Across all of collegiate sports, one would be hard-pressed to find a group of teams more stacked than the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation’s west division: four powerhouse men’s water polo programs — USC, UCLA, UC Berkeley and Stanford — who have accounted for every NCAA championship since 1998.

Back in September, No. 3 USC (13-2, 1-1 MPSF) got an early taste of the impending bloodbath of conference play at the Overnght MPSF Invitational, battling No. 4 Stanford (8-4, 0-2) for an overtime win before falling to No. 2 Berkeley (12-2, 1-1) in its first loss of the season. With experience against both teams under their belt, the Trojans hit the road over the weekend to officially kick off their conference slate, hoping for two statement wins against the familiar foes.

While USC pulled off one such win, taking home a 14-10 victory at Stanford on Saturday, it once again had no answer for Berkeley in a 13-11 defeat on Sunday. With just six games remaining on the schedule before the MPSF Tournament, the Trojans have work to do if they want to compete with the Golden Bears — and No. 1 UCLA (17-0, 2-0) — for the conference title.

Efficient offense propels win over Stanford

In the first matchup between the Trojans and Cardinal this season, USC got out to an early 3-0 lead, but Stanford managed to battle back and tie the game to force overtime. Saturday’s game saw a similar start, with the Trojans once again holding a 3-0 lead in the first quarter; this time, however, they kept that lead for the rest of the match, securing a wire-to-wire 14-10 win.

USC’s propensity to go on scoring runs was once again its ally Saturday, as the Trojans scored two or more consecutive goals five times while allowing the Cardinal to do so just twice. On a team rife with young talent, it was the seniors who led the offensive charge for USC, with driver Jack Vort, utility Andrej Grgurevic and driver Mihailo Vukazić each recording hat tricks.

After firing off a season-high 43 shots in their September matchup with Stanford, the Trojans opted for a more calculated approach this time around, taking just 24 shots all day — four fewer than any other game so far this season. The change in strategy proved effective: USC scored the same number of goals, despite recording just over half the number of attempts.

The Trojans dominated on the defensive end as well, allowing the Cardinal to convert just once on 14 power play attempts. 

Redshirt junior goalkeeper Bernardo Herzer played for the first time since Sept. 20, when he was pulled at halftime after giving up eight goals to Berkeley in the first half. Herzer looked much stronger in his return to the net, notching 13 saves while allowing just 10 goals.

The win marked USC’s third consecutive victory over Stanford, as well as its first at the Cardinal’s Avery Aquatic Center since 2021. The two teams will meet at least once more this season, with a Trojan home game scheduled for Nov. 2 and a matchup in the postseason looking like a strong possibility.

Trojans fall to Golden Bears in another nailbiter

Following a 13-11 loss to Berkeley that ended its undefeated season in September, USC was eager to get revenge during Sunday’s rematch. Instead, the Trojans took their second loss of the season by an identical score, falling to a 0-2 record against the Golden Bears despite a 13-0 record when facing any other team.

After allowing a Berkeley goal just 34 seconds into the first quarter, USC was forced to play catch-up for the rest of the game. The Trojans managed to come back and tie the score three separate times, but the Golden Bears’ relentless defense never allowed them to take a lead. Freshman goalkeeper Aran Pina was unbeatable, racking up a career-high 15 saves — one of which came on a penalty shot late in the fourth quarter to effectively seal the win for Berkeley.

Despite the loss, USC saw plenty of standout performances from its star players. Vukazić recorded his second three-goal performance of the weekend, along with an assist, to take the team lead in total points; his 53 points rank just ahead of junior driver Robert López Duart, who has 51 on the season after notching three goals and an assist across the two weekend games.

In addition to picking up two goals, freshman driver Efe Naipoglu was a defensive force, recording five steals against the Golden Bears — a career high and the most by any Trojan in a single game this season. Naipoglu was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Monday, becoming the second Trojan to win the award this year after freshman 2-meter Strahinja Krstić received the honor three times in the first five weeks of the season.

The defeat broke a historical tie between the two programs, with USC falling to 72-73-2 all-time against Berkeley. With one more regular-season matchup scheduled for Nov. 1, the Trojans will have one last chance to get even with the Golden Bears before tournament play begins.

After a lengthy series of road trips, USC is set to begin its first true homestand of the season with a 5 p.m. bout against No. 12 Princeton (14-4, 4-1 Northeast Water Polo Conference) on Tuesday. The game will serve as the Trojans’ final test before hosting crosstown rival UCLA on Oct. 18 at 1 p.m.