HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Dominic Sousa (Orcutt, Calif.) scored three times to post Player of the Game accolades as Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 1-ranked/defending National Champion California Polytechnic State University made the Huntsville Aquatics Center in Huntsville, Alabama, their dominion in topping Atlantic Division Champion/No. 19 the University of Virginia, 13-6, in the first quarterfinal of the 2026 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship.
The all-time leader in Men’s Collegiate Club Championships with six (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2005), the 14-time Pacific Coast Division Champion Mustangs dominated from the opening sprint to the closing horn to build leads of 5-1, 7-3 and 10-5 by the conclusion of the first, second and third quarters, respectively, to once again put the program on the cusp of a National Championship.
The victory advances Cal Poly – which has also finished Second (2003, 2008) and Third (2000, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2024) at the Men’s Collegiate Club Championship since 2000 to maintain a legacy of excellence – into a semifinal at 5:10 p.m. Central later today against the victor of a quarterfinal matching host/Southeast Division Champion/No. 20 the University of Alabama and Sierra Pacific Division regular season champion/No. 3 California State University-Chico.
The loss drops Virginia – which has previously placed Fifth (2024) and Ninth (2023) to accompany ties for 13th (2022) and 15th (2003) – into the consolation side of the 16-team championship bracket as the Cavaliers will aim to dispose of the fallen from the Chico State-Alabama game at 4:00 p.m. later today to earn a position in the Fifth Place game.
The Mustangs dominated the game from the close to the opening sprint as the team went ahead 1-0 18 seconds into the contest via a scoring volley by Wyatt Rantz (Danville, Calif.). Colin Parker (Walnut Creek, Calif.) (4:15; 3:32, man-up), Sousa (3:08) and Hudson Macleod (Santa Barbara, Calif.) (2:49) built upon Rantz’s strike to push Cal Poly ahead 5-0 prior to Ted Zhang (Gr., Salt Lake City, Utah) zinging in a man-up response at 2:26 to pull Virginia back to within four at 5-1 exiting the opening seven minutes of competition.
Roberto Carbone (Sr., Genova, Italy) continued the Cavaliers’ comeback try by commencing the second quarter with another man-up marker (6:32) as Virginia shrank Cal Poly’s lead to 5-2. The comeback was short-lived, however, as Brady Leonard (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) wailed in back-to-back even-strength opportunities at 5:25 and 4:54 to expand the Mustangs’ margin to 7-2 with under five minutes left in the first half.
Trey Taylor (Jr., Baltimore, Md.) managed to chip a score off Virginia’s deficit prior to the halftime horn as he swept in a shot with 1:36 on the clock to diminish the difference to 7-3 at the break.
Following halftime, Macleod (5:58, penalty shot) and Sousa (4:07) sandwiched a successful five-meter penalty shot by Penn Clay (Jr., Los Angeles, Calif.) at 5:28 to expand the lead to 9-4. Enzo Brigagliano (Long Beach, Calif.) pushed Cal Poly into double-digits with a 10-4 lead at the three-minute mark prior to Clay (1:52, penalty shot) and Ethan Scifres (Sr., Granite Bay, Calif.) (38 seconds, man-up) swishing shots to shrink the Mustangs’ lead down to 10-6.
Facing the potential of a Virginia comeback, Cal Poly broke loose from its pen and rode into the sunset as the Mustangs received tallies by Rantz (4:49), Eros Brunel (Marseille, France) (3:56) and Sousa (1:29) to close out a 13-6 victory.
For Virginia, Clay led the way with a pair of goals. Taylor, Zhang, Scifres and Carbone each slipped in solo strikes to support a six-save effort by goalkeeper Carter Grohe (Sr., Virginia Beach, Va.).
Sousa (three), Leonard (two), Macleod (two), Parker (two) and Rantz (two) combined for 11 of Cal Poly’s 13 goals with Brigagliano and Brunel chipping in single scores. Aidan Fitzpatrick (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) made nine saves in the first half with three goals allowed before Sam Rich (Santa Barbara, Calif.) came off the bench to turn away five Virginia scoring tries with three goals permitted during the second half.
University of Virginia’s Boris Rubel (#3) & California Polytechnic State University’s Ford Bovich (#18)
University of Virginia’s Roberto Carbone (#20) attempts to get a shot past California Polytechnic State University’s Cole Stanford (#6)
California Polytechnic State University’s Brady Leonard (#22) launches a shot over the University of Virginia’s Nico Della Pietra (#15)
