No. 3 USC Men's Water Polo Opens MPSF Play in Bay Area Bouts

Saturday, October 4

Stanford, Calif.

1 p.m.

USC

Stanford

Robert López Duart takes a shot vs. Long Beach State at Uytengsu Aquatics Center

Photo by: John McGillen

No. 3 USC Men's Water Polo Opens MPSF Play in Bay Area Bouts

October 03, 2025 | Men's Water Polo

#USCMWP Notebook (Oct. 3)2025 USC Schedule

The Trojans take on No. 4 Stanford and No. 2 California in their first league contests

LOS ANGELES – No. 3 USC (12-1, 0-0 MPSF) opens conference play this week when the Trojans head north to take on No. 4 Stanford (8-2, 0-0) on Saturday (Oct. 4) and No. 2 California (11-1, 0-0) on Sunday (Oct. 5). Both games will be shown live on overngt.com streams. The Trojans faced the Golden Bears in the semifinals of the Mountain Pacific Invite on Sept. 20 and suffered their only loss of the season, 13-11. USC bounced back to claim at 14-12 overtime win over the Cardinal in the Invite's third-place game.

THIS WEEK

GAME #14 • Saturday, Oct. 4 • 1 p.m. PT
No. 3 USC (12-1, 0-0) at No. 4 Stanford (8-2, 0-0)
Avery Aquatics Center • Stanford, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: USC leads, 79-67 (.541)
LAST MEETING: W 14-12 OT (Sept. 21, 2025)
TV/STREAM: overnght.com
OPPONENT WEBSITE: GoStanford.com

GAME #15 • Sunday, Oct. 5 • 1 p.m. PT
No. 3 USC (12-1, 0-0) at No. 2 California (11-1, 0-0)
Spieker Aquatics Center • Berkeley, Calif.
SERIES RECORD: Tied, 72-72-2 (.500)
LAST MEETING: L 13-11 (Sept. 20, 2025)
TV/STREAM: overnght.com
OPPONENT WEBSITE: CalBears.com

OPENING SPRINT (TL;DR)

USC is led by seventh-year head coach Marko Pintaric. Overall, Pintaric is 112-39 (.741) as the Trojans' head coach. He is also 82-9 as head coach of USC's women's team and led the Women of Troy to the 2021 NCAA title.
The Trojans are ranked No. 3 in the Oct. 1 CWPA Coaches Poll.
USC is 2-0 at home and 5-0 on the road this season.
The Trojans have faced both Stanford and California in games this season. USC took a 13-11 loss to the Golden Bears in the semifinal of the Mountain Pacific Invite and then beat the Cardinal, 14-12, in overtime in the third-place game. Both were played in UCLA's pool.
USC has outscored opponents 206-120 in 13 games and averages 15.9 goals per game. The Trojans also average 10.5 saves per game.
Three Trojans have scored 20-plus goals this season led by 36 from Robert López Duart. Mihailo Vukazic (30) and Strahinja Krstic (24) follow close behind. All three have had more than 10 multiple-goal games.
USC goalies have combined to allow just 120 goals (9.2 gaa) and have produce 10.5 saves per game.

POLL POSITION | USC started 2025 ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and was second in the preseason MPSF Coaches Poll.

LAST TIME OUT | The Trojans won their second and third straight games on the road with a 14-7 victory at Pacific and a 19-9 win at UC Davis. Charles Millsoccupied the cage for all 64 minutes on USC's trip into northern-central California and produced 13 saves against the Tigers and eight more against the Aggies. Robert López Duart scored four goals in the win over Pacific. Luke Nelson had the hat trick with three against the Tigers. Nine different Trojans found the back of the cage in their win over UC Davis including four goals from Andrej Grgurevic and four from Mihailo Vukazic. Jack Martin scored three against the Aggies to make it three Men of Troy with hat tricks in the 19-9 win. López Duart scored one goal but it was the 100th of his career.

BY THE NUMBERS | Now 13 games into the season, Robert López Duart leads USC's scoring charge with 36 goals, having struck at least once in every game with multiple goals tallied in a team-best nine games. Newcomer Mihailo Vukazic has scored at least one goal in all 13 games in his first season as a Trojan and has 30 goals to date. On the setup side, Stefan Brankovic leads the team with 24 assists. On defense, three goalies have seen time in the cage. Redshirt sophomore Charlie Mills has capped up in 10 games, redshirt junior Bernardo Herzer in seven and redshirt freshman Nemo Pavoggi with one appearance. The goalkeeping corps has combined for an average of 10.5 saves per game. As a team, USC has outscored its opponents 206-120 for an average of 15.9 goals per gameoffensively and a 9.2 goals-against average.

SWEEPS WEEK | USC swept MPSF weekly awards the first week the season, with Robert López Duart (Player of the Week) and Strahinja Krstic (Newcomer of the Week) selected on Sept. 1. It was a first for both Trojans. López Duart was a four-time MPSF Newcomer of the Week in 2024. A two-meter man from Belgrade, Serbia, Krstic scored seven goals for USC at the Triton Invitational and had one assist in his debut outing, a 10-7 win at No. 12 UC San Diego. He followed that with back-to-back multi-goal games and then had a hat trick in a 23-9 win over George Washington. An All-American, López Duart was USC's top scorer at the Triton Invitational with 12 goals and scored multiple goals in all four USC wins.

MIHAILO MAKES HIS MARK | Sr. Mihailo Vukazic exploded for a career-high eight goals—second most by a Trojan in a single game—during USC's 13-8 win at No. 8 UC Irvine (Sept. 13) and was honored as the MPSF Player of the Week on Sept. 15. It was his first MPSF honor with the Trojans. Vukazic scored USC's first four goals of the game and had six of USC's seven by halftime. His seventh goal was the game-winner, as he put the Trojans on top 9-6. Vukazic's eight goals matched UCI's total as a team. He also added two steals, an assist and had three drawn exclusions.

FRESH WATER | Fr. Strahinja Krstic earned has earned the MPSF Newcomer of the Week award three times this fall (Sept. 1, Sept. 8, Sept. 29). His third came following a 2-0 week for the Trojans on wins over Pacific and UC Davis. Against the Tigers, Krstic scored one goal. In the second game, he had two goals and an assist, picked up two steals and drew a pair of exclusions. To date, the first-year Trojan has scored in 11 games for a total of 24 goals and has produced eight games with multiple goals.

LOCKED AND LOADED | Seven players return to the water for USC in 2025 who scored 20 or more goals in 2024, including top scorer Robert López Duart, who was an NCAA all-tournament team honoree alongside goalie Bernardo Herzer and Andrej Grgurevic. López Duart's team-leading 64 goals last season was just one more than USC's incoming powerhouse first-team All-American and 2024 Cutino Award finalist Mihailo Vukazic who joined the Trojans as a grad transfer from Pacific. Vukazic is one of three talented Serbian products to cap up in Cardinal and Gold this season. An All-America honorable mention recipient in his first season at USC, Stefan Brankovic is joined by fellow countrymen Vukazic and freshman Strahinja Krstic.

SET STRENGTH | Fr. Strahinja Krstic is tabbed for duty as a member of USC's daunting two-meter crew. His talents were on display the past two summers while competing for Serbia at the 2025 U20 and 2024 U18 World Championships. Despite the graduation of longtime hole man Max Miller, USC's two-meter depth will be bolstered by Krstic's arrival and the return of veterans Jack Martin, Zac Crenshaw, Connor Cohen, and Spencer Averitt.

PERIMETER ATTACK | When it comes to outside firepower, proven Trojan talents Robert López Duart and captain Andrej Grgurevic have reinforcements from several key returners. Lefties Jack Vort and Zach Bettino are back for more while Luke Nelson and Evan Ausmus are primed to power the Trojan offense after another year in the pool. Sophomores Chase Landa, Taj Whitehead and Ben Mirisch are also set to factor into USC's offensive onslaught.

CAGE FIGHTERS | Not one but two of USC's captains will be capped up in red—goalies Bernardo Herzer and Charles Mills. Both spent time with Team USA in the summer and competed with the U.S. Senior and Junior national teams, respectively. The duo will be a tough tandem to crack and their leadership in and out of the cage will help develop USC's two younger goalies, Nemo Pavoggi and Luke Harris. Pavoggi is in line to see time in the cage following his redshirt freshman season, while Harris will redshirt in 2025.

NEW CREW | There are seven true freshmen on the USC roster, including a set of U.S. Youth National teamers Colt Bradley, Gavin Conant, Reed Hanna, and Luke Harris, who competed for Team USA together at the 2024 U18 World Championships. The international experience in this freshman class expands further with the addition of Breydon Congo, who competed for Canada's Junior National Team, and Turkish talent Efe Naipoglu, who is a member of the Türkiye National Team.

PINTA'S PROGRAM | Head coach Marko Pintaric—who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 25 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 and helped USC reach the NCAA final for the 19th time. He also led the Trojans to their third straight MPSF tournament championship. An All-American and a member of USC's 1998 NCAA championship team, Pintaric served as co-head coach for the USC men for three seasons (2016-18) and most recently helped the Trojans win the 2018 NCAA championship. His USC coaching career began as an assistant coach to both the USC men and women's programs in 2001.