No. 10 49ers host No. 1 USC

The No. 1 USC men’s water polo team looks to keep its undefeated season rolling along Friday night as the squad travels south to take on No. 10 Long Beach State.

The Trojans (16-0) are playing in their seventh consecutive road game as they hope to play spoiler in the 49ers’ (17-3) conference opener.

After an early season filled with tournaments and travel, the Trojans are settling into a conference schedule that usually requires them to play just one MPSF opponent per week.

“[The conference schedule] lets us focus on one opponent at a time, allowing us to find exact, specific strategies to be best prepared with,” senior driver Michael Rosenthal said.

Having just one game a week means more morning practices as well as a bigger focus on conditioning during those practices.

A main reason for the Trojans’ four consecutive national championships is USC players are in great shape. Against the 49ers, conditioning should once again prove valuable.

“[Long Beach State] can be very dangerous in the counterattack as well as shooting the ball from outside,” coach Jovan Vavic said. “We have to take every game seriously and not relax.”

The 49ers’ leading scorer is Dan Matulis, who is one of the tallest players on the college water polo scene at 6-foot-11. His height will provide the Trojans a unique challenge.

“You have to work more to get around him because he covers more space,” senior driver Tobias Preuss said. “Because he’s so big, you have to really be strong on your legs and pound him so he can’t go under you.”

Rosenthal, however, mentioned how the Trojans can use Matulis’s height to create a mismatch of their own.

“A lot of times, big guys like that aren’t the fastest in the pool,” he said. “We’ll take advantage of his slowness to really make him a liability to their team in the transition, and hopefully make him tired so he can’t play very many minutes.”

Vavic also mentioned to look out for Milos Vrzic, the 49ers’ sophomore from Serbia. Having grown up playing a similar style of water polo, Vrzic will be more adept at predicting the Trojans’ offensive tendencies and movement.

For the stretch run, another factor going the Trojans’ way is the team’s health.

“This is the healthiest we’ve been all year,” Rosenthal said. “Knock on wood, but besides ‘Bos’ [senior Brian Boswell is missing the 2012 season with medical issues], the entire team is ready to go.”

Vavic and the team will be focusing on starting strong Friday after last week’s unimpressive first period.

Against No. 9 Loyola Marymount on Oct. 13, the Trojans trailed 1-0 after the first period. This marked the first time all season the squad failed to score during a quarter, and coach Vavic was not happy despite the 13-6 win.

Vavic also adjusted the lineup during the second period, utilizing some lesser-used players who he believes could see more time in the pool than usual this Friday.

“A lot of these guys are redshirt freshmen, and are stepping up to become big contributors down the line,” Vavic said.

The quintet of Mac Carden, Marc Vonderweidt, Chase Watson, Russell Renteria and Max Hurst-Mendoza were all mentioned by Vavic and other teammates as important to the victory over LMU.

“Those guys came in the second quarter, scored three goals in a row, and really broke it [the game] open,” Rosenthal said.

Last week’s game showed the value of the Trojans’ depth, but Vavic was not pleased with the first period showing and wants to see a significant improvement this week.

“We were not focused,” he said. “I told the team that we need to play with more intensity, because now every team is ready to face us.”