No. 1 USC Men's Water Polo Falls to No. 2 UCLA, 14-13

Saturday, November 15

Los Angeles, Calif.

11:00 a.m. NEW TIME

USC

18-3

UCLA

22-1

UCLA (M)

USC (M)

Photo by: Bryce Dechert

No. 1 USC Men's Water Polo Falls to No. 2 UCLA, 14-13

November 15, 2025 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

LOS ANGELES -- In an absolute battle on a rainy afternoon at Uytengsu Aquatic Center, the No. 1-ranked USC men's water polo team came up just short against No. 2 UCLA, falling 14-13 to the Bruins in the teams' regular season finale.

The Trojans led as late as 2:21 in the fourth quarter, but two late goals by the Bruins went unanswered. The teams split their two MPSF matches this season, with both teams winning on the road. USC closes the regular season 18-3 overall and 4-2 in conference play, while UCLA finishes 22-1, 5-1. The Trojans will be the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Tournament and the Bruins will be the top-seed.

After falling behind 3-1 in the first period, USC stormed back with five goals in the second to take a 6-5 lead into the half. The teams played even through the third and then traded goals through most of the fourth. UCLA tied the game at 12-12 with 3:08 to play, but the Trojans got an answer from Robert Lopez Duart at the 2:21 mark. Bode Brinkema scored for UCLA on the next possession and then the Bruins drew their second penalty of the game with 1:09 to play. Ryder Dodd converted the penalty shot to make it 14-13.

USC turned it over on the next possession and got a final shot with :04 seconds left, but it went off the crossbar and out.

The Trojans owned a decisive edge in powerplay conversions, scoring on eight of their 13 6-on-5 opportunities to just 1-of-13 for UCLA. Charles Mills had nine saves in his three quarters played. Strahinja Krstic led USC with four goals on five shots, while also drawing nine exclusions. Robert Lopez Duart added a hat trick for USC.

USC will head to Stanford for the MPSF Tournament next week, opening play at Avery Aquatic Center on Friday, Nov. 21. The Trojans will play the winner of Austin College and Wheaton at 4 p.m.