No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo Sweeps Weekend With Win Over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara

Sunday, August 30

La Jolla, Calif

1:20 p.m.

USC

4-0

UC Santa Barbara

4-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
UC Santa Barbara	2	3	3	2	10
Southern California	5	7	9	6	27

No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo Sweeps Weekend With Win Over No. 15 UC Santa Barbara

August 30, 2026 | Men's Water Polo

Box Score

LA JOLLA, Calif. – It is a dream start to the season for the No.2 USC Men's Water Polo as they took down the No. 15 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos by a score of 27-10 to cap off a 4-0 weekend at the Triton Invitational. The Trojan offense was once again on full display as they scored 20 or more goals for the fourth straight game.

#2 USC 27, #15 UC Santa Barbara 10
USC started the match quickly, jumping out to a 4-1 lead in under four minutes. UC Santa Barbara cut the lead down to two at 7-5 midway through the second quarter before the Trojans fired home five straight goals to go into the locker room up by seven. Eight different Trojans got on the scoresheet in the first half.

The offensive onslaught continued in the second half with USC scoring nine goals in the third quarter, including seven in a row to put the game to bed. The Trojan defense allowed only five goals each half as they were in control from the opening sprint, winning 27-10.

Strahinja Krstic paced the team on offense with four goals, his third game of the season with at least a hat trick. Robert López Duart followed up on his seven goal outburst from yesterday with three goals of his own. Apostolos Georgaras, Luke Nelson and Adrian Senciac each added a hat trick to the balanced USC attack. Charles Mills had five saves in net while also adding a career-high four steals in three quarters of work.

Notables

It is the Trojans' fourth straight season opening the year with a 4-0 record.
USC outscored opponents 107-33 in its first four games. The 107 goals are the most across any four-game span in program history.
With his first two goals of the season, Zach Bettino became the 18th USC field player to score, making it a perfect 18-for-18 through the opening weekend.
All five of the first quarter goals came from different players.
Robert López Duart extended his multi-goal game streak to four straight contests.
Adrian Senciac went a perfect 3-for-3 for his first USC hat trick, with all three goals coming in the fourth quarter.
The Trojans recorded 20 steals as a team which is the most in a single game since 2023 where they tallied 23 against Pomona Pitzer (Sept. 2, 2023)
USC is now 82-13-2 all time against UC Santa Barbara

Scoring: Strahinja Krstic (4), Apostolos Georgaras (3), Robert López Duart (3), Luke Nelson (3), Adrian Senciac (3), Efe Naipoglu (2), Marc Angelescu (2), Zach Bettino (2), Reed Hanna (1), Ante Jerkovic (1), Tyler Anderson (1), Chase Landa (1), Taj Whitehead (1)

Saves: Charles Mills (5), Luke Harris (1)

Up Next
USC will hit the road for a game under the lights on Sept. 4. The Trojans will face No. 7 Long Beach State on Friday at 7:00 p.m. USC will then return to Uytengsu Aquatics Center for their 2026 home opener. The squad will host No. 8 Pepperdine on Sunday, Sept. 6 at 1:00 p.m. followed by an exhibition against Golden West at 2:30 p.m..