After entering the Overnght Mountain Pacific Sports Invitational with a 7-0 record and the No. 2 ranking in the country, USC men’s water polo came out of the weekend tournament with a third-place finish, picking up wins over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, No. 14 UC San Diego and No. 4 Stanford. 

However, the Trojans (10-1) missed out on a perfect weekend, falling to No. 3 UC Berkeley (10-1) in Saturday’s semifinal matchup. The loss marked USC’s first of the season, ending its hopes of an undefeated year after starting 9-0. 

“We’re gonna learn. … We’re going to keep working on our synergy,” Head Coach Marko Pintaric said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We have [had the team] together only for nine weeks right now. I hope that synergy is going to start improving in all parts of the game.”

Trojans cruise to two early wins

Friday’s opening matchup against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (5-4) saw the Trojans share the wealth on offense, with 14 different Trojans scoring en route to a 25-7 victory. 

The Stags kept the score within three in the first quarter, but the Trojans rattled off 12 straight goals in a span of about 10 minutes, propelling them into the winners’ bracket for the invitational. 

While USC jumped out early and cruised to a comfortable win against UCSD (11-5) in its season opener Aug. 29, the teams’ rematch on Saturday started as a much tighter affair. Neither team could pull away in the first quarter, which ended in a 4-4 tie. 

However, three straight goals from junior driver Robert López Duart, freshman 2-meter Strahinja Krstic and senior driver Mihailo Vukazic to start the second quarter opened the floodgates for USC on both ends of the pool. 

USC’s 2-meter and six-on-five defense was especially strong, and crashing back early on defense minimized exclusions. When the Trojans did find themselves down a man on defense, their rotations kept the Tritons flustered, forcing off-angle shots that redshirt sophomore goalie Charlie Mills easily corralled.

The second half was all academic for USC, as it outscored UCSD 8-4 in the half on the way to a 15-8 rout. 

Undefeated run ends at the hands of UC Berkeley

Saturday night’s semifinal matchup against Cal was set to be the Trojans’ biggest test of the season so far, with the Golden Bears being their highest-ranked opponent to date. While both sides kept the score tied at two apiece in the first, a six-goal explosion from the Golden Bears in the second quarter dug USC into a four-goal hole at halftime that proved impossible to overcome. 

Despite the deficit, USC stayed competitive throughout the game, spearheaded by four second-half goals from senior utility Andrej Grgurevic. But while the Trojans managed to cut the lead to one goal twice, they could not equalize, falling 13-11 to end their undefeated start to the season.

USC held a lower exclusion rate and a higher six-on-five conversion rate compared to the Golden Bears; however, at even strength, Cal’s offense was able to make up this deficit plus more. The six-on-six game proved to be the difference maker in the end, with the Golden Bears outscoring the Trojans 8-4 when equally matched. 

Trojans battle for overtime win over Stanford

The loss set up a third-place match with No. 4 Stanford (7-2), another top-tier team the Trojans are set to face at least two more times this season.

USC got off to a quick start, outscoring the Cardinal 4-1 in the first quarter, thanks in part to the unit’s stifling defense that tallied multiple shot blocks in man-down situations. The early momentum rolled over to the second quarter, where the Trojans forced low-percentage shots and errant passes, leading to counterattacks. By the end of the half, USC was up 7-5. 

However, Stanford refused to go down without a fight, rattling off back-to-back goals to tie the match at 7-7 early in the third quarter. While the Cardinal held back on defense in the first half, allowing USC’s top shooters to get strong looks, a defensive adjustment tightened around the Trojan attackers. The match became a grueling back-and-forth, with each team scoring twice more to even the score at nine.

“I really liked the intensity when we had to go in a drop,” Pintaric said. “Even though there are situations that should come with more urgency … I think ultimately, even though we made mistakes, defense actually won this game.”

The defensive battle continued in the final period of regulation, with neither team breaking through for a goal in the first four minutes. But, after trading goals to reach 11-all, a Stanford timeout with 35 seconds remaining set up a do-or-die defensive stand for USC. Once again, Mills came up with a big stop, forcing the game into overtime.

“We had great defense,” Mills said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “The communication was there, the guys were getting their shot blocks. We can only go up from here.”

In the first overtime period, senior driver Jack Vort shot a left-handed sneak just past Cardinal senior goalkeeper West Temkin’s head, putting the Trojans up one heading into the second and final overtime period. 

While Stanford was able to even the score thanks to a shot-blocked redirection into USC’s net, the Trojans bounced right back, answering with a goal from Krstic. With 37 seconds left, even if the Trojans used the full clock, the Cardinal would have had one more chance to equalize. However, López Duart drew a rare outside ejection in the last five seconds, giving USC the remainder of the clock to ice the game.

With the 14-12 win, the Trojans will likely sit at third in the national rankings, behind Cal and No. 1 UCLA (14-0). As USC approaches the heart of its season, Grgurevic said he is optimistic about the team’s rapidly growing camaraderie. 

“We’ve only been together as a full team for probably around six weeks,” Grgurevic said. “Now, we have months to keep growing, improving as a team, learning each other’s tendencies. I’m very excited to win that natty in December.”

After a home exhibition match against Shanghai Water Polo Club on Wednesday, the Trojans will head to Stockton, California, for a Friday matchup with No. 9 University of the Pacific (6-2) at 7 p.m.