No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo Downs No. 20 Saint Mary’s In Season Opener

Friday, August 28

La Jolla, Calif

5:30 p.m.

USC

Saint Mary's

No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo Downs No. 20 Saint Mary’s In Season Opener

August 28, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

LA JOLLA, Calif. – The No. 2 USC Trojans kicked off the 2026 season with a 22-9 win over No. 20 Saint Mary's Friday night at the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif. The Trojan offense exploded for 14 first half goals and breezed to the first victory of the year.

#2 USC 22, #20 Saint Mary's 9
In their first game as a collegiate water polo team, Saint Mary's scored the first goal of the game before the Trojan offense came alive for seven straight goals to take control. USC led at the end of the first quarter and scored another seven in the second quarter to take a ten goal lead into the halftime break.

The second half was more Trojan domination as USC scored six of the first eight goals out of the break. The Trojans led 20-7 through three quarters and cruised to a 22-9 victory.

Strahinja Krstic led the way with four goals while Gavin Conant, Luke Nelson and Robert López Duart each scored a hat-trick apiece. Marc Angelescu and Tyler Anderson each scored two goals while Reed Hanna, Apostolos Georgaras, Ante Jerkovic, Efe Naipoglu and Chase Landa each chipped in with a goal. Georgaras and Efe Naipoglu paced the team with four assists apiece.

In the cage, Charles Mills played the first three quarters, racking up eight saves while Luke Harris closed out the game and tallied three saves

Notables

After conceding the first goal, USC scored seven straight from five different scorers
Tyler Anderson, Ante Jerkovic, Apostolos Georgaras and Marc Angelescu scored their first goal as Trojans.
Gavin Conant recorded his first career hat-trick.
Reed Hanna, Gavin Conant, Strahinja Krstic, Robert Lopez Duart and Tyler Anderson each shot perfectly from the field
Tyler Anderson drew seven exclusions, the most by a Trojan since Strahinja Krstic who drew nine Nov. 15, 2025 against UCLA.
With his three goals, Robert Lopez Duart moves into the top 25 of all-time USC scoring with 133 goals as a Trojan .
It is USC 31st straight season winning their opening game, a streak dating back to 1994.
The goalie duo of Mills and Harris held the Gaels to single digit scoring

Scoring: Strahinja Krstic (4), Robert Lopez Duart (3), Luke Nelson (3), Gavin Conant (3), Marc Angelescu (2), Tyler Anderson (2), Reed Hanna (1), Apostolos Georgaras (1), Ante Jerkovic (1), Efe Naipoglu (1), Chase Landa (1)

Saves: Charles Mills (8), Luke Harris (3)

Up Next
The Trojans will play a doubleheader on the second day of the Triton Invitational. USC will face McKendree and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 12:00 p.m. and 5:20 p.m. respectively.