The UCLA men's water polo team recorded a dramatic buzzer-beating 11–10 victory against USC today at Stanford University's Avery Aquatic Center to capture the NCAA title for the second year in a row.
The victory brings the team's number of national championships to 14 and UCLA's overall tally to 125. Last year's title win also came against USC.
Head coach and UCLA Athletic Hall of Famer Adam Wright now has collected 10 NCAA championships with the Bruins — six as head coach of the men's team, one at the helm of the women's water polo team, one as a women's assistant coach and two as a player.
In a contest sure to be remembered as a classic, Frederico Jucá Carsalade scored the difference-making goal, his second of the game, just as time expired. Ryder Dodd led the Bruins with three goals, while Bode Brinkema and Chase Dodd logged two apiece. Nate Tauscher had eight saves in the cage. Carsalade's efforts earned him the championship tournament's Outstanding Player honor, and he was joined on the All-Tournament team by the Dodd brothers.
The No. 2–seeded Bruins, who went 2–2 this season against the top-seeded Trojans, improved to 103–94–1 all-time in the crosstown series' history. The men's team has repeated as NCAA champions on five occasions.
