Men’s water polo prepares for home opener and more
Jessica Zhou | Daily Trojan
Championship drive · Junior utility James Walters and the No. 2 Trojans have three games this weekend, including one home game.
After sweeping their first pair of home games, the No. 2 men’s water polo team returns to the pool this weekend for not one, not two but three games on Saturday and Sunday, facing No. 6 UCSB at home Saturday morning then traveling inland to take on La Verne and Whittier on Sunday.
The Gauchos are undefeated on the year as well as having won two games last weekend. The first was an 18-3 victory over Pomona-Pitzer and the second a 20-11 win over No. 15 Air Force.
Whittier (3-0) is also having a hot start to their season, having swept the Whittier Open last weekend.
La Verne (1-1) is coming off of a 16-14 overtime win against Fresno Pacific after losing their first game of the season.
USC fired away against UC Irvine with nine Trojans tallying goals for the 14-3 victory. The clash against the Anteaters highlighted the Trojan’s depth with three freshmen scoring their first career goals as Trojans. Freshman drivers Marin Dasic and Thomas Dunstan and redshirt freshmen Daniel Leong each tallied goals for the 9-1 lead at the half with a pair from Leong.
Returning Trojans made waves as well with junior utility Mihajlo Milicevic leading the way with 3 goals making him top scorer of the game. On defense, junior goalie and 2016 Olympian McQuin Baron rounded up eight saves.
The Trojans kept the ball rolling into the second game of the weekend against No. 17 Cal Baptist. On defense, senior driver Nick Bell swept away five steals to keep the Cal Baptist offense at bay. Bell, along with redshirt freshman Sam Slobodien, junior driver Matteo Morrelli and redshirt junior Mitch Embrey, each contributed goals to the final victory of 16-3, with hat tricks from Bell, Morrelli and Embrey.
“We’re looking to maintain our focus for this weekend’s games. As always, our main focus is defense, trying to shut down their main shooters,” junior utility James Walters said.
With incredible depth and international talent, the Trojans are looking for an even more historic season than the last. It’s no secret the legacy of USC men’s water polo has made it’s mark on collegiate sports, with NCAA Coach of the Century and USC men’s and women’s water polo head coach Jovan Vavic looking for his 500th men’s program win this season. Currently at 496 wins, the earliest the Trojans can nab the historic victory is against MPSF rival Stanford Sept. 17.
“The freshmen are very talented and immediately have been a big help to our team,” junior driver Blake Edwards said. “It’s exciting to watch them grow, and I think we’re going to be a really competitive, dangerous team this year.”
Edwards was the Trojans leading scorer last season. He was joined as a top-goal scorer by his brother Lachlan Edwards. The Edwards brothers are part of a top-notch junior class for the Men of Troy.
USC will square off against UCSB at 9 a.m. at the Uytengsu Aquatic Center this Saturday at home before facing off against La Verne and Whittier in the Inland Empire Classic at 10:20 a.m. and 1:20 p.m., respectively, on Sunday.