Courtesy: USC Athletics
LOS ANGELES — The No. 2 USC men’s water polo team built a seven-goal lead during the third period of play to establish a winning position in a final 16-13 win over visiting No. 6 California today at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Max Miller ripped in a season-high five goals for the Trojan cause, going back-to-back to close the third with USC up by seven. The Golden Bears would find their scoring touch late, but USC had this MPSF matchup in-hand throughout. USC is now 12-1 overall and takes 1-0 start to conference competition.
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USC got nine scorers in on the offensive action today, while goalie Bernardo Herzer piled up nine saves on the defensive end. The Trojans set the tone in the first period, with Max Miller crushing a setup pass from Carson Kranz to get USC on the board in the first minute. Cal equalized seconds later on a score out of set, only to see the USC defense clamp down to squash back-to-back Bear 6-on-5 chances. Kranz again had the helpful hand on USC’s next goal — a searing skipper from Andrej Grgurevic — to net another USC lead. Herzer silenced Cal’s next try from close range, and Luke Nelson had the last word of the first frame in hammering home a 5-meter penalty shot earned by Jack Martin. Cal and USC stayed largely in scoring stride in the next eight minutes, although USC had help from two big goals from Zach Bettino to help the Trojans grip a 7-4 lead at halftime.
USC’s offense exploded in the third with eight goals in eight minutes. The Trojans opened with a three-goal surge on strikes from Stefan Brankovic, Reed Stemler and Robert López Duart. Cal broke that up with an even score, just before USC rattled off another three-goal rally — this one sparked by a ripper from Evan Ausmus. Grgurevic delivered his third goal to top off a USC power play to get USC a 13-6 advantage, although Cal would convert its next two power plays. Miller struck twice on booming blasts to finish out the third as a 15-8 USC lead. The fourth saw Cal get in a groove, but it was too little, too late for the Golden bears. Tom McGuire wrapped the action with a big field block to snuff a late Cal 6-on-5, and USC had a 16-13 win in the books.
NOTABLE:
– With five goals today on five shots taken, Max Miller now leads USC in scoring this season with 27 goals.
– Miller and Robert López Duart are now tied with a team-high eight multiple-goal games each this season.
– López Duart had a game-high five assists today.
– With three goals today, Andrej Grgurevic matched his career high.
– With one goal today, Stefan Brankovic has scored at least one goal in USC’s last nine straight games.
– Brankovic, López Duart and Miller have each now scored in 12 of USC’s 13 games so far this season.
– In a series dating back to 1979, USC is now even at 71-71-2 all-time against Cal
NEXT:
USC turns to another MPSF matchup tomorrow (Oct. 6) looking to win its third straight over Stanford when the Trojans and Cardinal meet at 1 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
#2 USC 16, #6 California 13
Oct. 5, 2024 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 3 – 4 – 8 – 1 = 16
CAL 1 – 3 – 4 – 5 = 13
SCORING:
USC — Max Miller 5, Andrej Grgurevic 3, Zach Bettino 2, Luke Nelson, Carson Kranz, Stefan Brankovic, Reed Stemler, Robert López Duart, Evan Ausmus.
CAL — Alex Oprea 3, George Avakian 3, Maddox Arlett, Patrik Kolak, Max Casabella, Mik Markovic, Ryder Hagan, Bende Pardi, William Kelly.
SAVES: Bernardo Herzer (USC) 9, Charles Mills (USC) 0, Riley Clansen (CAL) 3.
