Courtesy: UCLA Athletics
LOS ANGELES — No. 1 UCLA (21-1, 5-1 MPSF West) concluded the 2024 regular season with a 16-9 lopsided win over No. 4 USC (18-5, 2-4 MPSF West) on Saturday afternoon at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins pulled off a three-game regular season sweep of the Trojans to improve to 100-91-1 all-time against the Trojans.
The Bruins had a total of 10 players score in the contest, paced by a game-high five goals from freshman Ryder Dodd. Redshirt sophomore Frederico Jucá Carsalade and graduate student Makoto Kenney each scored two goals against the Trojans.
Graduate student Garret Griggs got the start in the cage and went the distance, tallying a career-high-tying 15 saves and one steal while allowing nine goals.
UCLA, which never trailed in the contest, won the first quarter, 4-3. Kenney opened the scoring (7:30) in the game’s first possession. After the Trojans tied it up at 1-1, freshman Peter Castillo found the back of the net on a feed from graduate transfer Nico Tierney (4:17). Tierney then called his own number (3:21) to push the lead to 3-1. The Trojans would tie it at 3-3, but Dodd’s first goal of the contest (1:05) off an assist from junior Noah Rowe, recaptured the momentum for the Bruins and ended the scoring in the first period with the Bruins leading 4-3.
The Bruins outscored USC, 6-2, in the second period to take a commanding 10-5 lead into the break. With the Bruins leading 6-5, UCLA closed out the half with four straight goals to double up the Trojans by halftime. Redshirt junior Chase Dodd converted a penalty that was drawn by Castillo (7:42) and Ryder Dodd scored his second on a power play (5:31) to put the Bruins in front, 6-4. After the Trojans scored, redshirt sophomore Ben Larsen took a feed from sophomore Wade Sherlock to push the lead to 7-5 (4:42). Redshirt junior Eli Liechty then scored from two meters off a nice pass from freshman Bode Brinkema (3:15) and then Ryder Dodd completed his hat trick (2:17) to make it 9-5. Kenney would score his second on a 7-on-6 play at the buzzer to end the scoring in the first half with the Bruins leading 10-5..
Three more goals would follow for UCLA to extend the Bruins’ scoring run to seven-straight goals in the third quarter. Ryder Dodd scored his fourth goal on a power play (7:03) off a pass from Jucá Carsalade. Then graduate student Jack Larsen took a feed from Ryder Dodd and slammed one home (6:07) to make it 12-5. Then Jucá Carsalade scored his first off an assist from Chase Dodd (2:16) to end the scoring run with the Bruins leading 13-5. The Trojans got one back to close the gap to 13-6 (0:38) to end the scoring in the third period.
Both teams battled to a 3-3 draw in the fourth period to provide the 16-9 final. Ryder Dodd scored his fifth goal of the game (5:16), Jucá Carsalade netted his second (4:28), and redshirt junior Trey Doten ended the scoring in the game (0:45).
UP NEXT: The Bruins hosts the 2024 MPSF Men’s Water Polo Championship Tournament at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center Nov. 22-24. Top-seeded UCLA opens with eighth-seeded Washington & Jefferson on Friday, Nov. 22 at 1:45 p.m. PT.
No. 4 USC at No. 1 UCLA (MPSF Contest – Los Angeles, Calif. – Game 22)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 4 USC | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 4 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 16 |
6×5 – UCLA – 3/10 – USC – 3/5
Penalties – UCLA – 1/1 – USC – 0/0
USC Goals: Connor Cohen 2, Tom McGuire 1, Jack Vort 1, Max Miller 1, Jake Carter 1, Carson Kranz 1, Andrej Grgurevic 1, Zac Crenshaw 1
USC Saves: Bernardo Herzer 7
UCLA Goals: Ryder Dodd 5, Frederico Jucá Carsalade 2, Makoto Kenney 2, Eli Liechty 1, Ben Larsen 1, Peter Castillo 1, Jack Larsen 1, Chase Dodd 1, Trey Doten 1, Nico Tierney 1
UCLA Saves: Garret Griggs 15
Courtesy: USC Athletics
WESTWOOD, CALIF. — The No. 4 USC men’s water polo team had No. 1 UCLA in reach before the Bruins made a power move to take control of things in Westwood, leaving the Trojans with a 16-9 loss at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Trojans go to 18-5 overall on the year, with their only losses having come to the nation’s top two teams as the MPSF Tournament approaches next weekend.
In today’s rivalry clash in Westwood, the Trojans fought to tie the score twice in the first frame, with Connor Cohen netting the first equalizer early. Down 3-1, USC got an opportunistic finish from Tom McGuire, who pounced on a rebound and knocked it in on a USC 6-on-5. Jack Vort sizzled in a score next for USC, and things were snarled up at 3-3. UCLA hit next, however, and USC was down 4-3 after eight minutes of action. Goals from Max Miller and Jake Carter had USC one back during the second, but the Bruins broke off a scoring rally that spanned into the second half. USC dipped behind 13-5 on UCLA’s six-goal surge while the exclusion count continued to tip against the Trojans. Carson Kranz broke up the run with a booming blast that made it 13-6 in the final minute of the third, and Luka Brnetic delivered a field block to end that frame’s action and bring up the fourth. There, the rivals matched each other’s scoring efforts with three apiece. USC’s Andrej Grgurevic and Zac Crenshaw both got on the Trojan scoresheet, while Cohen hammered home his second, and the game would wrap as a 16-9 UCLA win.
NEXT:
USC turns to MPSF Tournament competition next week, opening up against Austin College in a 12 p.m. quarterfinal clash on Friday (Nov. 22). Semifinals and placement games take place Saturday (Nov. 23) and Sunday (Nov. 24) with UCLA hosting the event at Spieker Aquatics Center.
NOTABLE:
– With his goal today, Max Miller has now scored in a team-best 21 of USC’s 23 games so far this season.
– WIth two goals, Connor Cohen matched his career high as a Trojan.
– With his goal today, Andrej Grgurevic leads USC with goals in the past five games.
#1 UCLA 16, #4 USC 9
Nov. 16, 2024 | Spieker Aquatics Center (Goleta, Calif.)
USC 3 – 2 – 1 – 3 = 9
UCLA 4 – 6 – 3 – 3 = 16
SCORING:
USC — Connor Cohen 2, Tom McGuire, Jack Vort, Max Miller, Jake Carter, Carson Kranz, Andrej Grgurevic, Zac Crenshaw.
UCLA — Ryder Dodd 5, Frederico Jucá Carsalade 2, Makoto Kenney 2, Peter Castillo, Nico Tierney, Chase Dodd, Ben Larsen, Eli Liechty, Jack Larsen, Trey Doten.
SAVES: Bernardo Herzer (USC) 7, Garret Griggs (UCLA) 15.
