UCLA Defeats USC To Claim 13th NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship

Courtesy UCLA Athletics

No. 1 UCLA (26-2) captured its 13th NCAA Championship in men's water polo with an 11-8 win over No. 2 USC (23-6) on Sunday afternoon at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. The win also marked the 124th NCAA Championship for the UCLA Athletic Department. The Bruins, who went 4-1 this season against the Trojans, improved to 101-92-1 all-time in the series history.

The win also marked the fifth NCAA Championship for UCLA Head Coach Adam Wright while in charge of the Men's Water Polo team, with all five titles coming against USC. It is Wright's ninth NCAA title overall, as he also won two as a player at UCLA (1999 and 2000), one last year with the women's program (2024), and one more as an assistant coach with the women's team in 2009.

UCLA had a total of seven players score in the contest, paced by two goals each from freshman Ryder Dodd, redshirt junior Chase Dodd, and graduate students Nico Tierney and Jack Larsen. Graduate student Makoto Kenney added a game-high three assists.

Redshirt freshman Nate Tauscher made just his third start of his young career, going the distance while recording 10 saves, three steals, and one assist while surrendering eight scores.

The two teams battled to a 2-2 draw in the first period. Another 2-2 draw followed in the second to send the game into the halftime break deadlocked at 4-4. Ryder Dodd scored the 101st goal of his freshman season at the 1:37 mark of the second period to tie the all-time MPSF single-season goals record (Ryan Bailey, UC Irvine, 1998).

The Bruins won the third period, 3-2, to take a 7-6 lead heading into the final stanza. Ryder Dodd would surpass the MPSF scoring mark with the final goal of the third (0:49) on a power play to increase his total to 102 goals. In the fourth quarter, the Bruins got two huge goals and a field block from Larsen to win the period, 4-2, to provide the 11-8 final.

No. 2 USC vs. No. 1 UCLA (2024 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship - Stanford, Calif. - Game 28)

SCOREBOARD	1	2	3	4	FINAL
No. 2 USC	2	2	2	2	8
No. 1 UCLA	2	2	3	4	11

6x5 - UCLA - 4/12 - USC - 3/8
Penalties - UCLA - 1/1 - USC - 0/0

USC Goals: Robert Lopez Duart 2, Andrej Grgurevic 2, Max Miller 1, Luka Brnetic 1, Tom McGuire 1, Jack Martin 1
USC Saves: Bernardo Herzer 9

UCLA Goals: Jack Larsen 2, Chase Dodd 2, Ryder Dodd 2, Nico Tierney 2, Frederico Jucá Carsalade 1, Aaron Voggenthaler 1, Peter Castillo 1
UCLA Saves: Nate Tauscher 10