125.
That is how many national champion plaques UCLA now boasts on its storied walls.
And No. 2 seed UCLA men’s water polo (27-2, 5-1 MPSF) has been responsible for the most recent two, capturing the national championship for its second straight season against No. 1 seed USC (23-4, 4-2) in a thrilling 11-10 game Sunday afternoon at Avery Aquatic Center in Stanford, California. The Bruins have now won 14 national championships in program history, with six coming under coach Adam Wright.
“What they’re (UCLA men’s water polo) doing here is going to serve them well for when they leave UCLA,” Wright said. “We don’t get here if we don’t have the whole group. The strength of our program is the whole group – guys that didn’t get to suit up, what they bring every day to training, the support we get from campus. This isn’t just for us.”
In a reverse outcome of the MSPF championship, the Bruins got what might be the sweetest revenge possible in the national match.
But the Trojans were not a force to be reckoned with either, scoring two goals in the fourth quarter entering the match’s last minute to force an even 10-10 affair.
Sophomore attacker Ryder Dodd had the opportunity to send the final shot at the nylon until he was pressured to make a last-second pass out of it.
And when it looked like the buzzer would strike zero before the Bruins could even make an attempt, the ball found itself in redshirt junior attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade’s hands for the last shot of his collegiate career.
Redshirt senior attacker Chase Dodd opened the game with a goal on the Bruins’ first possession off a deep strike to the net. Dodd finished the match with two goals and three total points to conclude a five-year career as a Bruin, finishing with two national championships and two All-American selections.
Two other Bruins logged a pair of goals each, including Carsalade, who was named the NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player after the match’s conclusion. Ryder Dodd added a team-high three goals of his own to the bunch.
With the win, Carsalade closes out a four-year UCLA career with two national championships, two All-MPSF selections and an All-American honor. The Rio de Janeiro local finished the NCAA tournament with 10 total goals on 12 attempts, pouring in six assists.
“When you have a kid like Tico (Carsalade) step in there and have an incredible weekend, that’s the win,” Wright said. “They take this and carry it over to life because their backs are going to be against the wall, just like ours were tonight and last night. That’s how you find winners.”
But after the Bruins constructed a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter, the Trojans found their rhythm, recording four consecutive goals to capture a halftime lead. The effort was spearheaded by a pair of strikes from driver Jack Vort.
USC’s attack took a far-out approach, with many of its attackers taking deep shots at the net.
Redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Nate Tauscher followed his career-high performance on Saturday with six saves against the Trojans, limiting the crosstown rivals to a .400 shot percentage. The ring of iron and the ball’s leather hitting palms echoed throughout the night, with a rallying team defense in front of Tauscher. As a unit, the Bruins posted nine field blocks and forced three turnovers.
And that team defense has defined the Bruins all season, holding opponents to an average of 8.36 goals per game. Sunday evening was no different, with white caps yelling on defense and shoving multiple bodies at the Trojan shooters.
“Our whole entire motto this whole entire season was ‘Win as a team, lose as a game,’” Chase Dodd said. “You’re not greater than the team. The players need the team, and the team needs the player.”
The Westwood offense continued the same pattern of adversity shown against its semifinal outing against Stanford, in which the Bruins scored single-digit goals for the first time in 2025. Against USC, UCLA scored two more points than the prior game but did so on an efficient .500 clip.
While the short center continues to be an area of improvement for the Bruins, with the Trojans capitalizing on denying interior shot attempts and forcing 10 turnovers, UCLA was more effective in transition off misses it forced itself. Sophomore utility Bode Brinkema took advantage with two goals on three attempts.
UCLA had another opportunity to tie the game off a fast break entering the final stanza, but goalkeeper Charles Mills blocked Chase Dodd’s shot to retain USC’s one-point lead entering the last eight minutes of the season, totaling seven saves in the game.
That lead was erased just 85 seconds into the fourth quarter off a right-side strike from junior utility Ben Liechty – fired left-handed in what may be his signature move.
A key penalty on Vort gave UCLA another opportunity to tie the game, with Ryder Dodd nailing a penalty shot over halfway through the final stanza. And Ryder Dodd’s heroics shone through immediately on the next possession, when he recaptured the lead through tight pressure and a waning shot clock.
“When you win, it’s easy to get complacent,” Carsalade said. “But this has been a group that, from the next day, we’ve started working and working again. We had this exact date on the back of our heads, just waiting for our moment to come again.”
As Carsalade’s shot ricocheted into the net one last time, the entire Bruin bench jumped into the water, concluding what has been a storybook season.
And the rest was history.
