No. 5 Trojans Cap Up For Home Opener Thursday vs. No. 9 Long Beach State

THIS WEEK

No. 5 USC (3-1) sets up for its home opener this week, bringing No. 9 Long Beach State to the Uytensgu Aquatics Center for a 5 p.m. matchup on Thursday (Sept. 19).

RANKINGS

The defending NCAA champs opened up 2019 ranked No. 1 in the nation. An early loss sent the Trojans to No. 5 in the land as of Sept. 18.

SCOUTING LBSU

The No. 9 49ers are 6-2 overall after going 3-1 at the Inland Empire Classic last week. LBSU beat Whittier (16-5), Concordia (19-4) and Air Force (17-8) and lost to Pepperdine (10-8) at the event. Austin Stewart leads the 49ers in scoring with 24 goals. Goalie Marwan Darwish is averaging 8.7 saves and 8.7 goals-against per game in his six appearances. USC is 71-15 all-time against Long Beach State with wins in the last 32 meetings. Last year, USC beat LBSU 14-8 at the Mountain Pacific Invitational and 13-6 in Long Beach.

LAST WEEK

USC kicked down the starting gates of the 2019 season with two solid wins to open action at the Inland Empire Classic. The Trojans' season opener saw a 21-9 victory over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, followed directly by a 15-9 win over Whittier. Along the way to USC's 2-0 start to 2019, four Trojans tallied their first goals in Cardinal and Gold. Freshman Chris Sturtevant served up a hat trick in USC's win over Whittier, leading the charge for the Trojan newcomers. Close behind were Marcus Longton and Matt Harrison, who delivered two goals apiece in the win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps, while Grayden Reynolds punched up his first career goal as a Trojan as well in that win over the Stags. USC wound up with a split on day two of the IEC, taking a rare loss to UC Santa Barbara before rebounding with a big win over Concordia. The 13-9 loss to the No. 4 Gauchos was USC's first to UCSB since 1990, and snapped a run of 55 straight victories over the program. USC's perfect record over the Eagles, meanwhile, remained intact with a 27-3 win over Concordia. By the final whistle vs. the Eagles, 15 different Trojans had scored, including redshirt freshman Bennett Winther, who delivered his first career goal as a Trojan to help boost USC back into the win column. USC utilized three goalies during the event, with Jere Ashby checking into the cage for his first official minutes as a Trojan as USC went to 3-1 overall after its first weekend of work in 2019.

CENTURY CLUB

USC's newest card-carrying member of the 100-goal club is senior Marin Dasic. With his eighth of a final 10 goals scored out at the Inland Empire Classic, Dasic drummed up the 100th gal of his USC career. He has two fellow seniors also closing in on the club, with Matt Maier gripping 88 career goals to date, followed by Sam Slobodien's 85.

SUMMER SUCCESS

Capped up for competition around the globe, several Trojans went big in international waters during the summer of 2019. Captain of the USA's World University Games squad, Jake Ehrhardt helped guide Team USA to a silver medal at the event in Italy. Soon after, Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic were on-hand for the United States' push to Olympic qualification. Those two Trojans grabbed gold medals at the Pan American Games in Peru to secure the USA men's spot at the 2020 Olympic Games. Daube and Vavic also competed with Team USA at the FINA World Championships in South Korea, where the United States men placed ninth. Freshman Chris Sturtevant also got in on international action over the summer as a member of Great Britain's World University Games squad in Italy.

PINTA'S PROGRAM

Marko Pintaric, who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 18 years on the USC coaching staff, was named head coach of the USC men's and women's water polo teams on August 29, 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. Pintaric, who scored the game-winning goal in USC's first-ever national championship, finished his USC playing career before he had the chance to defend the Trojans' 1998 NCAA title. In 18 years since on the coaching staff, he has helped five USC men's water polo teams successfully defend their NCAA crowns. Now, as the head coach, Pintaric has the opportunity to set up defense of another NCAA trophy.

ALL-AMERICAN LEADERSHIP

Senior captains Marin Dasic, Matt Maier and Sam Slobodien are seasoned, savvy and certain leaders for a USC roster brimming with talent. They are three of eight returning All-Americans, including a power pack of four of 2018 newcomers who exploded onto the scene in their first seasons as Trojans. Sophomores Hannes Daube, Jake Ehrhardt and Nic Porter and junior Jacob Mercep made indelible marks on the stat sheets for USC last year, and they are in full stride for 2019. Daube, Ehrhardt and junior Marko Vavic also combine forces in training with the U.S. National Team, with Daube and Vavic on-hand over the summer to help Team USA qualify for the Olympic Games, while Ehrhart captained the USA's World University Games team to a silver medal. Aussie goalie Porter and Croatian product Mercep represent possibly one of the most daunting one-two punches out there, as Porter stops shots on the defensive end while Mercep scores them at the other.

SENIOR STRENGTH

While All-Americans Dasic, Maier and Slobodien are in their final seasons of competition, there are three other noteworthy Trojans entering their fourth years with the program. Redshirt juniors Troy Furniss, Luka Karaman and Luke Wyatt also play a hefty leadership role for the group. Their dedication and hard work, too, have lifted all of them into significant contribution roles in the water as well. A lefty, Wyatt punched up 23 goals for the Trojan cause last season, including one in the NCAA Championship game. Karaman and Furniss factored in for 12 goals apiece in 2018.

CAGE FIGHTERS

In goal, returning All-American Nic Porter will be pushed once more by teammate Vaios Vlahotasios, who was also a newcomer to the USC cage in 2018 and who has proven himself a shot-stopping force to reckon with as well. Porter and Vlahotasios are a formidable goalie tandem for the Trojans, and are joined by freshman Garrett Allen and sophomore Jere Ashby as USC's talented goalkeeping corps for 2019.

THE NEW CREW

USC has 11 new Trojans set to see their first splashdowns in Cardinal and Gold in 2019. On the first weekend of competition, much of that group earned their stripes. Goalie Jere Ashby checked in for his first time in the cage, while fellow newcomers Matt Harrison, Marcus Longton, Grayden Reynolds and Chris Sturtevant all registered their first goals as Trojans.

LAST SEASON

The 2018 Trojans reached the NCAA final for the 14th consecutive season and emerged with the trophy for the 10th time in program history. A 14-12 win over host Stanford saw USC claim the national championship and finish out its first 30-win season. At the close of the winning campaign, USC had a program-record 10 Trojans earn All-America status, while newcomer Jacob Mercep scored NCAA Tournament MVP honors after a five-goal outburst in the title match. Mercep and freshman Hannes Daube both picked up All-America First Team honors to lead the pack of 10 honorees in USC's 30-3 season. •

Players Mentioned

Garrett Allen

Jere Ashby

Marin Dasic

Hannes Daube

Jake Ehrhardt

Troy Furniss

Matt Harrison

Luka Karaman

Marcus Longton

Matt Maier

Jacob Mercep

Nic Porter

Grayden Reynolds

Sam Slobodien

Chris Sturtevant

Marko Vavic

Vaios Vlahotasios

Bennett Winther

Luke Wyatt