Courtesy: USC Athletics
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — USC goalie Charlie Mills hauled in a career-high 14 saves to help back up the No. 2 USC men’s water polo team in a home-opening 13-9 win over visiting No. 7 Long Beach State tonight at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. It was a one-goal game entering the fourth period of play, but that’s where Robert López Duart and Andrej Grgurevic each delivered their third goals of the night to get USC a boost toward victory. The Trojans are now 5-0 overall, and the Beach go to 5-2.
The game tangled up early as the Trojans took the opening lead on a Grgurevic lob, only to see the Beach strike twice to take the lead midway through the first frame. Grgurevic sizzled in his second soon after, and then Strahinja Krstić earned a penalty for López Duart to deposit to the back of the net to nudge USC back ahead. In the final tick of the period, however, Long Beach State beat the buzzer on a 6-on-5 to snarl things up 3-3 after eight minutes of action. That seemed to shake the Trojans back into place. USC mounted a four-goal rally to put the Beach behind 7-3 in the second as Mihailo Vukazić, Jack Martin and Evan Ausmus got on the scoresheet in the half. Again, Long Beach State finished off a late power play, and it was 7-4 USC at the break.
The Beach would counter an early blast from Jack Vort with a scoring surge of their own in the third, carving the deficit down to one at 8-7 entering the fourth. That’s where the Trojans would again find their footing — thanks to another spark from López Duart and a sweet bar-in blast from Grgurevic. A Beach 6-on-5 make it 10-8 with 3:45 to go, but Charlie Mills’ saves count continued to climb and the Trojans would knock in three more goals in the final three minutes to lock up the win. Freshmen Efe Naipoglu and Krstić combined for those final three blasts, with Krstić going back-to-back to top off the 13-9 win.
NEXT: USC heads to Malibu next to take on Pepperdine in a 1 p.m. meeting on Sunday (Sept. 7).
NOTABLE:
– RS SO Charlie Mills set a new career high with his 14 saves tonight.
– With their goals tonight, Robert López Duart and Mihailo Vukazić have scored in all five USC games this season.
– With his three goals, López Duart has had multiple-goal outings in all five USC games this season — he leads the team with 15 total goals so far.
– USC is now 79-15 all-time against Long Beach State, with wins in the past 39 straight meetings.
#2 USC 13, #7 Long Beach State 9
Friday, Sept. 5 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 3 – 4 – 1 – 5 = 13
LBSU 3 – 1 – 3 – 2 = 9
SCORING:
USC — Robert López Duart 3, Andrej Grgurevic 3, Strahinja Krstić 2, Mihailo Vukazić, Jack Martin, Evan Ausmus, Jack Vort, Efe Naipoglu.
LBSU — Corbin Stanley 2, Toring Stanley, Marc Frigola, Caleb Francisco, Artur Diaz, Zalan Nagy, Gabi Acosta, Alec Johnson.
SAVES: Charles Mills (USC) 14, William Whitstone (LBSU) 7.
