A sea of lively fans in cardinal red and gold filled the Uytengsu Aquatics Center, ready to celebrate the USC men’s water polo seniors on senior day before their match against UCLA.
No. 3 USC, fresh off a 15-9 victory over UC San Diego last week, was seeking revenge in their match against UCLA Saturday, their first encounter since the 2025 NCAA National Championship game, where the Trojans fell 11-10.
The Bruins took the first possession and quickly set the tone as junior utility Peter Castillo scored the first goal for UCLA17 seconds into the game. The Trojans didn’t wait long to respond. Seventeen seconds later, sophomore driver Efe Naipoglu delivered the assist to junior utility Ben Mirisch, tying the score 1-1.
With an exclusion by senior utility Luke Nelson, UCLA capitalized on the power-play opportunity as junior attacker Ryder Dodd scored the Bruins’ second goal.
The Trojans answered with a goal by sophomore 2-meter Strahinja Krstic, tying the game. That would be the last time the score was tied as UCLA’s offense became unstoppable for USC.
The Bruins scored four consecutive goals; two from freshman utility Luka Gladovic, one from Dodd, and the last one from Castillo, ending the first quarter 6-2.
The consecutive goals gave UCLA momentum going into the second quarter, forcing the Trojans to tighten their defense and score enough to catch up.
A steal by senior driver Robert Duart forced a turnover for the Trojans and set up a goal by Naipoglu, leaving USC trailing 6-3. While USC was only three goals away from tying, the Trojans still struggled to put a couple more points on the scoreboard.
A misconduct exclusion from senior driver Zach Bettino gave the Bruins another 6-on-5 man-up advantage, resulting in a goal by fifth-year utility Ben Larsen.
Senior utility Luke Nelson scored two consecutive goals, leaving USC trailing 7-5 with about three minutes left in the second quarter. Nelson scored a career-high four goals, but even a hat trick wasn’t sufficient to get the Trojans out of trouble.
When asked about the major errors of the match, head coach Marko Pintaric said the Trojans defense had a difficult time stopping UCLA’s offense, noting their struggles against top opponents.
“Defense, you know, this is a common trend in these tough games in the top four opponents,” said Pintaric. “And this is something that we’re working on the hardest, and we’re going to keep working. We need to do a much better job and to protect the goal.”
Junior attacker Bode Brinkema scored UCLA’s first goal in the third quarter, leading 10-5. Nelson responded with a goal, and with the Trojans still trailing 10-6; he attempted another shot, but fifth-year goalkeeper Griffen Price saved it, preventing him from closing the scoring gap. With possession, senior attacker Wade Sherlock used the opportunity to score a goal for the Bruins to lead 11-6.
Less than a minute later, an exclusion of senior utility Ben Liechty gave USC another power-play opportunity, and Nelson used it to cut the deficit to 11-7. But a goal from Dodd in the final minute extended UCLA’s 12-7 lead to end the third quarter.
Going into the final quarter, it would be difficult for the Trojans to score enough points to at least tie the game.
With first possession of the ball, Dodd and fifth-year attacker Vinnie Merk each scored, pulling UCLA to a bigger 14-7 lead.
An exclusion from Liechty gave USC a man-up advantage, which Bettino capitalized on with a goal for the Trojans, now trailing 14-8. An exclusion from Bettino gave Larsen a power-play opportunity, scoring the last goal for the Bruins, 15-8.
Still with a 6-on-5 advantage, Duart scored the final goal in the last 58 seconds to seal a 15-9 win for UCLA.
Despite the loss, Nelson feels grateful to be celebrating his senior day with the rest of his teammates, whom he considers family.
“They are really like family. They’re like brothers to me,” Nelson said. “So, win or lose, I’m really happy, you know, we get to share this special moment today.”
USC’s season record now falls to 1-2 in conference play, with an overall record of 13-3. The Trojans will return to Uytengsu Aquatics Center to play against No. 23 Air Force on Oct. 24.
Edited by Bennett M. Weinschenk and Sammie Vassallo.