No. 3 USC Men’s Water Polo Heads North For Nonconference Action

Friday, September 26

Stockton, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

USC

Pacific

USC team huddles up before a game at Uytengsu Aquatics Center

Photo by: Katie Chin

No. 3 USC Men’s Water Polo Heads North For Nonconference Action

September 24, 2025 | Men's Water Polo

LIVE STATS USC-PAC LIVE STREAM WEEKLY RELEASE (PDF)

Trojans will visit No. 10 Pacific for a Friday night clash before heading to take on No. 8 UC Davis on Sunday.

#3 USC (10-1) at #10 Pacific (6-2)
Friday, Sept. 26 | 7 p.m. | Chris Kjeldsen Pool (Stockton, Calif.)
Series Record (since 1982): USC leads 55-12 (W1)
Last Meeting: USC 16, PAC 6 (Oct. 1, 2023)
STREAM | STATS

#3 USC at #8 UC Davis (5-6)
Sunday, Sept. 28 | 12 p.m. | Schaal Aquatics Center| Davis, Calif.
Series Record (since 1980): USC leads 25-0
Last Meeting: USC 18, UCD 10 (Oct. 26, 2024)
STATS

THIS WEEK
No. 3 USC has a busy stretch of action ahead this week, starting with an exhibition game against Shanghai Water Polo Club at 5 p.m. on Wednesday (Sept. 24) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. From there, the Trojans (10-1) will hit the road for two nonconference games. USC visits No. 10 Pacific for a 7 p.m. clash on Friday (Sept. 26) in Stockton and then has a 12 p.m. meeting at No. 8 UC Davis on Sunday (Sept. 28).

RANKINGS
USC started the 2025 season ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and also second in the preseason MPSF Coaches Poll. Currently 10-1 overall, USC has moved from No.. 2 to No. 3 the nation as of the latest set of national rankings (released Sept. 24).

LAST ACTION
USC finished third at the Overnght MPSF Invitational, getting two wins in group play before falling to No. 3 Cal in the semifinals. The Trojans topped off the event with a hard-fought overtime victory over No. 4 Stanford.
USC 25, Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 7
USC made a power move with a season-high 14 Trojans on the scoresheet and three goalies having a hand in the opening game of the Overnght MPSF Invitational. USC's youth movement featured the goalie debut for Nemo Pavoggi along with a team-high four goals from freshman Reed Hanna. After a tight start to the game, USC ripped off an 11-goal surge that stretched from the first period into the third. Up 6-3 in the first on Jack Martin's second goal of the game, USC led it 8-3 after eight minutes of action. Charlie Mills took over the cage next, anchoring a stingy USC defense that shut out the Stags in the second while the offense poured out eight more goals. Martin had a hat trick in place by halftime, helping USC lead it 16-3 at the break. For the second half, USC redshirt freshman Nemo Pavoggi stepped into the goal for his USC debut. Freshman Reed Hanna punched up the first goal of the second half for the Trojans to get the scoring streak out to 11 before CMS broke over 11 minutes of scoring silence to make it 17-4. Chase Landa hammered how two goals in that third frame to tug his total out to three, and Ben Mirisch scored his first goal of the season later to net a 20-5 advantage for the Trojans. In the fourth, Hanna hit two more to set his USC career high at four goals and help craft a 22-5 USC lead midway through the fourth. A minute later, freshman Colt Bradley knocked in his first goal as a Trojan, and Zac Crenshaw became USC's 14th goal scorer as he had the final word to top off the 25-7 USC victory.
USC 15, UC San Diego 8
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.
Semifinal: Cal 13, USC 11
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.
Third-Place Game: USC 14, Stanford 12 (OT)
Robert López Duart had the hot hand for the Trojans in this one, ringing up a career-high five goals — a count he also hit last year to the day versus Stanford — while Jack Vort also matched his career high with a hat trick. Both Trojans tallied key goals in OT, but it was Andrej Grgurevic's goal at 1:52 off a feed from Vort that proved the game-winner as it turned a 12-12 lockup into a 13-12 USC advantage. A steal against Stanford's next possession and a takeaway by goalie Charlie Mills — who finished one off his career high with 13 saves on the day — kept USC in control while López Duart scored in the final second to lock up the 14-12 win. The Trojans had opened up the game strong, netting the first three goals on blasts from Stefan Branković, López Duart and Efe Naipoglu. Stanford broke through midway through the first, but Vort responded in kind to get USC back to a three-goal lead. The Cardinal could get no closer than two goals away from the Trojans during the second, and USC gripped a 7-5 lead at halftime. Things started tightening up in the second half, though. Stanford snarled things up at 7-7 with early goals in the third and would find equalizer after equalizer every time the Trojans inched out ahead. USC was up 10-9 with 4:00 left in regulation, but Stanford sandwiched goals around a Vort score within a minute's span, leaving it knotted at 11-11 with 2:45 to go. That lockup held through the end of regulation to bring up overtime, where the Trojans got in their groove with a winning move to victory.
NOTABLE:
- With four goals scored vs. CMS, FR Reed Hanna set his USC career high.
- RS FR Nemo Pavoggi made his USC debut vs. CMS and recorded four saves in his second half of action in goal.
- FR Colt Bradley scored his first goal as a Trojan  vs. CMS.
- SO Ben Mirisch scored his first goal of the season  vs. CMS.
- USC had a season-high 14 different goal scorers  vs. CMS, with all three active goalies getting time in the cage.
- With five goals scored vs. Cal, SR Andrej Grgurevic tied his USC career high.
- With five goals vs. Stanford, Robert López Duart matched his career high — last achieved also against Stanford on this same date in 2024.
- With three goals vs. Stanford, Jack Vort tied his career high.
- With 13 saves vs. Stanford, Charlie Mills recorded his third double-digit save outing of the season and sixth of his USC career.
- With their efforts at the event, López Duart and Vukazić have scored in all 11 USC games this season.

BY THE NUMBERS
Now 11 games into the 2025 season, Robert López Duart leads USC's scoring charge with 31 goals, having struck at least once in every game with  multiple goals tallied in a team-best eight games. Newcomer Mihailo Vukazić also has scored at least one goal in all 11 games in his first action as a Trojan, and he now has 25 total goals. On the setup side, Stefan Branković leads the group with 17 assists so far. On the defensive end, three goalies have seen time in the cage, with redshirt sophomore Charlie Mills capping up in eight games, redshirt junior Bernardo Herzer in seven and redshirt freshman Nemo Pavoggi with one appearance. USC's goalkeeping corps has combined for an average of 10.5 saves per game. As a team, USC has outscored its opponents 173-104 for an average of 15.7 goals per game offensively and 9.5 goals-against per game defensively.

SWEEPS WEEK
USC earned an awards sweep in the first week of 2025 action, with Robert López Duart and Strahinja Krstić recognized as MPSF Player of the Week and MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors, respectively, on Sept. 1. It's the first such honor for both Trojans. López Duart was a four-time MPSF Newcomer of the Week last season in his first action as a Trojan, and he's now kicked off year two with his first MPSF Player of the Week pick. True freshman Krstić, meanwhile, opens his Trojan career with MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors. A two-meter man hailing from Belgrade, Serbia, Krstić scored seven goals for USC at the Triton Invitational over the weekend. He had one assist in his debut outing — a 10-7 win at No. 12 UC San Diego — before pinning up back-to-back multiple-goal games on day two of competition. He had a hat trick in a 23-9 win over George Washington before upping his career high to four goals with his performance in a 16-10 win over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara. On the final day, he drew a whopping eight exclusions against No. 10 San José State to help USC finish up 4-0 with a 20-13 win over the Spartans. Along the way, he also handed out two assists and had two steals at the Triton Invite. An All-American, López Duart was USC's top scorer at the Triton Invitational with 12 goals, scoring multiple goals in all four USC wins at the event. He scored four goals each in wins over the Gauchos and the Spartans after having tallied two each in the victory at UC San Diego and over George Washington. López Duart also assisted on goals in three games, topping out with two vs. GW.

MIHAILO MAKES HIS MARK
USC senior Mihailo Vukazić exploded for a career-high eight goals — second most by a Trojan in program history in a single game — during USC's 13-8 win at No. 8 UC Irvine and was has been honored as the MPSF Player of the Week on Sept. 15. It is his first MPSF honor in his first season playing with the Trojans. Vukazić scored USC's first four goals of the game and had six of USC's seven at halftime against the Anteaters. His seventh goal would prove the game-winner, as he tugged the Trojans to a 9-6 lead at the end of the third. Vukazić finished up with eight, matching UCI's total goals scored as a team, while also adding two steals, an assist and three drawn exclusions. USC stays undefeated at 7-0 with the road win. Vukazić is now USC's second leading scorer this season with 18 goals, having scored at least one goal in all seven games as a Trojan this year.

BACK-TO-BACK
Just two weeks into his Trojan playing career, freshman Strahinja Krstić earned his second set of MPSF Men's Water Polo Newcomer of the Week honors after another big week of work that helped keep USC undefeated on the year. Krstić had two strong performances for the Trojans in wins over No. 7 Long Beach State and No. 12 Pepperdine, tallying four goals with three steals and a combined eight drawn exclusions. In USC's home opener against the Beach, he scored twice in the fourth period and accumulated seven drawn exclusions and two steal in the game to help the Trojans to a 13-9 win. At Pepperdine, Krstić scored the first goal of the game and added his second during the third quarter while finishing with another steal and drawn exclusion in the Trojans' 13-8 road win over the Waves. With 12 goals so far this season, Krstić is USC's third leading scorer.

LOCKED AND LOADED
USC returns seven players who scored 20 or more goals for the Trojans in 2024, including top scorer Robert López Duart, who was an NCAA All-Tournament team honoree along with goalie Bernardo Herzer and senior Andrej Grgurevic. López Duart's team-leading 64 goals last season was just one more than USC's incoming powerhouse — USC's third First Team All-American who also was a 2024 Cutino Award Finalist, Mihailo Vukazić, who has joined the Trojans as a grad transfer out of Pacific. He is one of three talented Serbian products to cap up in Cardinal and Gold this season. An All-American Honorable Mention recipient in his first season of action at USC, Stefan Branković now has fellow countrymen Vukazić and freshman Strahinja Krstić by his side for 2025.

SET STRENGTH
Strahinja Krstić is tabbed for duty as a member of USC's daunting two-meter crew, having served Serbia well in the past two summers while competing at the 2025 U20 and 2024 U18 World Championships. Despite the graduation of longtime hole man Max Miller, USC's two-meter depth is deep thanks to Krstić and returning veteran tough guys Jack Martin, Zac Crenshaw, Connor Cohen and Spencer Averitt.

PERIMETER ATTACK
When it comes to outside firepower, USC's proven top guns like Robert López Duart and senior captain Andrej Grgurevic get further reinforcements in the form of several returners who have upped their games as they've gained experience as Trojans. Lefties JackVort and Zach Bettino are back for more on that side of the attack, while junior Luke Nelson's shot just seems to get stronger and Evan Ausmus is primed to shine in his senior campaign.  Now with a season of work under their caps, sophomores Chase Landa, Taj Whitehead and Ben Mirisch are also set to factor into USC's offensive onslaught.

CAGE FIGHTERS
Two of USC's captains are capped up in red — goalies Bernardo Herzer and Charles Mills. Both spent time with Team USA over the summer, competing with the U.S. Senior and Junior national teams, respectively. Their leadership skills aside, the two also boast impressive wing spans to help control the cage. They'll be a tough tandem to crack.Their leadership in and out of the cage is sure to help develop USC's two younger goalies in Nemo Pavoggi and Luke Harris. Pavoggi is in line to see his first time in the cage as a Trojans in his redshirt freshman season, while Harris will redshirt this year.

NEW CREW
USC's 2025 roster boasts seven true freshmen, 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
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. •