HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Jackson Loyd (So., San Diego, Calif.) scored with 1:51 left in the fourth quarter for the deciding factor to finish with two goals as Southwest Division Champion/No. 2-ranked San Diego State University overcame Pacific Coast Division Champion/No. 1/defending National Champion California Polytechnic State University, 7-6, in the 2026 Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship title game hosted at the Huntsville Aquatics Center.
SDSU – which has now finished First (2017, 2026), Second (2014, 2015) and Third (2016) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship – never trailed in breaking the Mustangs for the program’s second National Championship in the sport of men’s water polo.
Making the team’s 10th National Championship title game appearance (1999, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2022, 2025, 2026) with six (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2025) titles, Cal Poly has now placed First (1999, 2001, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2025), Second (2003, 2008, 2026) and Third (2000, 2006, 2017, 2018, 2024) at the Men’s National Collegiate Club Championship in program history.
The Aztecs never trailed in handing the Mustangs the program’s third title game defeat as Justin Dipietro (Sr., Oakley, Calif.) and Adam Monroe (Gr., San Diego, Calif.) swished shots in the first quarter at 5:03 and 1:07, respectively, to stake San Diego State to a 2-0 lead. Nathan Arakawa (Castro Valley, Calif.) got Cal Poly on the board prior to the termination of the frame as he found the back twine with five seconds on the clock to cut SDSU’s lead in half at 2-1 through seven minutes of action.
Neither team could muster much offense in the second quarter as a line-drive shot by Ben Hecht (Jr., Palm Springs, Calif.) was the lone damage inflicted as the Aztecs went into halftime clutching a narrow 3-1 lead.
Cal Poly erased its deficit in short order to commence the third quarter as Enzo Brigagliano (Long Beach, Calif.) (5:29, man-up) and Maxwell Tuggle (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) (4:36) torqued home tallies to tie the teams at three-all.
Following a yellow card to San Diego State head coach Ali Noureddine following Tuggles’ tying strike, the Aztecs regained the lead at 4-3 when DiPietro deposited a dime into the twine with 3:57 on the clock. Wyatt Rantz (Danville, Calif.) delivered another tying score via a successful five-meter penalty shot at 3:34 to make it a four-all contest. The pattern repeated itself again before the conclusion of the third quarter as Loyd unloaded for San Diego State (1:13, man-up) and Hudson Macleod (Santa Barbara, Calif.) (57 seconds, penalty shot) fired back for Cal Poly to make it a five-all contest entering the fourth quarter.
The back-and-forth pattern of the game continued to the final horn as Hecht (5:59, man-up) and Bo Clemens (Solana Beach, Calif.) (3:09) put away shots for the Aztecs and Mustangs, respectively, to balance the scoreboard at six-all and set the stage for Loyd’s deciding blow with 1:51 left to play.
For San Diego State, Hecht and DiPietro joined Loyd in accounting for pairs with Monroe tossing in a solo strike. Ben Ostrowkski (Gr., San Jose, Calif.) made a case for Player of the Game as the netminder made nine saves to pick-up the National Championship game victory in net.
Clemens, Tuggle, Rantz, Brigagliano, Arakawa and Macleod each scored once to account for Cal Poly’s offensive exploits. Goalkeeper Aidan Fitzpatrick (Arroyo Grande, Calif.) stopped seven shots in taking the loss.
The All-Tournament Team along with Tournament Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Tournament honors will be announced later this week following the verified compilation of the results from the ballots.
