright, the Bruins advanced to the semifinal with a 17-7 victory over 17th-ranked Wagner, thanks to hat tricks from Pearson and graduate student Hannah Palmer.

UCLA, which has won seven national championships, is seeking to hoist its first trophy since 2009. The championship game is at 7 p.m. Sunday on ESPN.