Riding another dominant start to the season, No. 2 men’s water polo is gearing up for a slate of four matches between Friday and Sunday. The Trojans will be back in action at the Overnght Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Invitational, a 16-team tournament hosted by No. 1 UCLA and USC. 

The Trojans will start their weekend against a familiar opponent, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (4-1), whom they historically dominate. USC (7-0) has never lost to Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, coming in with a 17-0 record against the Division III program. The last time the two teams faced off was in 2022, when the Trojans secured a decisive 21-12 victory. 

Star players on fire to start season

USC heads into the match riding a seven-game win streak that was capped off with a 13-8 win against No. 8 UC Irvine on Saturday.

Senior driver Mihailo Vukazić exploded for a spectacular, career-high 8-goal performance to propel the Trojans to another commanding victory. Vukazić earned MPSF Player of the Week honors for his historic game — recording the second-most goals in a single game in program history.  

Vukazić, a transfer from the University of the Pacific, has been a critical addition to the team. With 18 goals on the season — trailing only junior driver Robert López Duart for the team lead — Vukazić has fit in well with the Trojans’ offense, but his contributions transcend his goal-scoring. 

“[Vukazić] brings that experience, and he’s glue to the team in terms of his personality; he’s a hard worker and a jokester at the same time, with the respect that the team already has for him,” Head Coach Marko Pintaric said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “The team really does respect him, and he’s putting himself as an immediate leader.” 

López Duart added another goal in the win over Irvine, bringing his season total to a team-leading 20 goals. With two more goals, he will pass Pintaric on USC’s all-time leaderboard.

Freshman 2-meter Strahinja Krstic also contributed a goal against Irvine. The young standout has impressed early in his time at USC, already earning two MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors. Now with 12 goals on the season, Krstic has shown why the team can count on him. 

“[Krstic] really has no fear. He plays the game the way he trains. He’s very versatile, athletically,” Pintaric said. “Even though he’s a freshman, you can always kind of already rely on him as an upperclassman, and this is why he’s earning the minutes that he’s playing from the get-go.” 

Redshirt junior goalie Bernardo Herzer locked down the net against Irvine with 11 saves in the match. Herzer, who ranks third among MPSF goalies in save percentage with 60.5%, shares time in front of the net with redshirt sophomore Charles Mills. The healthy competition fostered between the two goalies has worked to the Trojans’ advantage. 

“It’s easier for them mentally to be pushed to work harder to earn the starting point, and mentally as well, they know they have each other’s back,” Pintaric said. 

Tough competition ahead for Trojans

The rest of USC’s schedule for the weekend will be determined by the results of Friday’s matches. The weekend could prove to be the most challenging for the Trojans so far: The invitational will feature an array of tough teams, such as UCLA (10-0), No. 3 UC Berkeley (7-0) and No. 4 Stanford (5-0). 

“For now we’re 7-0, and [after] this weekend, hopefully we’re 11-0,” López Duart said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We need to focus on the three final [games]. It’s going to be maybe Cal, and after the [semifinal], UCLA.” 

On their trek to maintain their undefeated record, the Trojans will also look to continue their impressive streak of scoring double-digit goals in all of their matches. USC’s lowest-scoring match of the year was its 10-goal win against No. 12 UC San Diego (8-4) to start the season. 

Despite the daunting weekend ahead, Krstic said the Trojans are confident in their ability to win. 

“There’s not much of a challenge for this team. We’re better than every team: player for player, pound for pound,” Krstic said. “I don’t think we need to be worried about other things.”

The Trojans start their weekend against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps on Friday at noon at Uytengsu Aquatics Center for their first match of the Invitational.