Spain Captain Felipe Perrone Ends Legendary Career with Storybook Title

Felipe Perrone described it like a movie ending, one that maybe even Hollywood would’ve thought a little too on the nose Thursday.

Perrone’s last acts as an international water polo player unspooled at the OCBC Aquatic Centre in Singapore. With 18 seconds left in the gold-medal match of the World Aquatics Championships, Perrone scored to give Spain a three-goal lead over Hungary, the final touch on a 15-13 victory.

It meant Perrone would end his 14th World Championships with two different countries with a gold medal around, the final entry in one of his generation’s most illustrious careers.

“It was really like a movie,” the Spain captain said. “I couldn’t believe it. I think even the best movies are not so organized like this — like the last goal, winning the world championship. I’m so, so happy and so proud of the team.”

All the beats were there for the 39-year-old. He may not be the dominant force he once was, making the all-tournament team at the 2008 and 2012 Olympics. (The former came when his current Spain teammate, Biel Gomila, was just two years old.) But Perrone’s game has not fallen far. He was the MVP of the World Championships final in 2022, when Spain beat Italy in the shootout for its first title in 21 years, and made the all-tournament team in 2023.

This year, Perrone had two goals on nine shots and three assists in the first six Spain games. But when his team needed him in the final, he produced two goals and an assist.

Perrone answered when Hungary got out to its biggest lead, at 10-8, with a goal at 3:23 of the third quarter. Spain scored five of the first six goals of the fourth quarter to take the lead, the last by Unai Biel with 3:10 left. It was enough to weather the red card shown to Bernat Sanahuja, the finals MVP, with 3:51 left.

Perrone finished it off personally. When Adam Nagy got Hungary within two at 14-12 with 51 seconds left, the captain replied by drawing the exclusion, then scoring on the power play with 18 ticks left to make it 15-12 and remove all doubt that he’d go out a winner.

Photo Courtesy: World Aquatics/Singapore 2025

“It wasn’t easy,” he said. “Hungary played amazing, but I think our team, we really showed our capacity. As a team, we played amazing. And I think more than that, it was an amazing game for water polo. I think people who watched it just see the best and the most beautiful water polo of all time.”

Perrone’s career is a wild ride. Born in Brazil, he moved to Spain at age 15 and represented both nations at the Olympics, with four Olympic for Spain and the home Games for Brazil in Rio in 2016. An Olympic medal eluded him, Spain finishing fourth in Tokyo, fifth in Beijing and sixth in Paris and London. But Spain has long been one of the most outstanding programs of Worlds.

Thursday was Spain’s fourth World Championship, moving into a tie with Hungary and Italy for the most in the competition’s history. Perrone led two, and he’s medaled in seven World Championships – silver in 2009 and 2019; bronze in 2007, 2023 and 2024. He has five European Championships medals, including gold in 2024.

The dramatic ending fit the emotional build Perrone felt leading to his final games.

“I was crying for the last six months, and every time all the guys were saying beautiful words for me,” he said. “I think it’s more than the result, because now it’s easy to talk about the results, but it was so, so many years with them. I spent more time with them than with my family. For me to finish like this and have them next to me, it is really a special feeling.”

Perrone has dominated domestic competition with 15 titles with CN Atletic-Barceloneta over four stints. He’s won the LEN Champions league with CNAB, Italian club Pro Recco and Croatia’s Jug Dubrovnik, with domestic titles in each league.

He is an icon in the sport.

“There are no words to describe Felipe,” said Alvaro Granados, the MVP of the tournament and perhaps Perrone’s heir apparent. “When the game finished, I said to him that one of the most beautiful things that sport ever gave me was being able to be a friend of him. He was my idol growing up watching water polo and being able to become his friend, his roommate for the last four years is some of the most beautiful things sport has ever given to me and will give to me for sure.

“He’s always for the good of the team. He has zero ego being one of the best players in history, for sure, and he puts always the others in front of him for the best of the group. We all learnt a lot from him, so he’s super humble, super good person and a great friend.”

The tributes came from both sides in the final.

“I cannot describe how happy I am for him,” Hungary’s Vince Vigvari said after giving his Barceloneta teammate a big hug. “If there was one player today who deserves it, it’s him. He knows that I love him so much, and I can’t wait to see him again in Barcelona, because I have to learn a lot more from him.”

It’s been a long journey for Perrone, who said he’s looking forward to a break from the year-round grind to spent time with family. It’s difficult to walk away, not from the accolades and trophies but from the people he’s won them alongside.

“I wouldn’t say that winning is an addictive feeling,” he said. “I think sport is an addictive feeling. I shared this with my teammates. It is the sport, every training session. This feeling of being connected with the guys. This is something really special. And sometimes you win, sometimes you lose, and I lost a lot. For me, I would say that more than winning. It is the feeling of the relationship that we constructed during these years.”

MOREHEAD, Ky. – A 15-member class that features multiple members with collegiate and international experience highlight coach Paul Cox‘s first full recruiting class for the Morehead State women’s soccer team. The group also includes three state champions and three others with state finals experience.

The global group features players from Switzerland, England, California, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, New Jersey and Kentucky. Virtually every newcomer enters MSU with a long history of playing for highly successful and championship teams.

They will join 10 returnees from an Eagle squad which finished 2024 with a 9-8-6 overall record and a 4-3-2 Ohio Valley Conference mark, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, while setting school records for best road mark, lowest team goals against average and most games played.

“We are excited to bring in a wealth of players that offer something different,” Cox said. “We brought in four transfers in the spring who helped rejuvenate our team culture. We are now bringing in a large freshman class that has international experience for national teams. We have players coming from top level clubs as well as some in-state talent that is going to help our program grow again this year as we look to go back to the NCAA tournament.”

Cox hit the portal hard with five transfers, including four who enrolled in the spring and played with the Eagles in the 2025 offseason. One freshman also joined the squad in January after graduating early from high school. That group helped MSU post an undefeated (4-0-1) spring campaign and outscored its opponents 12-1.

Junior midfielders Hannah Carter (Bowling Green, Ky./Murray State) and Molly Tapak (Greenwood, Ind./Southern Illinois), junior forward Keara Chafee (Blair, Neb./Omaha), redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Sofia Rodriguez (Taylor Mill, Ky./Western Carolina) and freshman defender Faith Peper (Mahtomedi, Minn./Mahtomedi HS) joined the program earlier this year.

Carter spent two years at Murray State, where she played in 35 matches, starting 20. During that time, she recorded 12 shots and had one assist. As a freshman, she recorded the second most minutes on the squad. A graduate of Greenwood High School, her teams finished with a 69-17-6 record over four seasons, winning the state title in 2019 and advancing to the state semifinals in 2020. In her final two years, GHS was the regional runner-up. As a senior for the Lady Gators, Carter recorded 15 points on seven goals and one assist. She finished second in goals and third in points on the team. Overall, she tallied 13 goals, seven assists and 33 points. Academically, she was a member of the National Honors Society. She played for the Nashville United club side.

Tapak comes to MSU after two seasons at Southern Illinois. In her time as a Saluki, she played in 27 games, starting 20, and finished taking 12 shots. In her first season, she played the full 90 minutes in 14 of 17 contests, finishing with the second-most minutes on the team and fourth most in program history. A two-year starter and team captain at Center Grove High School, her squad was a semi-state runner-up after winning the regional and sectional. She also competed in gymnastics and track and field, qualifying for the state meet in two events in the latter sport. Tapak earned Academic All-State and Second Team-All District honors and also won a team sportsmanship award in track and field. She was a starter for her club team, Indy Premier United GA, which qualified for nationals.

Chafee enters MSU after spending two years with Omaha, where her Mavericks’ teams posted a 17-8-12 overall record. As a sophomore, she played in 16 games and recorded one assist and one shot. As a freshman, she saw action in 11 outings, starting once, and taking one shot. She led her Blair High School team in scoring as a freshman with 20 goals and 10 assists in just 13 games. For her efforts, she earned first-team all-conference and honorable mention all-state honors, as well as being named both the Team and the Offensive MVP. On the club level, she was a member of the Gretna Elite Academy ECNL. There, she earned first-team all-conference honors in the 2021-22 campaign. Her team qualified for the ECNL Nationals three years. She graduated high school after the fall semester and was an early enrollee at Omaha.

Rodriguez did not see the pitch in either of her two seasons at Western Carolina and consequently earned a redshirt. The Newport Central Catholic graduate played and started two seasons for the Thoroughbreds, earning team MVP honors both times. In 2020, she averaged 6.5 saves per game, while posting a 2.8 goals against average and five shutouts. In 2019, she notched 4.7 spg and a 2.0 GAA, while collecting three shutouts. She was recognized as first-team all-state as a sophomore and “Defensive Player of the Year” as a freshman. Rodriguez was named on the Southern Conference Academic Honor Roll in 2023-24. She spent three years with the Cincinnati United Premier club team, with the squad finishing third nationally in 2020-21.

Peper graduated a semester early from Mahtomedi High School after the Zephyrs won the Class 2A state title with a 17-2-1 record last fall. As a senior, she finished with six goals and five assists. She was named to the all-classes, all-state team by the Minnesota Star Tribune and 2A First-Team All-State by the state coaches’ association. Peper also earned All-Metro East honors. She was named the Zephyrs co-Best Defender of the Year after helping hold her opponents to just seven goals all season. Mahtomedi had a successful run while she was there, finishing with a 60-10-3 in her four years. Her club team was the Tonka-Fusion Elite.

Aston Villa FC’s Charlotte Lee (Nottingham, England) and Olivia Lowe (Nottingham, England), as well as freshman forward Joni Bandi (Bern, Switzerland) add international flavor to the roster. Lowe, a freshman defender, and Lee, a freshman midfielder, both have extensive experience with their U21 WSL Academy club, while Bandi, who is already 21, plays in the first tier Swiss Women’s Super League with the Thun Berner-Oberland club.

Lee has been a member of the U19 Welsh National Team for the past year. She also has been a regular starter for her Aston Villa side. In 2022-23, AVFC finished 14-6-2 (W-L-T), with Lee appearing in all but one contest and starting all but three. That season, she tallied two goals and six assists. In 2021-22, she played in four games, starting two. That team finished 15-2-3. She is a graduate of Sutton High School.

Lowe made her international debut as a 13-year-old in 2020-21. She has been training as a member of the Premier League Futures Program since June 2024. Prior to that, she played at Redhill Academy from 2017-23. In Aston Villa’s 2022-23 season, she played and started in one game, with the team finishing 14-6-2 (W-L-T). She graduated from Nottinghamshire High School.

Bandi most recently played for Thun Berner-Oberland in the top league in Switzerland. She saw action in 17 matches, starting nine, scoring twice and collecting four points in 2024-25. The team finished 2-14-2 (W-L-T). In the two previous years, she also played in the Swiss Women’s Super League. In 2023-24, she also was a member of Thun Berner-Oberland, where she again played in 17 matches, starting nine, and was on the pitch for 770 minutes. She also scored twice that year. As a 17-year-old, she spent her first season in the WSL on the Young Boys club, where she saw action in three games.

Graduate student midfielder Karissa Vela (Chino Hills, Calif.) is joining her third collegiate program after spending the last two years at West Virginia State and her first two campaigns at junior college powerhouse Mt. San Antonio. She earned all-conference honors at both schools.

In 2024, Vela helped lead WVSU to the conference tournament title and its first-ever Division II national tournament, where it won its opening game before falling in the second round. The team finished 16-4-3. She started all 22 games as a senior, tallying four goals, four assists and 12 points on 37 shots (18 shots on goal). She also had two game winners and was named second-team all-conference. As a junior, she started 18 games, was a reserve in another, and recorded two goals, one assist and five points on 21 shots. As a sophomore, Mt. SAC posted a 20-2-1 record, won its conference tournament and advanced to the fourth round of the playoffs. She again was named second-team all-conference after registering 16 goals, seven assists and five game-winning goals for a total of 39 points. She did all that in just 26 shots. That season, she started 22 of the 23 games and had a hat trick versus Citrus College and three assists against Compton College. As a freshman, Vela helped the squad to a 16-3-6 mark and the semifinals of the California Community College Athletic Association, after winning another conference tournament crown. That year, she had eight goals, three assists and 19 points, while playing in 22 games, starting 10. She also had three game-winning goals and took 17 shots. At one point in the middle of the season, she scored in five consecutive games that she played. Vela graduated from Chino Hills High School, where she was first-team all-league and named the Most Improved Player. She played club soccer for Legends FC.

Six additional freshmen enter MSU with a bevy of impressive credentials. Included among that group are midfielder Hailey Hernandez-Repreza (Huntington Park, Calif./Warren HS), midfielder Natalie Lentine (Fraser, Mich./Regina HS), midfielder Alyssa Brians (Saint Leon, Ind./East Central HS), forward Lily Burt (Voorhees, N.J./Eastern Regional HS), midfielder Addison Petry (Louisville, Ky./Sacred Heart Academy) and goalkeeper Hannah Sullivan (Louisville, Ky./Eastern HS).

Hernandez-Repreza has spent time with El Salvador’s national team playing in the CONCACAF Women’s U17 Championship. She topped the squad during that tournament with three goals. She also trains at the country’s U20 National Team Camp. As a senior at Warren High School, Hernandez-Repreza helped the squad post a 21-4-3 record and was the Division 3 state runner-up for Southern California. In her four seasons at Warren, the team boasted a 46-32-16 mark. She also played for FRAM SC.

Lentine’s Regina High School soccer team was the state runner-up this spring. She also ran track and cross country, and was a member of the basketball team. Over the last two years, her RHS soccer squad posted a 15-11-8 record. She is a member of the state ODP team and also coaches soccer at the Lake St. Clair Sports Club. On the club level, she plays for the Nationals 07 Girls Academy Gray Team. Academically, Lentine boasts a GPA of over 4.0. She twice attended the State Leadership Conference and was a presenter there in 2023.

Brians was a standout for the state semifinalist East Central High School soccer team, which notched an 18-3-1 record this past season. She tallied eight goals and added six assists for the Trojans. Her squad surrendered just six goals in her senior campaign, finishing the year with 17 shutouts. As a junior, ECHS posted a 17-2 record, with Brians tallying three goals and five assists in 16 games. In her four years with the team, it boasted a 66-12-4 record and advanced to the state playoffs each season. She finished her career with 12 goals, 13 assists in 71 games. The Trojans went 27-1 in conference play during her tenure, and she earned the Top Team Player Award from the state coaches’ association. She also is a member of the volleyball team. She notched a 4.0 GPA in high school and was recognized for her academics. She plays for the Ohio Elite club side.

Burt’s Eastern Regional High School was the state runner-up in her senior season. She collected 19 points on eight goals and three assists for the Vikings, which posted an 18-7-2 record. As a junior, ERHS was 19-2-3, with Burt accounting for 29 points on eight goals and 13 assists. As a sophomore, the squad went 23-2-2, with her scoring twice and adding eight assists. She also ran track for the school. She is a member of the PDA South club team.

In 2024, Petry played in all 27 games for Sacred Heart, one of the nation’s top girls’ soccer sides. The Valkyries finished the campaign with a state title and a 24-1-2 record. The club allowed just 10 goals all season. Multiple organizations ranked Sacred Heart among the top 20 teams in the country. In 2023, the Valkyries finished 20-3-3 and were the state runners-up. In that campaign, she played in 24 contests, finishing with a goal and an assist. As a sophomore, she recorded two goals and three assists for the 20-4-0 district champs. In her three years on the varsity, SHA posted a 64-8-5 mark and allowed just 48 goals. She is a member of Racing Louisville FC.

Sullivan was a teammate of Petry on Racing Louisville’s U19 Purple side. At Eastern High School, she was a four-year starter in the net. In 16 games in 2024, she averaged 10 spg, had five shutouts and a 2.8 GAA. The previous season, she posted a 2.3 GAA, with three shutouts and 12.6 spg. In 2022, she finished with a 3.2 GAA and 10.6 spg. As a freshman, she registered a 3.0 GAA with 12.3 spg and two shutouts.

Three All-OVC honorees return from a squad that was among the league’s best defenses. However, the club will have to replace 16 players, including three graduates.

Morehead State begins preseason camp on Monday, July 28. The team’s first exhibition game is on Thursday, Aug. 7 at home against Brescia (Ky.), before opening its regular season on Thursday, Aug. 14 at home against Marshall.