No. 4 USC defeated No. 3 Stanford by a score of 10-6 Saturday afternoon. The home victory handed USC the season series against Stanford. 

USC (12-5, 1-4 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) had faced off against Stanford (14-6, 2-3) twice already this season. The teams split the first two matchups, with both games being decided in overtime by one goal. 

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Despite the larger margin of victory than the Trojans’ first games against Stanford, Head Coach Marko Pintaric emphasized the tightness of the contest. 

“Two good teams,” Pintaric said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We won by four goals but that is not an indication of the true score. [Stanford] played phenomenal press defense, very very hard, very very grueling. I’m very proud of the guys who stayed with it.“

Saturday’s game was close in the beginning, similar to their previous two matchups against the Cardinal. The score was knotted at one apiece after the first quarter. Sophomore utility Andrej Grgurevic scored twice for the Trojans in the first half, but neither team was able to generate much momentum, going into halftime tied 4-4. 

“Coming into the half, it was ‘we’re here, we need to finish our opportunities, they’re in front of us,’” said redshirt freshman goalie Bernando Herzer. “[We’ve got t0] Come into this half thinking it’s 0-0 and we need to put our pedal down.”

The USC offense heeded Pintaric’s words in the third quarter and the team’s defense remained stout, taking a 7-4 lead into the fourth quarter. Both teams traded penalty shot goals at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but USC never looked in danger of losing its lead, ultimately earning the 10-6 win. 

Pintaric gave immense praise to his team’s defense, who held Stanford to its season-low in goals. Herzer was especially impressive in goal for the Trojans. He set his career-high in saves with 15 and electrified the home crowd with multiple diving stops.

“[Herzer] made our life super easy, covered all our mistakes,” Grgurevic said. “We practiced for this, as well. We know our defenses, so it was good it finally paid off in a game like this.” 

This was USC’s first home game since Oct. 1 after playing four straight on the road, which was a welcome return for the Trojan players. 

“Playing in the opponent’s pool is always hard,” Grgurevic said. “They’re always chirping you, so to have your own guys with you is incredible.”  

The game was particularly emotional for Pintaric. USC celebrated the 1998 men’s water polo team, who won the NCAA national championship, before the game. Pintaric was a member of that championship team and earned most outstanding player honors in the tournament.

USC will now turn its attention to its crosstown rivals, No 1. UCLA, to finish off the regular season. The Trojans have lost twice to the Bruins, including a 11-2 defeat on Oct. 14. 

USC will take on UCLA Saturday at 1 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.