Trojans falter, turn it around at Aggie Roundup this weekend

The USC men’s water polo team traveled to Northern California for the 2022 Aggie Roundup this weekend, securing two wins against No. 6 University of California, Davis and No. 20 United States Naval Academy, but falling to No. 5 University of the Pacific. The Trojans are now 8-2 for the season. 

In their first game of the weekend, the Trojans faced the Tigers at their home pool in Stockton. USC and Pacific ended the first period tied at two goals each, with junior Carson Kranz and redshirt senior Jake Ehrhardt scoring the Trojans’ first two points. In the second quarter, USC and Pacific continued to go back and forth, with goals for the Trojans scored by freshman Andrej Grgurevic and graduate student Massimo Di Martire. Di Martire, last week’s MPSF Newcomer of the Week, racked up two back-to-back points before the end of the period; however, the Tigers answered with two more goals, pulling ahead by one point by halftime. 

The third quarter ended with USC securing three goals from senior Marcus Longton, Ehrhardt and Crantz, but Pacific scored four goals, taking a two point lead. The fourth quarter was an offensive frenzy, with the Trojans and the Tigers each scoring five goals in the period. Redshirt senior Ashworth Molthen, redshirt sophomore Joshua Waldoch, and Ehrhardt all scored, but Pacific’s two-point lead held until the final buzzer, giving the Trojans their second season loss.

“It’s clearly the defense,” said Head Coach Marko Pintaric regarding the loss. “The team did not execute [their] defensive assignments to the ability they can, and, in a nutshell, that is the reason we lost the game.”

While USC had a solid offensive run throughout the game, their defense is how the Tigers took home a win. 

“We need to really change our attitude, the way we train and the way we approach the game in every situation,” said Pintaric. 

And that’s exactly what they did. The Trojans turned things around the following day, facing the Aggie Roundup hosts along with the Navy Midshipmen, who they hadn’t competed against since 2010. These matches provided an opportunity for newer faces to get some action, and that’s the precise opportunity that goalies Kyle McKenney, (graduate student), and Eric Hubner, (redshirt freshman), took. 

In the first match of the day against UC Davis, the Trojans shut out the Aggies in the first quarter and scored five goals. The first half of the game was dominated by junior Max Miller, securing a career-high of four goals in the first two periods of play. The Aggies scored three of their total four goals in the second quarter but were shut down by USC’s defense and goalie McKenney. McKenney ended the game with 12 saves and two shutout quarters, and the Trojans took the win. 

“Kyle played very good, phenomenal, I’d say. Defense was a little tighter … he had more time to react to those shots than Blake [Jackson] in the game against UOP, but again excellent performance, [really] satisfying for a coaching staff and very promising for incoming games and tournaments,” Pintaric said. 

In the weekend’s final match against Navy, USC hit a six-goal streak after the Midshipmen scored first. With one second left on the clock for the first period, goalie Hubner launched one in from across the pool, scoring the first ever goal by a goalie in USC’s records. Hubner’s performance this weekend earned him MPSF Newcomer of the Week. USC led 8-2 by halftime, holding Navy to one goal in the first and second periods and completely shutting them out in the third. 

“I’m very pleased with the way [Hubner] performed in the game. He was really right on the ball, and his reaction time was great, so very promising for a young goalie, and I really think he’s going to have a very bright future,” said Pintaric. 

By the fourth quarter, Navy gained some momentum but with both teams securing three goals each, it wasn’t enough to come back. USC took their final win of the tournament 14-5, and Hubner ended the day with 14 saves. 

“I’m very happy [with] the way the team turned it around and, on quick notice, took most of the problems from Friday and adjusted it to Saturday’s game,” said Pintaric. 

The Trojans will head to Palo Alto next weekend for the Mountain Pacific Invitational, with their first game against Fordham University on Friday.