SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — The No. 8 UC Santa Barbara Men’s Water Polo picked a great challenge for its final home game of 2026, taking on No. 4 USC for Senior Day on Saturday.

The Gauchos fell, 13-6, but those 13 goals allowed are less than half the number the Trojans put up in the first meeting between these two teams this year, back on opening weekend, a testament to Santa Barbara’s defensive evolution.

The man who has been anchoring that defense, Wyatt Pieretti — one of two graduating student-athletes honored for Senior Day — stacked 12 saves in his final game in Santa Barbara. Thomas Colpo, a two-year Gaucho and important reserve player, also got minutes on his Senior Day.

Santa Barbara had a slow first quarter, with Luigi Canepa’s five-meter penalty goal their only score against five from the Trojans. However, the second was arguably the Gauchos’ best quarter all day, holding USC to three goals while also scoring three themselves.

After two USC scores early in the quarter, Canepa and Hayden Tully went back-to-back to bring the capacity crowd to its feet. The Trojans scored again, but Canepa got the last laugh before halftime.
 
The Santa Barbara defense was solid again in the third, stiffening up after an early USC goal. The visitors scored again with three minutes and change left in the quarter, but Canepa and Genc provided a Gaucho response with goals less than a minute apart.

But this time the Trojans got the last laugh, scoring twice in the final minute, including one at the buzzer. The visitors scored again inside the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, but that ended up being the last goal of the game.

Pieretti made some of his best stops over the final seven minutes of action, but so too did his opposite number, leaving the score stuck at 13-6 in favor of the away team.

The Gauchos have just one game left in the regular season, at Cal State Fullerton at noon on Sunday.

With a win, Santa Barbara would earn a share of The Big West Regular Season Championship and secure a first-round bye in The Big West Championship tournament.

Fans can catch all the action live on ESPN+ or by following along with live stats through ucsbgauchos.com.