UCLA women's water polo coach Adam Krikorian must have delivered a halftime speech to remember because his Bruins in turn delivered the coach his second national title after failing to score in the opening two periods.

The result was a 4-3 victory over Stanford in the championship game of the third annual National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship May 11 at UC San Diego.

The Bruins found themselves down, 2-0, going into the break after Stanford goalie Jackie Frank had made two key saves in the final minutes of the second period. Stanford jumped ahead with a goal by junior Wendy Watkins with less than a minute remaining in the first period and added to the lead in the second period when junior Brenda Villa hit Julie Gardner for an assist.

"I thought we were in trouble," Krikorian said. "It was important for us to get off to a good start. But I knew we had the potential to get back into the game."

UCLA rallied early in the third period, scoring just 50 seconds in on a goal by Kelly Rulon. Rulon then connected on a cross-pool pass with Jessica Lopez to take advantage of a man-up situation.

With the score tied going into the final period, the more than 1,300 fans may have wondered if they were in for a rematch of the two teams' conference final a week earlier that went seven overtimes before Stanford emerged with a 3-2 victory. The Bruins broke the tension, though, scoring with 4:49 remaining in the game on another six-on-five situation on a goal by Lauren Heineck. The Bruins' Robin Beauregard followed that goal two minutes later with one of her own.

Stanford followed with a goal by Kelty Luber to close the gap to 4-3. The Cardinal had a chance to tie the game with a man-up situation, but Brenda Villa's shot attempt with seven seconds left was wide.

"It is great to play (UCLA)," Stanford head coach John Tanner said. "They have a great team and the players know each other well. It was disappointing that we controlled the first half but relinquished the momentum. If we had gone up, 3-0, it could have been over. We wasted a chance to really put them away."

UCLA has faced Stanford in each of the three NCAA championship games. The Bruins defeated Loyola Marymount, 8-2, to advance to the final, while Stanford ousted Indiana, 13-2, in the other semifinal. Loyola Marymount claimed third place with a 5-2 win over the Hoosiers, who were making their first appearance in the championship. Loyola Marymount has finished third in each of the three NCAA championships.

UCLA's Beauregard was named the most outstanding player of the tournament and was joined by teammates Lopez and Natalie Golda on the all-tournament team. Stanford's Frank, Gardner, Villa and Hannah Luber were honored, along with Indiana's Krista Peterson and Katie Hicks from Loyola Marymount.

Semifinals

Stanford scoring: Lauren Boreta 3, Hannah Luber 2, Lauren Faust 2, Brenda Villa, Scotti Shafer, Laurel Champion, Heather Stamper, Kelty Luber, Julie Gardner.

Indiana scoring: Krista Peterson 2.

Saves: Stanford -- Jackie Frank 7, Amanda Matuk 0; Indiana -- Jessica Goldner 9.

Attendance: 831.

UCLA scoring: Ashley Stachowski 2, Jessica Lopez 2, Kelly Rulon 2, Natalie Golda, Maureen Flanagan.

Loyola Marymount scoring: Neisha Hoagland, Katie Hicks.

Saves: UCLA -- Jaime Hipp 12, Tahlia Kerr 0; Loyola Marymount -- Rachel Riddell 5.

Attendance: 831.

Third place

Indiana scoring: Ginger Wang, Krista Peterson.

Loyola Marymount scoring: Devon Wright 2, Katie Hicks 2, Teresa Guidi.

Saves: Indiana -- Jessica Goldner 18; Loyola Marymount -- Rachel Riddell 8.

Attendance: 1,307.

Championship

Stanford scoring: Julie Gardner, Kelty Luber, Wendy Watkins.

UCLA scoring: Robin Beauregard, Lauren Heineck, Jessica Lopez, Kelly Rulon.

Saves: Stanford -- Jackie Frank 8; UCLA -- Jaime Hipp 6.

Attendance: 1,307.