Since taking over USC men’s water polo in 2019, Head Coach Marko Pintaric has continued the Trojans’ tradition of success: Across seven seasons, Pintaric has compiled a 123-42 overall record while earning four Mountain Pacific Sports Federation titles and seven NCAA Tournament bids.

However, an NCAA championship still eludes Pintaric — and while he came closer than ever in 2025, USC went home disappointed in yet another year.

The No. 1 Trojans (23-4, 4-2 MPSF) suffered a heartbreaking defeat to No. 2 UCLA (27-2, 5-1) in Sunday’s NCAA Tournament title game, allowing a tie-breaking goal with one second remaining to give the Bruins an 11-10 victory. The loss marks the fifth time in the past six years that USC has fallen one win short of a championship, and the second consecutive year that the championship has gone to the Trojans’ crosstown rivals instead.

USC reached the title match following two blowout victories in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans pummeled Concordia University Irvine (21-13, 5-1 Western Water Polo Association) by a score of 16-6 on Friday, before taking down No. 5 Fordham (26-4, 12-0 Mid-Atlantic Water Polo Conference) 16-7 on Saturday to clinch a spot in the final.

The championship game marked the fourth matchup between the crosstown rivals this season; USC won two of the previous three, including in the MPSF Tournament final for its fourth straight conference title. UCLA appeared to have control early in Sunday’s showdown, taking a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter before the Trojans rattled off four straight goals to go up 6-4 at halftime.

However, after trading scores back and forth for much of the second half, back-to-back goals by sophomore attacker Ryder Dodd — who won his second MPSF Player of the Year award in November — gave the Bruins a 10-9 lead with under three minutes to play in the fourth quarter. USC redshirt senior 2-meter Jack Martin responded with a goal of his own to tie the match, but the Trojans were unable to regain the lead, ultimately mustering just two goals in each of the third and fourth quarters.

On the game’s final possession, with the score still tied at 10-10, UCLA redshirt junior attacker Frederico Jucá Carsalade launched the ball past redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Charles Mills as time expired, winning the Bruins their second straight title and sending USC home empty-handed once again.

Aside from a five-goal second quarter, the Trojans were stagnant on offense for much of the game, failing to get much production from their usual stars. Junior driver Robert López Duart and senior driver Mihailo Vukazic, USC’s two leading scorers, managed just one goal apiece on a combined seven shots. Instead, the Trojan attack was led by senior driver Jack Vort, who notched his third hat trick in as many tournament games.

After splitting time with redshirt junior goalkeeper Bernardo Herzer for much of the season, Mills played all 32 minutes in both of USC’s final two matches. Despite making seven saves, Mills was largely unable to stop UCLA’s potent offense, allowing double-digit goals against the Bruins for the third time this season.

The Trojans now look ahead to the 2026 season, where they will be without several of their top contributors from this year — notably, Vukazic and senior utility Andrej Grgurevic, who were both named to the All-MPSF First Team, as well as Vort and Martin, an MPSF Honorable Mention.

However, López Duart will return for his final collegiate season after leading USC in goals in each of his two years with the team, and freshman 2-meter Strahinja Krstic will look to build upon a stellar rookie campaign that earned him MPSF Newcomer of the Year honors. 

Despite losing several star players, Pintaric’s squad should still be a contender for next season’s NCAA title — and, hopefully for the Trojans, one that can finally get the job done.