Water Polo (Boys) | 10/3/2025 12:31:00 PM

Cathedral Catholic Water Polo | Elite 8 Tournament
October 3, 2025 – Harvard-Westlake High School

For the second consecutive game in the Elite 8 Tournament, Cathedral Catholic water polo delivered a dominant performance, beating Bishop's 13-9 in Friday morning's matchup. The Dons controlled the pace from the opening sprint, combining explosive offensive plays with relentless defensive stops to secure another impressive win on the big stage.

The first quarter set the tone as Cathedral took an early lead of 6-2. This was helped by goals from Kenly Braylen Axline '27 (#16), who scored twice on transition plays, and Grayson Taylor '28 (#20), who fought through a double team at the set to finish. After Taylor drew a penalty, Maximus Arnold '26 (#11) calmly converted to give Cathedral some separation.

The momentum carried into the second quarter. Colin McPhail '26 (#3) scored off a pass from Max Bruhn '28 (#17), before Bruhn found the net himself on a fastbreak. Bishop's tried to respond, but the Dons answered with a precise opposite-corner shot from Eamon Bruhn '27 (#7), giving them a 9-4 lead at halftime.

Cathedral's highlight of the third quarter was a no-look, backhanded goal from Jett Taylor '27 (#4) in the set, thrilling the crowd and increasing the lead to 11-4. Goalkeeper Luke Anderson made several crucial saves, including a close-range stop that kept the Knights from closing the gap. Fastbreak finishes by Jack Davis '28 (#12) and Bruhn extended the margin to 13-6 as they headed into the final period.

Although Bishop's scored three late goals from a couple of penalty shots and aggressive offense to narrow the gap, Cathedral's defensive intensity and efficient offense throughout the first three quarters proved too much to overcome.

With back-to-back tournament wins, the Dons are establishing their presence among the nation's top teams, demonstrating both depth and composure as the competition heats up.