Trojans start strong at Triton Invitational
Twelve-time National Coach of the Year Jovan Vavic had the USC men’s water polo team ready to go its opening weekend at the UCSD Triton Invitational. The No. 2 Trojans’ quest for a seventh straight national championship began Saturday and Sunday with four dominant victories, two of which came against top-15 opponents.
Goal getter · Senior driver Kostas Genidounias led the Trojans with 15 goals scored over the weekend, including two five-goal efforts. – William Ehart | Daily Trojan
USC (4-0) started this Sunday with great confidence after a 19-3 victory over No. 11 UC Davis and a 24-5 victory over La Verne on Saturday. The Trojans came out of the gates strong in both matches with six straight goals against UC Davis and nine straight against La Verne.
Again on Sunday, USC started out hot with an 8-3 first quarter lead over Redlands before going on to rout the Bulldogs 27-7. The most anticipated game of the tournament featured USC vs. No. 5 Pacific. USC came out with a 10-3 win against the Tigers, which featured a key run of six unanswered goals. The last time USC faced Pacific was the 12-11 overtime showdown in the national championship; however, when asked about the rematch, Vavic played down the rivalry’s intensity.
“In the meeting before the game, I didn’t say anything about the championship,” Vavic said. “I personally did not think about the championship. It’s a new season. This is not only a talented Trojan team but also a disciplined one that takes everything one game at a time.”
Many new players including freshman two-meter Lachlan Edwards and freshmen utility men James Walters and Mihajlo Milicevic scored their first collegiate goals this weekend. In fact, USC’s true and redshirt freshmen accounted for more than half of the goals scored over the weekend (41 out of 80) and all 31 saves. Freshman goalie McQuin Baron came up big with 14 saves in the Pacific game. Vavic was proud of his young players.
“We have been training, but nothing replaces the game, which is why we have this first tournament where everyone can get experience,” Vavic said. “We played a whole lot of players including two freshmen goalies. The more experienced these freshmen become throughout the season, the more dangerous the number two team in the land becomes.”
There is no doubt this Trojan team has depth. Between the two games on Sunday, 15 Trojans scored goals, led by senior Kostas Genidounias who had seven in total. Vavic believes that the combination of talented youth as well as veterans is key to the team’s success.
“Chemistry is so important, and I really like how the older boys and the younger boys work together,” Vavic said. “We played unselfishly and were really sharing the ball.”
This weekend’s results were no surprise to the Trojans. USC has won at least its first four games of the season every year since 2001.
Vavic emphasizes his players knowing their roles as the key to USC’s hot start season after season.
“It is very important that everyone understands what their roles are, and once you know your role and feel comfortable in it, then the players build confidence,” Vavic said. “Today the game was pretty close, we were up 4-2, but then one minute to the end of the game we were up 10-2.”
It was a team of big runs in USC that prevailed in the Triton Invitational this weekend. They start the season undoubtedly in contention for another championship. The Trojans look to carry their momentum from this weekend into the Inland Empire Classic from Sept. 13-14.