Locals help USA cadet men’s water polo team bring home the gold

Three Back Bay rivals came together for a big tournament win Sunday in Belgrade, Serbia.

Newport Harbor High incoming sophomores Reed Stemler and Ike Love, as well as Corona del Mar High incoming sophomore Tanner Pulice, contributed as the USA Water Polo cadet men’s national team won gold at the Darko Cukic Memorial Tournament.

Team USA won the prestigious 15-and-under tournament for the first time after defeating Croatia, 9-6, in the title game.

Pulice, an attacker, scored two goals in the final for Team USA, which also got contributions from Love, a center, and Stemler, a center defender. George Avakian led all scorers in the final with three goals. Defense was also key, with goalie Nolan Krutonog making 17 saves.

Team USA went 7-0 in the tournament, including back-to-back one-goal victories that led the team to the final. The U.S. beat Serbia, 8-7, and the Netherlands, 9-8. Pulice led all scorers with four goals against Serbia, and he had two goals against the Netherlands. Love also scored once against the Netherlands.

The U.S. had a previous best finish in the tournament of third place, in 2012. More recently, the team had a sixth-place finish in 2014, and a seventh-place finish in 2015.

matthew.szabo@latimes.com

Twitter: @mjszabo