This post was updated Oct. 18 at 8:46 p.m.
With two of the nation’s top three teams set to battle it out, fans on both sides of the crosstown showdown likely expected a nail-biter.
But those donning the blue and gold were in for a pleasant surprise.
No. 2 UCLA men’s water polo (17-1, 2-1 MPSF) collected its largest top-10 victory of the season after besting No. 3 USC (13-3, 1-2) by a score of 15-9 Saturday afternoon at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Bruins never trailed in the matchup and conceded the least amount of goals in an outing against the Trojans since the 2024 national championship match.
“That (USC) is a team that can change the situation in a second,” said coach Adam Wright. “But today was a big step forward in terms of how we were playing defense and the energy on defense, which allowed us to get going with our counterattack and play our brand of polo.”
USC entered the bout with two of the conference’s top four goal scorers in 2-meter Strahinja Krstic and driver Robert López Duart, so containing the Trojans’ concentrated scoring threat was a point of focus for the Bruins.
Wright gave the starting nod in goal to fifth-year Griffen Price – just his fourth start of the season and his second straight game seeing match action after not playing since Sept. 5 against then-No. 19 Santa Clara.
And, facing chants of “Beat the Bruins!” from the rival crowd, Price rose to the occasion.
The Stanford transfer tallied 12 saves on a .571 clip and fueled the Bruins’ momentum with big saves at the right moments.
After UCLA came out to an early 4-2 lead, which included a pair of scores from freshman utility Luka Gladović, Trojan driver Ante Jerkovic’s shot was blocked by Price before USC was subsequently awarded a penalty. And right after making one save, Price denied the penalty attempt and added another.
One of two saved penalties from Price across the match, this was just the second time this season that a Bruin goalkeeper has denied multiple penalties.
“(Wright) went out and let me know I’d be starting this game, and it was a super exciting thing,” Price said. “I was really excited to be out there playing defense for my guys, and it was a great team win.”
The Bruins’ lead would never dip below two scores, and following Price’s first penalty save, junior attacker Ryder Dodd tallied one of his four goals to give UCLA a 5-2 advantage.
Dodd, Gladović and junior utility Peter Castillo each tallied two goals through the first frame, and the offense kept rolling in the second.
Fifth-year attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade – who scored the title-winning shot last season against the Trojans – sent a bullet past several USC defenders to the top-left corner of the goal to put UCLA up 8-5. Carsalade pumped his fist toward the home crowd after the score as frustrations continued to mount for the stalling Trojan squad.
Nine different Bruins found nylon in the match, and senior center Marcell Szécsi joined the fun with just one second remaining in the first half. After receiving an entry pass from a capless fifth-year attacker in Vinnie Merk, Szécsi sent a spinning backhand shot past Trojan goalkeeper Charles Mills to put the Bruins up 9-5 at the break.
“Knowing what’s coming to us, with them being a very aggressive and spiritual team, is good,” Dodd said after the victory. “Also knowing that we’re going to see them later down the line is really important for us because the result here is going to be much different than what it is when we play them in a month.”
Dodd’s four-goal performance puts him atop the MPSF leaderboard with 46 total scores across the year, while the Trojans on that list had quiet outings Saturday.
Krstic and López Duart – third and fourth in conference scoring, respectively – were each held to just one goal against the Bruins. Utility Luke Nelson, the Trojans’ fifth-highest scorer on the year, tallied a season-high four goals to pace the cardinal and gold.
Still, the smothering Bruin defense was just too much to handle. USC scored just four in the second half, finishing the afternoon shooting 26.5% – its second-worst mark this season.
Now, after a dominant performance in the battle for Los Angeles, UCLA will ride its momentum into a two-week break before returning to MPSF action Oct. 31 for a road matchup against No. 4 California.
“The group is getting better, but we need to accelerate the process,” Wright said. “We’re over halfway done with the season, and you don’t get that many opportunities to grow. I thought today we took advantage of one, so if we can start doing that day by day, we’ll be a completely different group by the end of the year.”
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