After celebrating on the field for winning the 2023 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Championship during the USC football team’s battle with Penn State on Saturday, No. 3 USC men’s water polo is back in action  this week as it continues its quest for another conference title.

The Trojans will take on No. 11 Princeton and No. 2 UCLA in two important battles against top-ranked opponents this week.

USC (14-2, 1-1 MPSF) is coming off two huge non conference blowout wins against unranked Westcliff University (6-14) and No. 16 Loyola Marymount (9-8) on Friday.

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The Trojans scored a season high of 25 goals against Westcliff while allowing just seven goals on defense. Sophomore utility Luke Nelson scored a career-high four goals, while freshman utility Ben Mirisch recorded his first career hat trick — on his birthday.

Redshirt sophomore goalie Bernardo Herzer headlined the second game on Friday against LMU. Herzer allowed a season-low three goals on defense and scored a goal of his own, making him just the second goalie in USC men’s water polo history to notch a goal.

The Trojans now turn their attention to Princeton (15-6, 4-1 Northeast Water Polo Conference) tonight and UCLA (16-1, 1-1 MPSF) on Saturday. The Tigers are coming off an impressive offensive performance against Westcliff, beating the Warriors 19-10.

The Bruins are on a three- game winning streak and are coming off a thrilling 10-8 victory over Princeton on Sunday.

Although USC is ranked eight spots higher than Princeton in the Collegiate Water Polo Association weekly polls, sixth-year Head Coach Marko Pintaric still has high praise for his opponent.

“Princeton is a very well-disciplined team, and their ranking shows that,” Pintaric said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “They have played very standard, disciplined, water polo [both] offensively and defensively. They do not make that many mistakes.”

One advantage USC may have in its matchup against Princeton is its team chemistry and months of conditioning. In an interview with the Daily Trojan, junior driver Jack Vort, who scored back-to-back goals in USC’s matchup against Westcliff, highlighted one key difference between USC and Princeton’s squads: USC starts training in the summer, while Princeton does not.

Vort noted that Princeton’s players start the season at a disadvantage in terms of fitness and camaraderie since they do not train all summer long. However, Vort admires Princeton’s quick efforts to come together as a team and play well against tough opponents.

The Trojans will have to shift gears quickly after their matchup against Princeton, but there are many similarities between their two opponents this week. Princeton Head Coach Dustin Litvak coached under UCLA Head Coach Adam Wright as an assistant coach for the Bruins from 2013 through 2015.

“The two teams play pretty similar styles,” Vort said. “We’re focusing on Princeton. We’re not jumping ahead to UCLA, but, I mean, our game plan is pretty similar for both of them, so we’re going to take both teams at the highest level of preparation.”

The toughest test for the Trojans comes on Saturday when they face off against UCLA. On paper, the Trojans and Bruins appear to be evenly matched.

USC averages 15.5 goals per game, while UCLA averages 15.9. On the defensive side, USC allows 9.1 goals per game, while UCLA allows 8.5. UCLA’s only loss on the season is against No. 1 Stanford, who USC beat earlier this season in a crucial overtime victory.

Senior 2-meter Luka Brnetic highlighted some similarities between key Trojan opponents UCLA and Stanford.

“I think it’s similar, the way they kind of play defense. They’re all up in your face. They’re very aggressive [on] defense, so I feel like that’s similar,” Brnetic said.

USC opens up its three-game homestand tonight against No. 11 Princeton at 5 p.m. before hosting the highly anticipated crosstown splashdown with No. 2 UCLA on Saturday at 1 p.m. Before the rivalry game against UCLA, the Trojans will honor and celebrate their nine graduating Trojans in a Senior Day ceremony.