The Trojans are the queens of women’s water polo once again. After a five-year drought, Southern California has taken back the crown.

A fairytale tournament run for USC (25-3, 6-0 MPSF) culminated in the NCAA women’s water polo championship final on April 26, when it captured its seventh national title. The Trojans finished the regular season with a 21-2 record, with their only two losses coming against No. 3 UCLA. USC got its revenge in the NCAA semifinal, defeating the Bruins 11-10. Against the cardinal and gold backdrop of the La Jolla sunset, the Trojans lifted their first NCAA trophy under second-year head coach Casey Moon.

For California (16-8, 3-3 MPSF), always the bridesmaid, the wait for its first women’s water polo title lasts another year. The Golden Bears entered the tournament as the No. 4 seed and dispatched top-seed rival Stanford 13-11 in the semifinal to make their third appearance in the national title game. Only Stanford, UCLA, and USC have won titles in the tournament’s 25-year history; the Golden Bears were unable to become the fourth team to do so.

Cal’s closest attempt yet was the 10-9 loss in La Jolla, and the Golden Bears never trailed by more than three goals. With five minutes remaining, Cal freshman utility player Despoina Drakotou slotted home a penalty shot to bring the Golden Bears within one. Although Cal was unable to find another goal, an exclusion against USC on Cal’s final possession gave the Golden Bears one last opportunity to equalize and force overtime. The ball fell to senior attacker Abbi Magee, who sent it — and the Golden Bears’ chances — wide right of the net.

While the scoreline was close, the Trojans led the Golden Bears the entire game. Senior utility player Sinia Plotz put the Trojans on the board first, and junior attacker Ava Stryker fired the ball in the back of the net to end the first quarter with a 3-2 USC lead. A second-quarter run saw the Trojans widen the gap, with Stryker’s second goal of the game giving USC a three-goal lead. Although junior center Rachel Gazzaniga scored the Trojans’ final goal with six minutes remaining, the Trojan defense suffocated the Cal offense in the fourth quarter to take a 10-9 victory and the national title.