Lancers were historically cavalry soldiers who rode into battle at full speed on horseback.
And while they charged into Spieker Aquatics Center to take an early 1-0 lead over the Bruins, that would be their only taste of victory all night.
No. 2 UCLA men’s water polo (16-1, 1-1 MPSF) defeated No. 16 California Baptist (20-5, 1-0 Big West) 21-9 in a home affair Saturday night. After the visitors got on the scoresheet first, the Bruins strung together a nine-point scoring run that gave them a lead they would never surrender.
Junior attacker Bode Brinkema paced the blue and gold with a career-high five goals on the night. He put the Bruins in the scoring column roughly two minutes into the bout after finding the top left corner of the net over the outstretched arm of Lancer goalkeeper Tyler Carson.
“My team was able to put me in a position to score,” Brinkema said. “A lot of that came out in transition as well, so it felt great. Just have to keep going for the next weekend.”
Following an early deficit, the Bruins set the tempo moving forward by sharing the ball. Their 7-1 lead at the end of the opening frame was fueled by five different scorers, including a pair each from Brinkema and fifth-year attacker Vinnie Merk.
A combination of solid field defense and control over the game’s pace allowed the Bruins to capitalize on several fastbreak opportunities.
Perhaps the best example came early in the second quarter, when fifth-year attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade decided to do it all himself. The 2025 ACWPC First Team All-American stole an entry pass from CBU and proceeded to swim the entire length of the pool with the ball in roughly 10 seconds.
Jucá Carsalade then elevated for a skip shot that ricocheted past Carson to give the Bruins a 10-3 advantage.
“We’re a defensive-minded team,” said senior attacker Wade Sherlock. “We’re always thinking about defense and their top attackers. We have to adhere to our personnel.”
Coach Adam Wright rotated between three goalkeepers for the first time since early in the season. Senior Nate Tauscher led the way with five saves, while sophomore Harper Gardner tacked on three – including a penalty save early in the fourth – and fifth-year Griffen Price added one of his own.
Taking a 12-3 lead at the half, three other Bruins joined Brinkema and Merk with two goals under their belt – Sherlock and utilities junior Peter Castillo and freshman Luka Gladović.
While Brinkema, Castillo and Sherlock each made hat tricks by the conclusion of the third, CBU was also able to get its offense going in the frame – its only one with more than two goals. Attacker Paulo Hernandez was the only Lancer to tally more than one goal across the outing, finishing with a pair.
“Last weekend, we gave up 19 goals,” said Wright. “If we keep teams under double digits or keep them under eight, we’re putting ourselves in a good position, even if we’re having a bad offensive day. We’re still missing some field blocks that could really help our goalies, but it was a step in the right direction, and that’s something we’ll continue to focus on during the week.”
A 4-1 final frame in favor of Wright’s squad sealed the 12-point victory in what was likely a breath of fresh air after two heavyweight bouts last weekend against then-No. 2 Stanford, the squad’s first loss of the year, and No. 4 California.
With the win, UCLA will ride its momentum back into MPSF play for a crosstown showdown next weekend against No. 3 USC.
The Trojans took two of the first three matchups between the teams last season, including the MPSF championship match, before the Bruins prevailed in the fourth meeting to capture the national title.
“Every year, we play USC three to five times, which is tough,” Wright said. “We know ‘SC is going to show up. We know they’re going to push us to the brink and they will have a great crowd, but those things are out of our control. What’s in our control is how we show up Monday and try to string together five good days of focused and high-energy training.”
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