Men’s water polo went 1-1 on a massive weekend road trip against conference foes. The Trojans lost to Stanford in a defensive battle Saturday, but rebounded with a nail-biting 17-15 victory over UC Berkeley on Sunday. 

Tied No. 2 USC (17-4, 2-3 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) have had close battles with the tied-No. 2 Cardinal (16-3, 3-2 MPSF) twice already this season, with each team winning one matchup. USC won in overtime 12-11 on Sept. 21 and was bested 8-6 on Oct. 6. 

“They’re top 10 opponents. Very tough, well balanced, well conditioned,“ said USC Head Coach Marko Pintaric prior to the game in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “You just need to tune your game in every aspect: offense, defense and watch the opponent’s tendencies based on so far when we’ve played them.”

Daily headlines, sent straight to your inbox.

Subscribe to our newsletter to keep up with the latest at and around USC.

Initially, Saturday seemed to be no different from their previous matchups. Stanford held a 3-1 at halftime, but goals from sophomore utility Stefan Brankovic and junior utility Andrej Grgurevic tied the game at 3 apiece. However, the Cardinal took complete control halfway through the third quarter, scoring 6 unanswered goals. USC added 2 goals in the final minutes of the game, but it was far too little too late as Stanford secured the 9-5 victory. 

Grgurevic and Senior 2-Meter Luka Brnetic led the way offensively for the Trojans with a goal and an assist apiece. Redshirt sophomore Bernardo Herzer had 10 saves. 

That loss put USC’s MPSF record at 1-3 heading into the matchup with No. 7 Cal (11-10, 1-4), who was at 1-3 as well after a loss to UCLA (20-1, 7-1) Saturday. With neither team wanting to fall to the basement of the conference, Sunday’s game became pivotal. 

Cal started the season 9-1 but had lost 9 of the last 14 games coming into Sunday. In the teams’ lone previous encounter this season, Oct. 6, USC won 16-13. Despite the recent run of form, the Trojans knew to not overlook the three time defending NCAA national champions. 

“Cal is a good team. It doesn’t matter that they’re seventh. We should not underestimate them. It’s going to be a very tough game,” said Brankovic.

Brankovic’s premonition proved correct, as the game was a barnburner. The teams traded goals for much of the first half and went into halftime knotted up at 9. USC took a 13-10 lead with 6:33 to go in the fourth quarter, but Cal responded once again, leveling the game at 14 with just over 3 minutes to play. 

Sophomore driver Robert López Duart gave the Trojans a one-goal lead with 2:51 left, which appeared to be the winner as the Trojans’ defense held firm for the following possessions. That was until Cal’s attacker Bende Pardi ripped a powerful shot into the top corner with 10 seconds left to send the game to overtime. 

In overtime, the Trojans’ defense clamped down. They held Cal scoreless through both halves, and Brankovich scored a penalty shot to take the lead. Fifth year 2-meter Max Miller sealed the victory with a goal in the waning minutes. 

Miller and López Duart paced the Trojans with 4 goals each, bringing López Duart’s season total to a team leading 43. Brankovic chipped in with 2 goals and three assists as well. 

Looking ahead, USC closes out regular season play on the road, visiting UC Santa Barbara next Sunday and No. 1 UCLA the following Saturday.