USC men’s water polo lost its perfect record Saturday against No. 2 Stanford (8-1), along with No. 12 University of the Pacific (3-4) who lost to Stanford 19-6 earlier in the season.

No. 3 USC (10-1) will host the University of the Pacific at 1 p.m. Sunday at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans return home after placing third at the Overnght MPSF Invitational, while the Tigers will face No. 6 Long Beach State University (9-2) Friday before traveling to Los Angeles.

Sunday’s matchup begins a six-game home stretch for the Trojans and represents a reunion for sophomore driver Apostolos Georgaras, who will face Pacific for the first time since transferring to USC after one season in Stockton.

USC searches for consistency after first loss

The Trojans’ four games at the invitational revealed both the strength of their response and the offensive inconsistency they will try to leave behind.

USC opened the tournament with a 17-13 victory over No. 15 California Baptist University (11-3) and a 16-7 win against No. 9 San Jose State University (5-6). However, its undefeated start ended later on Saturday when Stanford held the Trojans to a season-low eight goals in a 10-8 semifinal loss.

USC attempted 42 shots against the Cardinal but converted only eight, producing a season-low 0.190 shooting percentage. The performance was a sharp departure from an offense that scored 211 goals with a 0.567 shooting percentage across its first 10 games.

The Trojans recovered Sunday against No. 4 UC Berkeley (9-2), but their response was in comeback fashion. USC entered the fourth quarter trailing 11-8 before outscoring the Golden Bears 5-1 in the final period to take a 13-12 victory.

Sophomore 2-meter Strahinja Krstić tallied four goals, including the game-winner with less than one minute remaining. Freshman driver Ante Jerković and sophomore driver Gavin Conant added three goals each, while redshirt junior goalkeeper Charles Mills made nine saves.

The comeback provided USC with its first top-five victory of the season and demonstrated that a poor stretch does not determine the result. Avoiding another slow start will be important against a Pacific squad that stayed within three goals of No. 1 UCLA (12-0) throughout its 13-11 loss on Sept. 4. 

Georgaras prepares to meet former teammates

Georgaras joined the Trojans after a decorated freshman season at Pacific, in which he scored a team-high 73 goals while recording 37 steals. In 2025, he was named the West Coast Conference Freshman of the Year, earned All-Conference First Team recognition and became an Association of Collegiate Water Polo Coaches Third-Team All-American.

His performance against USC last September previewed the production he would later bring to the Trojans. Georgaras scored three of Pacific’s seven goals and helped the Tigers enter halftime tied at four before USC pulled away for a 14-7 victory.

One year later, Georgaras has emerged as one of the Trojans’ primary facilitators. He entered Sunday’s third-place match with 18 goals and 21 assists through 10 appearances, adding another assist with the entry pass to Krstić for the winning goal against California. 

His knowledge of Pacific’s returning core could add another layer to USC’s preparation. The Tigers retain several players who shared the pool with Georgaras last season, including sophomore utility Borisz Kasa-Gal, junior attacker Yoav Rendler and sophomore goalkeeper Gergely Kiss.

Pacific’s record hides early challenges

Pacific entered the week with a record below .500, but each of its four losses came against a program ranked in the top five of the latest CWPA poll.

The Tigers pushed No. 4 Fordham University (9-0) into a golden-goal overtime before losing 15-14 in their season opener. They then tallied three straight wins before their two-goal loss against UCLA.

Their most recent results, however, were less competitive. Pacific lost 18-7 to Cal and 19-6 to Stanford, scoring only 13 combined goals after averaging more than 15 across its first five contests. 

Kasa-Gal remains Pacific’s clearest scoring threat. He scored four goals against Fordham, followed by four against UCLA and three against Cal before Stanford limited him to one. Freshman attacker Gabor Holl added a hat trick against UCLA, and sophomore wing Petar Popovic produced six goals and three assists in the Fordham loss, showing the depth of the Tigers’ scorers.

Pacific has also shown that it can create offense through exclusions. Nine of its 14 goals against Fordham came with an extra attacker, making USC’s defensive discipline crucial around the cage. 

The Tigers will arrive in L.A. with little rest after facing Long Beach State Friday night. USC, meanwhile, will have a much-needed week off between games following a weekend in which it played four times in three days.

Sunday will test whether the Trojans can establish control early, and whether one of Pacific’s former leading scorers can help make the difference against his old team. 

USC hosts the Tigers Sunday at 1 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.