Saturday, November 16
Berkeley, Calif.
1:00 PM
USC
at
California
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 1 Trojans Cap Regular Season With Visit To No. 7 Cal
November 13, 2019 | Men's Water Polo, Features
USC looks for some extra winning momentum to take into next week’s MPSF Tournament – also in Berkeley.
#1 USC (12-4, 2-0) at #7 Cal (12-9, 0-2)
Saturday, Nov. 16 | 1 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Complex (Berkeley, Calif.)
Series Record: USC leads 64-58-2 (W1)
THIS WEEK
With the top seed already secured for the MPSF Tournament and now back on top at No. 1 in the nation, USC (12-4, 2-0 MPSF) turns to take a trip to Berkeley this weekend, facing No. 7 Cal (12-9, 0-2) in a final MPSF matchup at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 16).
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 on Sept. 18. USC climbed up to No. 4 in the Oct. 9 rankings before moving to No. 6 in the Oct. 23 rankings. The Trojans were ranked No. 7 in the Oct. 30 rankings, climbed to No. 4 on Nov. 6, and now are back where they began at No. 1 in the land this week (as of Nov. 13).
SCOUTING CAL
The No. 7 Golden Bears are 12-9 overall and 0-2 in MPSF play after falling to Stanford 15-8 and beating UC Irvine 10-7 last week. Safak Simsek leads Cal in scoring with 45 goals. Goalie Adrian Weinberg is averaging 10.0 saves and 10.0 goals against per game in 19 appearances. USC is 64-58-2 all-time against the Bears after a 13-12 win over Cal earlier this season in the third-place game of the SoCal Invitational. Last year, USC beat Cal 13-6 in the 2018 Mountain Pacific Invitational semifinals and 13-7 in MPSF play before a 10-9 loss to the Bears in the semis of the MPSF Tournament.
LAST ACTION
USC upended another top-ranked opponent in unleashing a 10-7 victory over No. 1 host and rival UCLA last weekend in Westwood. The Trojans never trailed and were up by four at one point en route to a key MPSF road win, which secured the No. 1 seed for USC in the coming MPSF Tournament. Senior Marin Dasic delivered his third consecutive hat trick to help the Trojans build out a hefty lead on the road. The Trojans clearly came to play in this one, turning away the Bruins defensively before Sam Slobodien earned and finished a USC 6-on-5 for the lead at 4:19 in the first. Jake Ehrhardt ripped one in next to take the Trojans ahead 2-0 before UCLA would get on the board with a power play finish of its own. Luke Wyatt and Ehrhardt would sandwich beautiful USC goals around another UCLA power play strike, and USC was up 4-2 after eight minutes of action. The Trojans would go one better than the Bruins in the second after breaking up a defensive stalemate. Dasic broke the silence with a skipper that netted a 5-2 USC lead at 2:55 in the second. UCLA answered, but could not stop super senior Slobodien 30 seconds later, with a rocket from Slobodien coming just 22 seconds from the halftime buzzer for a 6-3 USC lead at the break. The Trojans and Bruins would stay in stride the rest of the way, as USC maintained composure and control in keeping UCLA from getting any closer that two goals' distance. A UCLA power play in the third made it 6-4, but Dasic delivered again with a laser off a setup from Wyatt to make it 7-4 Trojans. Stingy USC defense kept that score intact entering the fourth, where Dasic drummed up his third of the day with a crosscage catapult off a pass from Hannes Daube to go up 8-4 with 6:25 to go. The Bruins would manage back-to-back goals next, carving it down to a two-goal game, only to see Daube sling in a ridiculous shot to the upper-90 and steal back the momentum. Jacob Mercep zipped in a skipper two minutes later for USC to get the Trojans a 10-6 lead with 2:24 remaining. He'd then throw up a key defensive field block, and goalie Nic Porter hauled in his seventh clutch save of the game to leave UCLA flailing in the late stages. The Bruins would find one last 6-on-5 finish in the final minute, but the Trojans had things well in-hand and rounded out the 10-7 victory with one last exclamation point coming on a booming field block from Daube.
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 at the Inland Empire Classic, Dasic drummed up the 100th goal of his USC career. Dasic now boasts 128 career goals to date to rank No. 22 all-time among career scorers at USC. Several fellow Trojans also are closing in on the club, with Jacob Mercep right on the borderline with 99 career goals. Seniors Sam Slobodien (97) Matt Maier (95) are the next Trojans in reach of hitting the century mark.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 16 games into the season, USC has outscored opponents 221-148. The Trojan offense is generating 13.81 goals per game while the defense has allowed 9.25 goals-against per game. Leading the offensive charge so far are junior Jacob Mercep and Marin Dasic with 37 and 36 goals, respectively. Sophomore Hannes Daube is next with 26 goals, followed by senior Sam Slobodien and sophomore Jake Ehrhardt with 22 goals apiece. On the defensive end, USC has utilized three goalies. All-American sophomore Nic Porter has capped up in 11 games and averages 11.05 saves per game while giving up 9.47 goals per game. He also has the distinction of registering the most single-game saves by a Trojan goalie since at least 2005 with his 20-save performance vs. Stanford on Nov. 2. Junior Vaios Vlahotasios has appeared in seven games with a 9.67 saves-per-game effort and allowing 9.33 goals-against per game. Jere Ashby has also checked in for two periods of work, having collected nine saves and allowed just two goals in his appearances in the cage. In all, USC has had 16 different Trojans score to date, with five players tallying their first career goals. USC set a season high with 15 different scorers in USC's Sept. 15 win over Concordia.
SWEEPS WEEK
USC garnered its first MPSF awards sweep of the season on Nov. 4 with goalie Nic Porter named MPSF Player of the Week for the first time and freshman Marcus Longton nabbing USC's first MPSF Newcomer of the Week honor this season. The two first-time picks were instrumental in USC's upset win over No. 1 Stanford and a big victory over San José State in USC's final home games of the year. Nic Porter had a career-high 20 saves — the most single-game saves by a USC goalie since at least 2005 — to help the Trojans upset #1 Stanford 9-8 in an MPSF clash on Saturday. Porter broke his previous career high of 15 with his 16th save coming against a dangerous Stanford counterattack in the final minute of the third, preserving a two-goal USC lead. His 20th save came with 1:20 remaining to hold a crucial late two-goal USC lead. It was Porter's fifth straight game with double-digit saves and the most since setting a previous career high of 15 almost exactly a year ago. On Sunday, Porter tallied nine saves in a 17-9 USC win over visiting #12 San José State. Marcus Longton had his first career hat trick in USC's win over Stanford, then scored twice against San José State to help make it a winning weekend for the Trojans. Against the Cardinal, Longton scored twice in the first period, going back-to-back to give USC its first lead of the game. Longton added his third to get USC up 7-5 during the third period. Against SJSU, Longton scored in the second and third periods, then added an assist on USC's final goal of the game. Longton had been scoreless in USC's previous three games before the breakout hat trick vs. Stanford.
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 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.
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. 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 in 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 has been 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. 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 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. •
Carson Kranz: Trojans Live 11.25.24
Monday, November 25
Stefan Brankovic | Trojans Live 09.23.24
Monday, September 23
Men's Water Polo - USC 13, UCLA 9: Highlights (11/18/23)
Saturday, November 18
Men’s Water Polo - USC 20, Augustana 4 : Highlights (11/17/23)
Friday, November 17
