LOS ANGELES – Top-ranked UCLA men’s water polo suffered its first loss of 2026 Saturday, falling to No. 2 Stanford 19-15 in each team’s MPSF opener. Stanford led by one goal at the end of each quarter before establishing a cushion in the fourth.

Ryder Dodd logged nine total points (four goals, five assists) for the Bruins, who dropped to 14-1. UCLA also got two goals each from Danilo Dragović, Frederico Jucá Carsalade, Max Matthews and Chase McFarland. The Cardinal (11-1) were paced by hat tricks from Alex Gheorghe, Guido Leonardi and James Rozolis-Hill. Stanford’s Bernard Herzer had nine saves.

In a game that featured eight ties, the Bruins held two leads. Both came in the opening quarter. Dodd opened matters by converting a penalty shot. The teams alternated two goals at a time from there through the end of one. Wade Sherlock momentarily gave UCLA the lead a second time, at 3-2.

The Cardinal built its first two-goal lead of the day at 6-4, but Dodd and McFarland answered with a pair. Traded goals followed, but Gheorghe and Stanford struck last for a 9-8 halftime advantage. Ben Liechty, who tallied three assists for the Bruins, scored during the back-and-forth stretch.

It took until the 4:13 mark before a goal was scored in the third. Matthews did the honors, tying it up once again. In what would be the game’s final tie, Jucá Carsalade answered Gheorghe’s subsequent response for 10-10. Trailing 12-10, UCLA cut its deficit in half on a goal by Ben Larsen with 15 seconds left. Stanford led 12-11 after three.

Dodd at 7:08 scored his fourth goal, which tied his season high and pulled the Bruins within one once more at 13-12. The Cardinal lead grew to three for the first time and ultimately reached four, where it finished.

The Bruins will have a chance to bounce back Sunday, when it welcomes No. 4 California to Spieker Aquatics Center for another MPSF contest. Action is set to begin at 1 p.m. PT.

No. 2 Stanford 19, No. 1 UCLA 15

SCOREBOARD	1	2	3	4	FINAL
No. 2 Stanford	4	5	3	7	19
No. 1 UCLA	3	5	3	4	15

6x5: Stanford 2/6, UCLA 6/10
Penalties: Stanford 4/4, UCLA 2/2

Stanford Goals: Gheorghe 3, Leonardi 3, Rozolis-Hill 3, Forer 2, Mnatsakanian 2, Ohl 2, West 2, Balogh 1, Chatzis 1
Stanford Saves: Herzer 9

UCLA Goals: Dodd 4, Dragović 2, Jucá Carsalade 2, Matthews 2, McFarland 2, Larsen 1, Liechty 1, Sherlock 1
UCLA Saves: Tauscher 5