No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo To Play For Third Place At Overnght MPSF Invite

Saturday, September 20

Westwood, Calif.

11:00 a.m.

USC

9-0

UC San Diego

9-5

UC San Diego

USC (M)

Andrej Grgurevic looks to shoot in a game vs. Long Beach State at Uytengsu Aquatics Center

Photo by: John McGillen

No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo To Play For Third Place At Overnght MPSF Invite

September 20, 2025 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Trojans top the Tritons before taking first loss of year to Cal in the semifinals today.

LOS ANGELES. — The No. 2 USC men's water polo team came up with a split on the second day of action at the Overnght MPSF Invitational, beating No. 14 UC San Diego 15-8 to take a spot in this evening's semifinals. There, the Trojans fell behind No. 3 California and wound up with their first loss of the year on a 13-11 defeat that puts USC in tomorrow's third-place game in Westwood, Calif. USC is now 9-1 overall as it sets up to face No. 4 Stanford tomorrow (Sept. 21) at 1 p.m. at Spieker Aquatics Center.

The day opened up with the Trojans in a tight battle with the Tritons. Locked up 4-4 with UCSD after eight minutes of action, the Trojan defense locked in and shut out the Tritons in the second behind some key stops from goalie Charlie Mills. Goals from Robert López Duart, Strahinja Krstić and Mihailo Vukazić got the Trojans to a 7-4 halftime advantage. USC would amass a six-goal surge that put it in control, with Efe Naipoglu and Vukazić notching USC's fifth and sixth straight scores as USC peeled out to a 9-4 lead early in the second half. Vukazić's third of the day was followed by López Duart's four to build a 12-6 Trojan advantage during the third, and the Trojans never looked back. Jack Martin, Gavin Conant and Luke Nelson all joined the scoring column with strikes in the fourth, and USC had a 15-7 win to take a ticket to the night's semifinals.

Up against No. 3 Cal, the Trojans were in a battle with the Bears from the start. USC edged ahead 2-1 on goals from Stefan Branković and Vukazić, but Cal would counter with a three-goal rally that pulled the Bears into the lead, up 4-2 in the second. Exclusions were hampering the Trojans' progress, and the Bears benefitted to the tune of an 8-4 lead at halftime. USC's Andrej Grgurevic picked up the pace for USC in the third, pushing up back-to-back goals after a López Duart penalty finish to get it to a one-goal margin and 8-7, only to see Cal push back again, and USC was in an 11-8 hole entering the fourth. There, it was Grgurevic getting USC one back again, trailing 12-11 with 3:02 remaining. The Bears got a back-breaker to nudge ahead 13-11 with 2:38 on the clock, and the Trojans were unable to close the gap in the remaining time to take their first loss of the season.

NEXT: USC will face No. 4 Stanford at 1 p.m. tomorrow (Sept. 21) in the third-place game of the Overnght MPSF Invitational at UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center in Westwood, Calif.

NOTABLE:
- With five goals scored vs. Cal, SR Andrej Grgurevic tied his USC career high.
- With their goals in both games today, Robert López Duart and Mihailo Vukazić have scored in all 10 USC games this season.

2025 OVERNGHT MPSF INVITATIONAL

BRACKET PLAY
#2 USC 15, #14 UC San Diego 8
Saturday, Sept. 20 | Spieker Aquatics Center (Westwood, Calif.)
USC 4 - 3 - 5 - 3 = 15
UCSD 4 - 0 - 2 - 2 = 8

SCORING:
USC — Robert López Duart 4, Strahinja Krstić 3, Mihailo Vukazić 3, Stefan Branković, Jack Martin, Gavin Conant, Luke Nelson, Efe Naipoglu.
UCSD — Lucas Romaguera 2, Eamon Hennessey, Mark Laurland, Nolan Roberts, Christian Hammonds, Kyson Becker, Grant Kurtz.

SAVES: Charles Mills (USC) 9, Alex Hegeman (UCSD) 11.

SEMIFINAL
#3 California 13, #2 USC 11
Saturday, Sept. 20 | Spieker Aquatics Center (Westwood, Calif.)
USC 2 - 2 - 4 - 3 = 11
CAL 2 - 6 - 3 - 2 = 13

SCORING:
USC —Andrej Grgurevic 5, Strahinja Krstić 3, Stefan Branković, Robert López Duart, Mihailo Vukazić.
CAL — Beso Akhvlediani 4, Nik Mirkovic 4, Patrik Kolik 2, Kai Inoue, Chase Wilson, Bende Pardi.

SAVES: Bernardo Herzer (USC) 3 [1st half], Charles Mills (USC) 3 [2nd half], Aren Pina (CAL) 12.