Gauchos Head to Stanford for MPSF Invitational

Jeff Liang Gauchos Head to Stanford for MPSF Invitational 9/17/2026 3:00:00 PM Share: STANFORD, Calif. — The No. 14 UC Santa Barbara Men's Water Polo team is set to visit another Mountain Pacific Sports Federation pool this weekend, as the Gauchos will travel north to Stanford, where the Cardinal are hosting the Overnght MPSF Invitational. The three-day tournament starts on Friday — with the Gauchos opening their weekend against No. 6 Long Beach State — and continues through Sunday, with Santa Barbara set to play a total of four games as they progress through the bracket. LAST TIME OUT The Gauchos hold the 11th seed in this weekend's 16-team field thanks in part to a pivotal win over No. 15 LMU last weekend in Los Angeles. Santa Barbara rallied from an 8-5 halftime deficit by out-scoring the Lions, 4-0 in the third quarter and then making that one-goal lead stick through a back-and-forth fourth. For comparison, LMU holds the 13th seed for this weekend's event and will face No. 4 California in their opening match. The Gauchos' victory over the Lions was part of a two-game Saturday at UCLA last weekend, with Santa Barbara also mounting a late comeback against the No. 1 Bruins but com...