The Dons bounced back with a strong 13–3 victory over Piedmont, combining aggressive defense, unselfish passing, and plenty of creativity on offense.

Spencer Salfen opened the scoring from the set, holding off a defender with one arm before finding the net. Alexander Mura then drove down the pool and delivered a bounce pass to Spencer, who scored again. After Piedmont answered with a goal, Olivier Lavoie stole the ball from an attacker, fought off his defender, and found Spencer, who swam past his opponent and fired a shot into the upper-left corner.

The Dons ended the first quarter with a 3–1 lead.

Acalanes also had to adjust in goal. Ryan Graff injured a finger during warm-ups, so Brady Pigeon stepped in to start the game. Ryan returned for the second quarter and immediately helped the Dons settle into their defensive rhythm.

Ben Paulsen opened the second-quarter scoring with a goal, and Spencer followed by stealing the ball right in front of the Piedmont goal and converting. Olivier then scored after a great transition play from Ryan. The Dons continued moving the ball patiently, eventually finding Spencer in the middle for another goal.

Piedmont converted a power-play opportunity, but Acalanes answered with more strong defense and entered halftime ahead 7–2.

The second half brought another change in goal, with Brady returning to the cage. Finn Butler won the opening sprint, and the ball quickly found Spencer in the middle. Spencer worked around one defender, held off another, and finished with a skip shot.

Finn continued to make an impact on defense and offense. On one possession, he fought through pressure to get a shot off and tucked it into the corner. At the other end, Alexander helped shut down a Piedmont attack with a timely defensive play before Brady finished the save.

The Dons closed the third quarter with a 10–2 lead.

For the fourth quarter, Ben Paulsen took over in goal, giving the Dons yet another opportunity to demonstrate their versatility. Piedmont scored early, but Acalanes quickly answered.

 

Finn drove through pressure before finding Olivier, who connected with Spencer in the middle. Spencer battled through a defender and scored with a terrific backhand shot. On the next possession, Spencer found Olivier wide open in front of the goal, and Olivier calmly placed a beautiful shot into the corner.

Connor Dunton added to the action, fighting for a rebound and helping keep the possession alive before Brady finished another scoring play.

Meanwhile, Ben was busy in goal. He rose out of the water to block a shot aimed at the top of the net, then later made another impressive save on a shot headed for the upper-left corner.

Finn continued to anchor the defensive effort, pressuring attackers and creating turnovers that allowed the Dons to transition back to offense.

The final whistle brought a 13–3 Acalanes victory.

The Dons showed impressive versatility throughout the game, with three different players taking turns in goal, strong defensive pressure from the entire team, and an offense built around movement and unselfish passing.

A little traffic, a few goalie changes, and a whole lot of water polo later, the Dons had another win to add to the season.