Courtesy: USC Athletics
WESTWOOD, CALIF. — For the first time in program history, the No. 3 USC men’s water polo team has captured three straight MPSF Tournament championships with today’s 15-13 victory over host No. 1 UCLA at Spieker Aquatics Center. With this win, the Trojans have punched their ticket to their 20th straight NCAA Tournament. Now 21-5 overall, USC never trailed in today’s title match.
Max Miller opened the scoring from inside in the first, which UCLA answered with a 6-on-5 conversion. Miller hit back with another score on the next drive, and from there, the Trojans never looked back. Andrej Grgurevic and Jack Martin each converted on the power play, and with a natural goal from Tom McGuire, USC went into the second up 5-4.
The Trojans outscored the Bruins 4-1 in the second, with help from two Carson Kranz and Stefan Brankovic zingers on the outside and Connor Cohen on the counter. Miller capitalized on an impossible no-look shot to reach his hat trick and extend the Trojan lead to 9-5 at the half.
UCLA took advantage of its first two drives in the third to close the deficit to two scores, but a Luka Brnetic slam and Robert López Duart backhand lifted the Trojan lead back to four. Brnetic earned his third exclusion early in the fourth frame, and UCLA converted on back-to-back man-up possessions to bring the score to 12-11 with 6:13 to go. Jack Vort added his name to the scoresheet with five minutes on the clock, although the Trojans would lose both Andrej Grgurevic and Stefan Brankovic to their third exclusions shortly thereafter.
USC was able to escape a 4-on-6 situation with help from a huge field block by Kranz, and López Duart grabbed his second and third goals to set the lead at 15-11 with 0:56 remaining. UCLA managed to eke out two more scores before the end of regulation, but all the Trojans had to do was hold on until the clock wound down to take the victory.
NEXT:
Now assured a spot in the NCAA Tournament for the 20th straight year the MPSF Champion Trojans await the reveal of the 2024 NCAA Tournament bracket, which will be announced tomorrow (Nov. 25) at 9 a.m. on NCAA.com. Stanford is hosting this year’s NCAA Tournament Dec. 6-8 at Avery Aquatics Center.
NOTABLE:
– This was USC’s third straight MPSF Tournament title and 14th all-time.
– The win sends the Trojans to their 20th straight NCAA Tournament appearance
– With three goals today, Max Miller has now scored in a team-best 24 of USC’s 26 games so far this season.
– Miller now has 140 career goals, ranking him No. 20 all-time in career scoring at USC.
– With his goal today, Andrej Grgurevic leads USC with a least one goal scored in the past eight games.
– With three goals today, Robert López Duart continues to lead USC in multiple-goal outings, now with 17 this season.
– USC’s 15 goals scored was the most given up by UCLA this season in regulation.
– WIth 11 different scorers today, USC has recorded 14 games this season with 10 or more scorers.
– USC is just the second team in MPSF history to win three consecutive tournament titles.
2024 MPSF TOURNAMENT
CHAMPIONSHIP GAME
#3 USC 15, #1 UCLA 13
Nov. 24, 2024 | Spieker Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 5 – 4 – 3 – 3 = 15
UCLA 4 – 1 – 4 – 4 = 13
SCORING:
USC — Max Miller 3, Robert López Duart 3, Andrej Grgurevic, Tom McGuire, Jack Martin, Carson Kranz, Stefan Brankovic, Connor Cohen, Luka Brnetic, Jake Carter, Jack Vort.
UCLA — Wade Sherlock 3, Frederico Jucá Carselade 2, Ben Larsen 2, Ben Liechty 2, Ryder Dodd 2, Eli Liechty, Chase Dodd.
SAVES: Bernardo Herzer (USC) 9, Garret Griggs (UCLA) 4 [1st half], Nate Tauscher (UCLA) 5 [2nd half].
