Friday, September 5
Los Angeles, Calif.
5:00 p.m.
USC
vs
Long Beach State
Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo Hosts Home Opener Friday At Uytengsu
September 03, 2025 | Men's Water Polo
Trojans face No. 7 Long Beach State in their first 2025 action at Uytengsu at 5 p.m. on Friday, visit No. 12 Pepperdine Sunday.
#2 USC (4-0) vs. #7 Long Beach State (5-1)
Friday, Sept. 5 | 5 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record: USC leads 78-15 (W38)
Last Meeting: USC 13, LBSU 12 (ot) [Sept. 21, 2025]
STREAM: overnght.com
STATS: scores.6-8sports.com
#2 USC vs. Golden West (exhibition)
Friday, Sept. 5 | 6:30 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
#2 USC at #12 Pepperdine (3-1)
Sunday, Sept. 7 | 1 p.m. | Malibu, Calif.
Series Record: USC leads 70-20-2 (W5)
Last Meeting: USC 16, PEP 7 (Sept. 15, 2024)
STREAM: ESPN+
STATS: thefosh.net
THIS WEEK
No. 2 USC now sets up for its home opener this week. The Trojans (4-0) host Long Beach State (5-1) for a 5 p.m. clash on Friday (Sept. 5) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center before a 6:30 p.m. exhibition game against Golden West also that evening. On Sunday (Sept. 6), USC visits Pepperdine for a 1 p.m. matchup in Malibu.
RANKINGS
USC started the 2025 season ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and also second in the preseason MPSF Coaches Poll. Currently 4-0 overall, USC remains at No. 2 in the nation as of the latest set of national rankings (released Sept. 3).
LAST ACTION
USC cruised to four wins at the Triton Invitational last week, with 16 different Trojans scoring along the way, including five who scored their first goals at USC.
#2 USC 10, #12 UC San Diego 7
USC snagged the first lead of the game and didn't look back as the Trojans tacked up a 10-7 win over host No. 12 UC San Diego to kick off their 2025 campaign. Goalie Bernardo Herzer pinned up three blocks in the first frame, with the Tritons only cracking the USC defense on a 5-meter penalty shot. USC had a 2-0 lead at that point on goals from Branković and Robert López Duart, and would wrap the first period with a 3-1 advantage after Jack Martin padded the USC lead after pouncing on a rebound and punching it in. True freshman Gavin Conant tallied his first Trojan goal to open the second, sparking a 3-0 USC rally that saw Branković and Martin both find their second goals of the game. UC San Diego got another penalty shot to go next, breaking up the USC surge, but Brankovic buried his third soon after. USC's 7-3 halftime lead was trimmed to a three-goal margin as the hosts struck first in the third. USC grad transfer Mihailo Vukazić had an answer, though, firing in his first goal as a Trojan to make it 8-4. In the fourth, Herzer hauled in another three saves to get his game tally up to nine. The Tritons pulled to within two goals twice, netting another penalty shot in the final minute of play to make it 9-7, only to see USC have the last word after squashing one final UCSD possession and getting a late open-net goal to top off the 10-7 Trojan victory.
#2 USC 23, George Washington 9
In the morning matchup against George Washington — the first-ever meeting between the Trojans and the Revolutionaries — USC crafted a 6-0 with scores from six different Trojans, including the first career goals from Krstić, Naipoglu and Reed Hanna. Only one GW shot cracked Bernardo Herzer's net in that first frame, and he'd avenge it with a stop against a 5-meter penalty shot late in the period to hold a 6-1 advantage for the Trojans. Charlie Mills stepped into the cage for the next stretch, working his way out to eight saves in his three periods of work. On the offensive end, Jack Martin worked his way to a first-half hat trick, and Zach Bettino hammered home his first goal of the year to help USC to a 14-5 halftime lead. By the final buzzer, Bettino, Krstić and Hanna had hat tricks in place, just behind Martin's four-goal outburst. In all, 12 Trojans got to the back of the net in helping USC amass a 23-9 win over the Revs.
#2 USC 16, #15 UC Santa Barbara 10
For the afternoon action, USC faced No. 15 UC Santa Barbara with Mills on goalie duty for the duration. USC came out strong, scoring the first three goals of the match. Five different USC scorers accounted for the Trojans 5-1 lead after eight minutes of action. The Gauchos got in a more offensive groove next, carving the deficit down to one before Robert López Duart scored two around a Mills stop, and USC was up 8-5 for halftime. UCSB got one back once against, cutting the margin to 9-8 in the third. The Trojans countered with a four-goal rally as Krstić and López Duart both got to four goals apiece to build a 13-8 advantage. Two Gaucho goals followed, only to have USC's Stefan Branković and Naipoglu add to the Trojan tally in the last stretch to wrap things up as a 16-10 USC victory.
#2 USC 20, #10 San José State 13
There were exclusions aplenty in this Trojan-Spartan contest. USC freshman Strahinja Krstić helped drive up that tally thanks to a whopping eight drawn exclusions against his SJSU defenders. Two of those early efforts by Krstić saw his fellow Serb, Stefan Branković, convert on the USC power plays as the teams went back-and-forth early on. It was a 4-4 snarl at the end of eight minutes, and locked up again at 5-5 and 6-6 as the Spartans struck on a 5-meter penalty and a power play of their own. USC responded with a three-goal rally that featured goals from López Duart, Brankovic and Jack Martin, giving USC a 9-6 lead for halftime. The Trojans continued to stay control of things and stepped out ahead 14-10 entering the fourth thanks in part to some big blocks from goalie Charlie Mills and an opportunistic late finish from Mihailo Vukazić. He'd keep up that momentum and score again off the drive to stake USC to a 15-10 lead. López Duart knocked in his fourth next, and Jack Vort sizzled in his second to set USC up with a 17-10 advantage. Before the final buzzer sounded, Andrej Grgurevic and Gavin Conant had doubled their scoring tallies to two each, and Spencer Averitt capped things off with a 5-meter penalty finish that had been earned by Connor Cohen to put an end to things with USC holding a 20-13 win..
NOTABLE:
JR Stefan Branković matched his career high with three goals scored vs. UC San Diego.
- FR Gavin Conant and grad transfer Mihailo Vukazić scored their first goals as Trojans vs. UC San Diego.
- Three freshmen — Strahinja Krstić, Reed Hanna and Efe Naipoglu all scored their first goals as Trojans during USC's win over George Washington.
- Krstić and Hanna both set their career highs with hat tricks scored vs. George Washington.
- Against UC Santa Barbara, USC newcomers Krstić (four goals), Naipoglu (three goals) and Mihailo Vukazić (three goals) each set new USC career highs.
- JR Robert López Duart scored a season-high four goals vs. UC Santa Barbara.
- JR Stefan Branković set a new career high with four goals scored vs. San José State.
- FR Gavin Conant recorded his first multiple-goal game with two vs. San José State.
- Conant, GS Mihailo Vukazić and JR Robert López Duart each scored in all four games for USC at the Triton Invite.
- With four goals vs. San José State, López Duart scored multiple-goal games in all four matches at the Triton Invite.
BY THE NUMBERS
Four games into the 2025 season, Robert López Duart leads USC's scoring charge with 12 goals, having tallied multiple goals in all four opening games.. Newcomers Mihailo Vukazić and Gavin Conant also scored at least one goal in all four games in their first action as Trojans. On the assists side, Andrej Grgurevic and Stefan Branković have each served up seven apiece so far. On the defensive end, two goalies have seen time in the cage, with redshirt junior Bernardo Herzer and redshirt sophomore Charlie Mills each capping up in three games, combining for an average of 10.0 saves per game. As a team, USC has outscored its opponents 69-39 for an average of 17.25 goals per game offensively and 9.75 goals-against per game defensively.
PINTA'S PROGRAM
Marko Pintaric, who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 24 years on the USC coaching staff, is in his seventh year at the helm of the Trojan men's program. Last season, he guided the Trojans to a 20th consecutive NCAA appearance, reaching the NCAA final for the 19th time in that span after also winning a third straight MPSF Tournament title. An All-American and 1998 NCAA champion as a player at USC, Pintaric served as co-head coach for the USC men for 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.
THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC's campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. The student-athlete experience at USC is truly unmatched. •
Friday, Sept. 5 | 5 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record: USC leads 78-15 (W38)
Last Meeting: USC 13, LBSU 12 (ot) [Sept. 21, 2025]
STREAM: overnght.com
STATS: scores.6-8sports.com
#2 USC vs. Golden West (exhibition)
Friday, Sept. 5 | 6:30 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
#2 USC at #12 Pepperdine (3-1)
Sunday, Sept. 7 | 1 p.m. | Malibu, Calif.
Series Record: USC leads 70-20-2 (W5)
Last Meeting: USC 16, PEP 7 (Sept. 15, 2024)
STREAM: ESPN+
STATS: thefosh.net
THIS WEEK
No. 2 USC now sets up for its home opener this week. The Trojans (4-0) host Long Beach State (5-1) for a 5 p.m. clash on Friday (Sept. 5) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center before a 6:30 p.m. exhibition game against Golden West also that evening. On Sunday (Sept. 6), USC visits Pepperdine for a 1 p.m. matchup in Malibu.
RANKINGS
USC started the 2025 season ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and also second in the preseason MPSF Coaches Poll. Currently 4-0 overall, USC remains at No. 2 in the nation as of the latest set of national rankings (released Sept. 3).
LAST ACTION
USC cruised to four wins at the Triton Invitational last week, with 16 different Trojans scoring along the way, including five who scored their first goals at USC.
#2 USC 10, #12 UC San Diego 7
USC snagged the first lead of the game and didn't look back as the Trojans tacked up a 10-7 win over host No. 12 UC San Diego to kick off their 2025 campaign. Goalie Bernardo Herzer pinned up three blocks in the first frame, with the Tritons only cracking the USC defense on a 5-meter penalty shot. USC had a 2-0 lead at that point on goals from Branković and Robert López Duart, and would wrap the first period with a 3-1 advantage after Jack Martin padded the USC lead after pouncing on a rebound and punching it in. True freshman Gavin Conant tallied his first Trojan goal to open the second, sparking a 3-0 USC rally that saw Branković and Martin both find their second goals of the game. UC San Diego got another penalty shot to go next, breaking up the USC surge, but Brankovic buried his third soon after. USC's 7-3 halftime lead was trimmed to a three-goal margin as the hosts struck first in the third. USC grad transfer Mihailo Vukazić had an answer, though, firing in his first goal as a Trojan to make it 8-4. In the fourth, Herzer hauled in another three saves to get his game tally up to nine. The Tritons pulled to within two goals twice, netting another penalty shot in the final minute of play to make it 9-7, only to see USC have the last word after squashing one final UCSD possession and getting a late open-net goal to top off the 10-7 Trojan victory.
#2 USC 23, George Washington 9
In the morning matchup against George Washington — the first-ever meeting between the Trojans and the Revolutionaries — USC crafted a 6-0 with scores from six different Trojans, including the first career goals from Krstić, Naipoglu and Reed Hanna. Only one GW shot cracked Bernardo Herzer's net in that first frame, and he'd avenge it with a stop against a 5-meter penalty shot late in the period to hold a 6-1 advantage for the Trojans. Charlie Mills stepped into the cage for the next stretch, working his way out to eight saves in his three periods of work. On the offensive end, Jack Martin worked his way to a first-half hat trick, and Zach Bettino hammered home his first goal of the year to help USC to a 14-5 halftime lead. By the final buzzer, Bettino, Krstić and Hanna had hat tricks in place, just behind Martin's four-goal outburst. In all, 12 Trojans got to the back of the net in helping USC amass a 23-9 win over the Revs.
#2 USC 16, #15 UC Santa Barbara 10
For the afternoon action, USC faced No. 15 UC Santa Barbara with Mills on goalie duty for the duration. USC came out strong, scoring the first three goals of the match. Five different USC scorers accounted for the Trojans 5-1 lead after eight minutes of action. The Gauchos got in a more offensive groove next, carving the deficit down to one before Robert López Duart scored two around a Mills stop, and USC was up 8-5 for halftime. UCSB got one back once against, cutting the margin to 9-8 in the third. The Trojans countered with a four-goal rally as Krstić and López Duart both got to four goals apiece to build a 13-8 advantage. Two Gaucho goals followed, only to have USC's Stefan Branković and Naipoglu add to the Trojan tally in the last stretch to wrap things up as a 16-10 USC victory.
#2 USC 20, #10 San José State 13
There were exclusions aplenty in this Trojan-Spartan contest. USC freshman Strahinja Krstić helped drive up that tally thanks to a whopping eight drawn exclusions against his SJSU defenders. Two of those early efforts by Krstić saw his fellow Serb, Stefan Branković, convert on the USC power plays as the teams went back-and-forth early on. It was a 4-4 snarl at the end of eight minutes, and locked up again at 5-5 and 6-6 as the Spartans struck on a 5-meter penalty and a power play of their own. USC responded with a three-goal rally that featured goals from López Duart, Brankovic and Jack Martin, giving USC a 9-6 lead for halftime. The Trojans continued to stay control of things and stepped out ahead 14-10 entering the fourth thanks in part to some big blocks from goalie Charlie Mills and an opportunistic late finish from Mihailo Vukazić. He'd keep up that momentum and score again off the drive to stake USC to a 15-10 lead. López Duart knocked in his fourth next, and Jack Vort sizzled in his second to set USC up with a 17-10 advantage. Before the final buzzer sounded, Andrej Grgurevic and Gavin Conant had doubled their scoring tallies to two each, and Spencer Averitt capped things off with a 5-meter penalty finish that had been earned by Connor Cohen to put an end to things with USC holding a 20-13 win..
NOTABLE:
JR Stefan Branković matched his career high with three goals scored vs. UC San Diego.
- FR Gavin Conant and grad transfer Mihailo Vukazić scored their first goals as Trojans vs. UC San Diego.
- Three freshmen — Strahinja Krstić, Reed Hanna and Efe Naipoglu all scored their first goals as Trojans during USC's win over George Washington.
- Krstić and Hanna both set their career highs with hat tricks scored vs. George Washington.
- Against UC Santa Barbara, USC newcomers Krstić (four goals), Naipoglu (three goals) and Mihailo Vukazić (three goals) each set new USC career highs.
- JR Robert López Duart scored a season-high four goals vs. UC Santa Barbara.
- JR Stefan Branković set a new career high with four goals scored vs. San José State.
- FR Gavin Conant recorded his first multiple-goal game with two vs. San José State.
- Conant, GS Mihailo Vukazić and JR Robert López Duart each scored in all four games for USC at the Triton Invite.
- With four goals vs. San José State, López Duart scored multiple-goal games in all four matches at the Triton Invite.
BY THE NUMBERS
Four games into the 2025 season, Robert López Duart leads USC's scoring charge with 12 goals, having tallied multiple goals in all four opening games.. Newcomers Mihailo Vukazić and Gavin Conant also scored at least one goal in all four games in their first action as Trojans. On the assists side, Andrej Grgurevic and Stefan Branković have each served up seven apiece so far. On the defensive end, two goalies have seen time in the cage, with redshirt junior Bernardo Herzer and redshirt sophomore Charlie Mills each capping up in three games, combining for an average of 10.0 saves per game. As a team, USC has outscored its opponents 69-39 for an average of 17.25 goals per game offensively and 9.75 goals-against per game defensively.
PINTA'S PROGRAM
Marko Pintaric, who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 24 years on the USC coaching staff, is in his seventh year at the helm of the Trojan men's program. Last season, he guided the Trojans to a 20th consecutive NCAA appearance, reaching the NCAA final for the 19th time in that span after also winning a third straight MPSF Tournament title. An All-American and 1998 NCAA champion as a player at USC, Pintaric served as co-head coach for the USC men for 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.
THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC's campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. The student-athlete experience at USC is truly unmatched. •
Players Mentioned
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DR
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2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
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UT
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2M
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G
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2M
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DR
/ Men's Water Polo
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