No. 3 USC Men’s Water Polo Drops Contest To No. 2 Stanford

Sunday, October 4

Los Angeles, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

USC

12-2

Stanford

12-1

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Stanford (M)	5	4	5	2	16
USC (M)	0	7	4	1	12

Photo by: John McGillen/USC Athletics

No. 3 USC Men’s Water Polo Drops Contest To No. 2 Stanford

October 04, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

LOS ANGELES – No. 3 USC Men's Water polo took on the No. 2 Stanford Cardinal on Sunday afternoon to wrap up the opening weekend of conference play. After falling behind early, the Trojans worked to mount a comeback but came up short as they dropped the matchup 16-12.

The Trojans split the weekend series against the Bay schools and moved to 11-2 overall on the season.

#3 USC 12, #2 Stanford 16

Stanford sprinted out to an early advantage, winning the first quarter 5-0 and taking a six goal lead early in the second quarter. Luke Nelson got USC on the board with 6:18 left in the first half which ignited the Trojan offense. USC fired home seven goals in the second quarter, including two from Apostolos Georgaras to cut the lead to 9-7 at the break.

The teams traded goals throughout the third quarter as Stanford led 14-11 after 24 minutes. USC was unable to trim the lead any further as the Cardinal secured the 16-12 victory.

Ante Jerkovic led the way for the Trojans with a hat trick. Georgaras, Robert López Duart and Zach Bettino each added two goals. López Duart and Naipoglu each had three assists.

Notables

Strahinja Krstic continued his streak of scoring in all 13 games this season with a goal.
With two goals and three assists, Robert López Duart recorded his fifth five-point game of the season.
It is Robert López Duart's 10th multi-goal outing of the season to tie Strahinja Krstic for the team lead.
Marc Angelescu matched his career high with three steals.
USC scored seven goals in the second frame from six different players.
Seven different Trojans recorded steals with Ante Jerkovic leading the way with a new personal best of four.
This was the eighth straight game that USC has registered two or more field blocks.

Scoring: Ante Jerkovic (3), Robert López Duart (2), Apostolos Georgaras (2), Zach Bettino (2) Strahinja Krstic, Luke Nelson, Efe Naipoglu

Saves: Charles Mills (5)

Up Next
The Trojans will return to the Uytengsu Aquatics Center next weekend for a matchup against No. 12 UC San Diego. The game is at 1:00 p.m. and will be live on overnght.com