INDIANAPOLIS – A rivalry as old as time took center stage once again, and this time, it felt like a fairy tale unfolding — complete with heroes, villains and an electric crowd.

And while last year’s campaign may have penned a storybook ending for the Bruins, this year’s bout saw a much different result. 

No. 2 seed UCLA women’s water polo’s (20-6, 5-1 MPSF) dreams of back-to-back national championship was shattered by No. 3 seed USC (29-4, 5-1) in Saturday’s NCAA semifinal after the team suffered a 15-13 loss at the IU Natatorium in Indianapolis.

From the opening whistle, the Bruins came out blazing. Redshirt junior attacker Emma Lineback fired in a goal within the first minute of play, signaling UCLA’s hunger. But the Trojans weren’t going down without a fight, answering swiftly with a goal of their own.

The two teams traded scoring opportunities across the first quarter, with the pool charged with an energy apparent through the various 8-claps of Bruin fans in the stands. 

“We had a real chance there in the second quarter,” coach Adam Wright said. “We’re seven, six on five in a tournament game, but we really had a chance to widen the gap there.”

The Bruins played with a strong aggression, leading the game in power-play conversions – converting five of seven chances – and registering seven blocks to the Trojan’s two. Yet, as the second period wound down with under two minutes remaining, the Trojans had clawed back to trail by just two points, 7-5.

But not all stories unfold as happily ever after.

With halftime looming and the score narrowed to a one-point difference, the question shifted – who would step up and take control of the match?

The Trojans answered first. Firing in two quick goals to claim their first lead of the game at 8-7, the Bruins’ crosstown rivals stretched it to 10-7 lead, putting a halt to the Bruins’ offensive rhythm and forcing a timeout.

Lineback, the Bruins’ leading scorer throughout the NCAA tournament, responded with a goal to stop the bleeding. But a highly contested USC goal soon followed. Though UCLA’s sophomore goalkeeper Lauren Steele appeared to have punched the ball out of the cage, the officials ruled it had crossed the line, counting it as USC’s 12th goal.

The momentum swung hard in favor of the Trojans. They rattled off three more goals as the Bruins struggled to find a response on either end of the pool. With one period left, the Bruins’ dreams of an NCAA finals berth hung on by a thread.

“We came out that third quarter pretty flat,” Wright said. “Got to give them (USC) credit, they played with great energy in the second half.”

Then came a flicker of hope for the Bruins. Junior center Bia Mantellato scored to make it 14-9, and a penalty goal by senior attacker Molly Renner narrowed the gap further to 14-10. Another strike from Mantellato cut it to a three-goal margin – with five minutes still to play, the Bruins weren’t done yet.

Three more goals would have given UCLA a small chance, but USC’s defense wouldn’t allow it – with the Bruins slowly succumbing to their lead. 

The loss marked an early exit from the NCAA tournament for the team and the conclusion to its 2025 season.

“Where we are today from where we were in the beginning of the season, it’s a completely different team,” Wright said. “That’s why it hurts so much because they really did grow and we put ourselves in a position to have a chance to be the best. Unfortunately, today, it wasn’t our best.”