USC travels to Berkeley for top-5 matchup

The USC men’s water polo team will be joining the rest of the Trojan community this weekend as they head to Berkeley, Calif. for a premier matchup against the No. 5-ranked Golden Bears on Saturday.

The clash will be a battle of top-five teams, even as the Trojans (20-2, 2-1) enter the game having dropped down to a tie for second in the nation with UCLA following their 10-6 loss against Pacific last week.

Meanwhile, the Golden Bears (14-5, 3-2) have had an impressive season thus far but have struggled against the top competition they have faced, with losses to No. 2 UCLA, No. 1 Pacific and No. 4 Stanford.

Still, Cal will serve as one of the Trojans’ biggest challenges to date, especially coming off of an emotional loss against the Tigers in which USC struggled throughout the game to find some rhythm.

“We just have to prepare for the rest of the teams,” USC head coach Jovan Vavic said after the loss. “There is only one other team we’ve lost to, and all the losses were at the top.”

The matchup with Pacific might have been the Trojans’ rowdiest game all year, as the Stockton-based school brought in more than 1,300 fans.

Vavic’s squad should be expecting another boisterous environment in Berkeley, conditions that the Hall of Fame coach is certainly looking forward to.

“Some of the younger players do get nervous,” Vavic said of the idea of playing in front of raucous crowds. “Hopefully, they learn from it.”

The five-time defending champions are currently half a game behind Pacific, UCLA and Stanford for the top spot in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. All three foes boast a 3-1 conference record while USC has one less MPSF victory. As the season progresses, that should be a race that will come down to the wire, and the Trojans could do themselves a big favor with a win over the Bears.

In recent memory, the Trojans have dominated their counterparts from the Bay, having won their last four matchups with Cal. Historically, however, USC-Cal has been one of the most even series in the country, with USC leading the all-time series by the slimmest of margins (53-52-2).

Still, Vavic’s team has been setting a variety of records lately — though not all of them have been positive.

The loss to Pacific was the first defeat against the Tigers since 2002. Earlier in the season, the Trojans fell to UCLA to snap a 41-game win streak. Incidentally, the loss to the Bruins happened in Berkeley’s home pool, as it occurred during the championship match of the NorCal Tournament.

On a positive note, this season the Trojans have been collectively playing fairly good defense, giving up just a shade more than five goals per game.

Still, Vavic expects more of his club defensively since the Trojans have allowed 10 goals in consecutive matches for the first time this season. The need to improve defensively, and going that extra mile, has been a constant theme of the past few weeks.

“Water polo is such a game of inches that if you are a little late, you’re going to give up a goal,” Vavic said. “A couple of rebounds, a couple of feet, that’s the difference.”

Cal’s offense boasts junior Aleksa Saponjic and senior Collin Smith, both of whom average more than a goal and a half per game. USC will have to bank on the defensive effort they’ve put forth in practice since losing to Pacific if they want to walk out of their 10 a.m. showdown at Spieker Aquatics Complex (and over to the football game) victorious.

The game will also offer both programs a rare shot at television exposure, as it will be televised on the Pac-12 Networks.