No. 1 UCLA men’s water polo (14-0) will dive into MPSF play this weekend at Spieker Aquatics Center to continue its search for a third-straight national championship. Coach Adam Wright’s squad will take on two top-four opponents in No. 2 Stanford (10-1) on Saturday and No. 4 California (9-2) on Sunday, both of which the Bruins defeated en route to capturing the Overnght MPSF Invitational title earlier this season. Daily Bruin senior staffer Finn
Karish breaks down both squads ahead of this
weekend’s action.
California
Coach: Kirk Everist
Best Player: Beso Akhvlediani
Strength: Goalscoring Threats
Weakness: Execution in the Clutch
X-Factor: Shooting Efficiency
The Golden Bears were the last team to three-peat the national championship, a feat that the Bruins could match this season. Their first attempt at overcoming UCLA this season fell short by one point, but another opportunity presents itself this weekend.
California started the season with eight consecutive victories, and the narrowest margin during the streak sat at a relatively comfortable four goals. The Golden Bears only improved as the season progressed, scoring more goals in the latter half of their winning streak and conceding less goals than in their first four games of the season, despite matching up against similarly ranked opponents.
However, the streak was snapped when the Bruins defeated the Golden Bears at the Overnght MPSF Invitational in a narrow 11-10 finish. California’s second loss came later that day in another nail-biter, with the team falling 12-13 to No. 2 USC. The Golden Bears shot about a 40% clip in both games – well under their season average of 54.8% and marking their only two games shooting under 50%.
[Related: UCLA men’s water polo remains undefeated, takes 4th-straight Overnght MPSF title]
With three shooting performances against ranked opponents eclipsing 70% efficiency this season, California has the talent to be efficient, but implementing that will be the X-factor in overcoming UCLA.
In the pair of matches against the LA rivals, the Golden Bears were unable to dig deep in the clutch to come out on top. Against the Trojans, they allowed four unanswered goals to close out the game, throwing away the three-point lead they held with less than seven minutes remaining.
The Bruin defenders will look to limit the effectiveness of attacker Beso Akhvlediani. The Tbilisi, Georgia, local has netted 29 goals and dished out 20 assists this season, placing him firmly near the top of the MPSF rankings for both statistics. He has also made his presence known on the defensive side with 10 steals after tallying just nine last year in his freshman campaign.
Alongside Akhvlediani, both attacker Tomas Perrone and center Ilias Angelopoulos scored a pair of goals last time they faced UCLA. With the two being underclassmen, California brings fresh talent and versatility to its attack.
Defensively, the Golden Bears have maintained an average goals-against of 9.0 per game, besting the Bruins 9.36 figure. However, UCLA’s goal-scoring average per game stands at 16.57 and bests Cal’s mark of 16, with the Bruins scoring 11 or more goals in every game this season – including its prior meeting against Cal.
If the Golden Bears are able to maintain their stifling defense against the reigning national champions and find higher percentage shot opportunities, they have the tools to take down their in-state rival.
Stanford
Coach: Brian Flacks
Best Player: Bernardo Herzer
Strength: Goals Allowed
Weakness: History with the Bruins
X-Factor: Botond Balogh
Stanford took the defending national champions as close to a stalemate at the end of regulation time as they have experienced all season, but the Cardinal could not quite hang on in the end.
The Cardinal defense was key to staying in the game in their first meeting with the Bruins. They were able to earn 10 steals, forcing UCLA to give up an uncharacteristically high 13 turnovers. However – despite a game-tying goal with a minute to go from attacker Daniel Mnatsakanian – a last-second dagger from freshman utility Luka Gladović gave the Bruinst their fourth-straight Overnght MPSF Invitational title. This was the first and only loss the 2019 national champions have suffered so far.
Despite the setback, Stanford’s defense has conceded just 8.64 goals per game, the lowest of any of the top-four powerhouses.
Goalkeeper Bernardo Herzer has held strong at the core of the Stanford defense, with a nation-leading 102 saves and just 72 goals allowed. Last season at USC, the Los Angeles local was named to the Cutino Award Watch List and captained the Trojans to their national championship appearance against UCLA.
The X-Factor for Stanford will come in the form of their top goal scorer, attacker Botond Balogh, who has scored 23 goals and assisted eight more. In Stanford’s loss against UCLA, the Budapest, Hungary, local was shut out on five shot attempts and was excluded twice without a single assist on the night. To beat the Bruins, a strong performance from Balogh might just be the key to tipping momentum in the Cardinal’s favor.
Balogh isn’t the only high scorer for Stanford, with eight other members of the squad contributing double-digit goal tallies and driver Ben Forer providing a team-high 16 assists. Forer scored a season-high six goals last time out against the Bruins, a feat he also accomplished as a sophomore last season.
Yet one weakness that plagues the Cardinal is their recent historical performance against the Bruins. Despite strong overall records throughout the last three seasons, they have lost seven consecutive games to UCLA since 2024. Whether this acts as a motivator or a mental block remains to be seen.
Stanford’s nation-leading defense in tandem with a plethora of high scorers will need to be at the top of its game to take down the last remaining undefeated team in the country. If Balogh can return to his scoring form, this may just be their chance to break the streak.
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