As conference play opened for No. 3 USC men’s water polo this weekend, the Trojans faced off against two familiar opponents they played in the MPSF Overnght Invitational earlier this season: No. 4 UC Berkeley and No. 2 Stanford. 

Saturday’s matchup was an overtime nail-biter, after a buzzer-beating goal sent the game into three more periods of play. With less than a minute left in the first sudden-death period, a golden goal secured the 15-14 victory for the Trojans (12-2, 1-1 MPSF) over the Golden Bears (9-4, 0-2). 

However, that win appeared to use up all of USC’s luck for the weekend, as it dropped a 16-12 decision against the Cardinal (12-1, 2-0) Sunday afternoon.

Mills exceptional in the cage

After defeating Cal by a single goal in the third-place match of the Overnght Invitational, Saturday’s match finished in a thrilling but unsurprising result. 

Neither team controlled the momentum, as the Golden Bears and Trojans landed in a tug-of-war battle for the lead all game long. Cal proved to be a difficult test for USC, constantly finding scoring opportunities and ways to pick the ball off of the Trojans’ offense.

“I’m still not 100% happy,” Head Coach Marko Pintaric said in a postgame interview with the Daily Trojan on Saturday. “We allowed [their centers] early entries … before we jumped into a deep zone to completely change the outlook.”

USC’s standout defensive player was junior goalie Charlie Mills, who has started every match for the Trojans this season. He was recently named to the Cutino Award Watch List for the first time in his career, which recognizes the top 20 men’s water polo athletes for their outstanding play.

On Saturday, Mills put up a season-high 15 saves on a 51.7% save percentage, a much higher result than when the two teams met earlier this season. 

The Trojans’ defense found itself in foul trouble, giving up 14 power-play opportunities that the Golden Bears easily capitalized on five times. Thankfully, Mills’ exemplary performance kept USC in the game, including two blocked penalty shots that had Uytengsu Aquatic Center erupting in cheers. 

Last-second victory against Cal

Heading into the final minutes of regulation, USC trailed Cal 12-11. Despite multiple attempts, the Trojans’ shots weren’t finding the back of the cage. 

As the clock wound down, USC had the last possession. With just one second left on the clock, senior utility Luke Nelson fired the ball into the net, tying the game at 12 apiece and sending the game into a deserving overtime. 

“I knew that ball was going to come to me eventually,” Nelson said in a postgame interview with the Daily Trojan on Saturday. “[Sophomore driver Apostolos Georgaras] made the perfect pass, and really all I had to do was just push it in the cage. That was an incredible pass on his end.”

Nelson posted a hat trick, increasing his season goal total to 19. He also won two key sprints, allowing the Trojans to start on offense. 

Following two overtime periods, the score was knotted at 14, moving the game into a third overtime period — this time, sudden death. 

With both teams looking to close out the match, neither school’s shots crossed the post until the ball fell into sophomore 2-meter Strahinja Krstic’s hand. With less than a minute remaining in third overtime, Krstic’s ball found the back of the cage. 

The goal was a familiar sight, as Krstic had scored the last-minute game-winner against UC Berkeley in their first meeting of the season. 

Krstic, who was also named to the Cutino Award Watch List for the first time, described the moment as “pure instinct” in a postgame interview with the Daily Trojan on Saturday. 

“I saw that I was a little open, the ball came [at the] perfect time, and I scored,” Krstic said.

Trojans fall to Stanford on Sunday

On Sunday afternoon, Stanford handed USC its second loss of the season, both coming against the Cardinal. 

Stanford dominated the pool offensively, opening the game with six unanswered goals. Even with power-play opportunities, the Trojans couldn’t find the back of the cage, a strikingly different result than the team’s usual offensive power. 

“Six goals is a lot, especially early in the game,” Mills said in an interview with the Daily Trojan on Sunday. “We need to stop, shut that down early, and be able to come back.”

After the break, USC found its offensive rhythm, and Georgaras and Nelson spearheaded a comeback. Nelson put the Trojans on the scoreboard first, before Georgaras recorded two quick steals, tallying three unanswered goals. 

Among USC’s seven different goal scorers, freshman driver Ante Jerkovic led the pack, posting a hat trick and four steals. 

Despite finding themselves on offense due to 17 steals, the Trojans could not flip the scoring momentum. USC cut Stanford’s lead down to one in the second quarter, but the six-goal lead the Cardinal built in the first quarter played to their advantage as the Trojans never once led. 

“We chipped into the second and third, so I’m proud of my guys,” Mills said. “We fought through, but [there’s] definitely a lot of work and a lot of opportunities coming up to play them next.” 

Still early in conference play, the Trojans will face Stanford again later in the season, posing another opportunity for USC to take down the Cardinal. 

The Trojans will face No. 12 UC San Diego (11-4) next at Uytengsu on Saturday at 1 p.m.