COLLEGE WATER POLO: UCLA TEACHES CSUN LESSON MATADORS ARE IN OVER THEIR HEADS UCLA 17, CSUN 0.

Byline: Lee Barnathan Staff Writer

Welcome to the big time, Cal State Northridge women's water polo team. You have a long road ahead.

In its first home match (and fifth match overall), second-ranked UCLA showed how wide a gap exists between a first-year program and the defending national champions. The Bruins scored on their first eight shots and cruised to a 17-0 victory Friday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match.

Twelve players scored goals for the Bruins (9-3, 4-1), topped by three each by senior Eleanor Murphy and freshman Kristyn Pulver. Junior Mari Joyce, with two goals, was the only other UCLA player with more than one. CSUN (1-4, 0-1) failed to score on any of its 11 shots and had just three scoring chances, including two six-on-fives.

``This was not fun,'' said CSUN goalie Jessica Moody, who made three saves. ``We had to come in at the beginning of the season and play the national champs. Our level of competition is at opposite ends.''

That's what CSUN coach Molly Barnes tried to tell her team this week. As a former UCLA player, Barnes knew just how good the Bruins are. She set two goals for the Matadors: hold UCLA to 15 goals and score with the man advantage. They accomplished neither.

Afterward, sophomore defender Pam Barba seemed a little shell-shocked when she said with a laugh, ``They're good.''

``They thought I was joking,'' Barnes said. ``I don't think they had any idea how competitive those guys are. ... It's a really hard game to watch. You feel for those kids in the water. They feel embarrassed, but this is MPSF water polo. You feel for them because we don't belong in this conference and we have to suck it up.''

Not that the match was a total loss. After UCLA jumped out to an 8-0 lead after one period, Northridge fared better against the Bruins reserves. Barba was effective in stopping UCLA at two meters or closer.

But the Matadors saw how a top team passes, swims and defends. There's much work to do, and Barnes fears more one-sided losses like this will irreparably damage her team's morale, especially considering future matches against Stanford, Cal and USC, which have combined to win all of the sport's NCAA titles.

Still, UCLA coach Adam Krikorian, who was Barnes' roommate at UCLA, saw some Northridge positives.

``They were getting better defensively,'' Krikorian said. ``The first quarter, it's tough for them. This is their first game against anyone like us. You can't prepare. (But) the great thing is they have a lot of room to improve. I expect them to compete with the lower-level teams in our conference (Pacific and Hawaii), which is a start.''

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Cal State Northridge goalie Jessica Moody reaches up to try and block a UCLA shot Friday.

Gene Blevins/Special to the Daily News