Courtesy: USC Athletics
#3 USC (13-1, 0-1) at #4 Stanford (14-3, 0-1)
Saturday, Oct. 23 | 1 p.m.
Avery Aquatic Center | Stanford, Calif.
Series Record: USC leads 71-64 (W1)
Last Meeting: USC 15, STAN 13 (Sept. 25, 2021)
LIVE STREAM | LIVE STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 3 USC turns back for more MPSF action this weekend, heading north for a conference clash at No. 4 Stanford. The Trojans are looking to claim their second win over the Cardinal this season while adding a win to their MPSF column when USC (13-1, 0-1 MPSF) visits Stanford (14-3, 0-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 23) at Avery Aquatic Center.
RANKINGS
USC started this 2021 season ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and No. 1 in the MPSF Coaches Poll. As of Sept. 15, USC moved up into a tie at No. 1 in the land before dropping back to No. 2 on Sept. 22. USC took over as the No. 1 team in the nation on Sept 29 and remained in that spot until moving to No. 3 on Oct. 13. As of the latest national rankings (released Oct. 13), USC is still at No. 3 in the nation.
SCOUTING STANFORD
The No. 4 Cardinal is 14-3 overall and 0-1 in MPSF play after recording a 13-1 nonconference win over UC Davis last weekend. Quinn Woodhead and Tyler Abramsom lead Stanford in scoring with 33 goals each. Goalie Nolan Krutonog is averaging 9.0 saves and 8.2 goals-against per game in his 16 appearances. In a series dating back to 1979, USC is 71-64 all-time against Stanford after the Trojans snapped a run of three straight losses to the Cardinal with a 15-13 win over Stanford in their meeting last month in the 2021 MPSF Invite semifinal.
LAST WEEK
USC forged a four-goal rally to take the lead from host No. 5 Long Beach State and stay there en route to a 13-9 Trojan victory over the Beach last weekend. USC had three players — Wyatt Barker, Ashworth Molthen and Carson Kranz — net hat tricks in the win, while goalie Nic Porter hauled in 11 saves in the cage. USC was put on its heels for the first nine minutes of action as Long Beach State took the first lead of the game in a defensive first period. Luka Brnetic leveled it seconds later, but the Beach nudged ahead again with a goal on its first possession of the second. Again, USC found a fast answer, with Ashworth Molthen delivering a solo stinger to knot it at 2-2. That would serve as the spark for an offensive rally by the Trojans, who had Wyatt Barker earn and finish off a USC power play next. Carson Kranz hammered home a shot out of set soon after, and after Porter shut down a Long Beach State 6-on-5, Molthen found Barker for another 6-on-5 slam to make it a four-goal USC run to a 5-2 lead. The Beach went top corner a bit later, only to see Molthen set up Jake Ehrhardt for a rocket that had USC up 6-3 by halftime. Barker went to work early again, nabbing a steal and then finishing off the counter himself to craft a 7-3 lead for USC and make it a hat trick for the grad student on the day. Porter squashed back-to-back Long Beach State attacks next, but the Beach would manage two goals in the next stretch to make it a two-goal game. Jacob Mercep would find Chris Sturtevant in the final minute of the third, and the junior sent in a sizzling cross cage bar-in blast to get USC some room again, up 8-5 entering the fourth. The final frame was a highly offensive affair as teams traded goals in the first two minutes. Molthen’s third of the day wrapped another Barker-earned USC 6-on-5, and then Molthen issued a booming field block to snub the Beach’s next power play chance. Kranz would strike next on a Trojan 6-on-5 to get USC its largest lead of the game, up 12-7 with 4:25 to go. He’d knock in his third a little later off a feed from Hannes Daube, and USC was well on its way to a solid win, finishing things out as a 13-9 Trojan victory in Long Beach.
MPSF INVITE CHAMPS
USC pinned up three strong performances en route to winning the MPSF Invitational championship in Berkeley, claiming wins over UC Davis (13-8), Stanford (15-13) and host Cal (12-11). USC never trailed on Saturday, hitting the turbo boosters in both games to create some space and haul in two wins. A pair of three-goal surges helped put No. 7 UC Davis out of reach en route to a 13-8 win over the Aggies in the morning. That put the Trojans in the semifinals against No. 3 Stanford, which saw USC hit the gas in the first half with a four-goal rally that built a seven-goal advantage for USC before things tightened up to a final 15-13 Trojan win. USC had the first and last words in the championship game. Ashworth Molthen broke ground on the offensive end to open things up, finishing with a team-high three goals for the Trojan cause. And goalie Nic Porter capped off an impressive performance in the cage with one final save to squash any Golden Bear hopes of forcing overtime. Porter would wind up with a whopping 14 saves in the championship win. The score was tied up seven times, with Cal holding one-goal leads on two occasions in the third frame before USC created some crucial breathing room in the fourth period. Cal had knotted things up at 8-8 early, but USC responded with a booming 6-on-5 finish from Carson Kranz off a feed from Jacob Mercep to go up 9-8. Then, Porter stuffed a Cal 5-meter penalty shot to give the Trojans a huge lift. Mercep catapulted a long-range strike through to make it 10-8, and then Porter notched another save against a Cal power play. On the attack again, Kranz found Jake Ehrhardt for a laser that gave USC its largest lead, up 11-8 with 3:45 to go. Cal would find a quick reply, only to see Hannes Daube get USC up on a 6-on-5 next. He’d finish it off himself, taking a pass from Mercep and burying it to get USC ahead 12-9 with 3:05 on the clock. The Bears carved their deficit down to one less than a minute later, but the USC defense dug in for the final stretch. Two more Porter saves sandwiched a huge field block from Marcus Longton against a late Cal 6-on-5, and USC emerged victorious with the 12-11 decision.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now seven weeks into the season, Jacob Mercep leads USC’s scoring charge with 36 goals, followed by Jake Ehrhardt with 26, and Hannes Daube and Marcus Longton with 22 each. On the defensive end, four goalies have shared time in the cage. Senior Nic Porter and redshirt freshman Blake Jackson have logged the majority of the minutes, with Porter holding 113 saves in 40 periods of work, while Jackson has 28 saves in 13 frames of action. Porter has already notched six double-digit save performances this year, and Jackson has one. All told, USC’s goalkeeping corps is averaging 10.9 saves per game. As a team, USC has outscored its opponents 224-103 for an average of 16.0 goals per game offensively and 7.4 goals-against per game defensively. The USC defense has held opponents scoreless in five periods.
ON THE RISE
Several Trojans are making moves up the career charts this season. Jacob Mercep leads the way, having risen to No. 5 all-time at USC with 188 career goals as a Trojan — two shy of the No. 4 spot. On Sept. 18, both Hannes Daube and Jake Ehrhardt scored their 100th career goals. Redshirt junior Daube now holds 116 career goals, and senior Ehrhardt has 115. On the defensive end, senior goalie Nic Porter took over the No. 8 spot in career saves by Trojans, and now hold 589 saves — nine short of the No. 7 slot. He’s also now registered 30 double-digit save outings as a Trojan.
PORTER PICKS UP MPSF HONORS
Senior goalie Nic Porter anchored a powerful Trojan effort at the MPSF Invitational, amassing 33 saves en route to the USC men’s water polo team’s championship win at the event in Berkeley. For his dominant defensive effort, Porter became the first Trojan to be named MPSF Player of the Week this season. It’s the third such selection for the Aussie native in his USC career. Porter averaged 11.0 saves per game in USC’s run to the MPSF Invite championship. He topped out with a season-high 14 saves in the title match, turning away a 5-meter penalty shot in the fourth period for a key boost en route to the Trojans’ 12-11 victory over host No. 3 Cal. Porter had opened the event with 10 saves — including a 5-meter penalty stop — in a 13-8 win over No. 7 UC Davis to help push USC into the semifinals. There, Porter notched nine saves and had two steals in USC’s 15-13 win over No. 3 Stanford.
FULL FORCE
Only two members of the 2020 NCAA Tournament roster are gone, while USC welcomes in a trio of U.S. National Team players — all three already All-Americans with NCAA Tournament experience — who had been training overseas. Those bodies include some heavy-hitters, with USC’s top scorer the past three seasons — Jacob Mercep — back for more and joined by Olympians Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic. Add to that the firepower of National Teamer Ashworth Molthen, a transfer from UCLA, along with senior sharpshooter Jake Ehrhardt, and USC’s attacking power is downright formidable. USC’s danger zone on the left-hander side is markedly deep, with Mercep and Molthen joined by junior Marcus Longton — another proven power on the perimeter.
DEPTH CHARGE
Even more versatility flows from a batch of Trojans who saw key playing time during their first season at USC. Now sophomores, it’s well known that Carson Kranz, Max Miller, Tony Nardelli and Tom McGuire can pack some scoring punch. Also in his second season as a Trojan is grad student Wyatt Barker, who developed into a daunting two-meter presence and is back for more in 2021. More returning skill is seen in Chris Sturtevant, Stefan Vavic and Joshua Waldoch, with the highly anticipated addition of Croatian freshman Luka Brnetic sure to cause a stir for the Trojans.
LEADER BOARD
From a leadership standpoint, USC also leans on some stalwarts. Olympian Marko Vavic brings back a breadth of experience from his travels, joining a set of strong senior guidance from Alexander Lansill, Nic Porter, Ehrhardt and Mercep. Porter’s voice is particularly powerful, as he is set to cap up in the cage for his fourth season manning the Trojan goal. The All-American Aussie is the backbone of the Trojan defense and, along with the rest of his Trojan seniors, is determined to finish 2021 with another NCAA Championship ring to go along with their 2018 title.
CAGE FIGHTERS
Nic Porter has some talented young goalies by his side this year, with redshirt freshman Blake Jackson blooming into a contender for significant playing time. Garrett Allen also returns to the cage, with two new Trojan goalies also in the mix in Pepperdine grad transfer Kyle McKenney and true freshman Eric Hubner. Already this season, three goalies have seen their first minutes as a Trojan in Jackson, Allen and McKenney.
PINTA’S PROGRAM
Marko Pintaric, who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 20 years on the USC coaching staff, is in his third year at the helm of the Trojan water polo program. Last season on the men’s side, he guided the Trojans to a 16th consecutive NCAA appearance, reaching the NCAA final for the 15th time in that span. Pintaric was named head coach of the USC men’s and women’s water polo teams on August 29, 2019, replacing former head coach Jovan Vavic. An All-American and 1998 NCAA champion as a player at USC, Pintaric served as co-head coach for the USC men for the past three seasons (2016-18), most recently helping the Trojans to the 2018 NCAA Championship. His USC coaching career began as an assistant coach to both the USC men and women in 2001. Pintaric stayed in a dual coaching role until NCAA rules for coaching staff sizes changed in 2015-16, prompting a move to a scouting director role with the women while his assistant coaching role continued with the men for the next four years. Starting in 2021, Pintaric has a full coaching staff at his disposal, with assistant coaches Connor Virjee and Jeremy Davie on the men’s staff.
LAST SEASON
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 men’s water polo competition shifted to the spring and featured a condensed schedule for MPSF teams. USC was ranked No. 1 to open the competition, which comprised three Round Robin events among MPSF teams and a single nonconference meeting for USC against Pepperdine. The Trojans would post a 3-7 record in those MPSF meetings, going on to take third at the MPSF Tournament and earning a 16th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament. USC would host the NCAA event, reaching the final for the 15th time in that 16-year span. The NCAA title match was a tight one, and USC would fall 7-6 to UCLA. In an abbreviated honor roll for 2020, three Trojans earned ACWPC All-America First Team honors — Jake Ehrhardt, Jacob Mercep and Nic Porter. •
