No. 3 University of Southern California Eludes No. 7 Princeton University, 10-7
LOS ANGELES, Calif. — Andrej Grgurevic scored three times and handed out a pair of assists as No. 3-ranked the University of Southern California defended the Uytengsu Aquatics Center with a 10-7 defeat of No. 7 Princeton University.
Tied at three-all entering halftime, Gavin Appeldorn pushed Princeton ahead 4-3 by converting a man-up bid 28 seconds (7:32) into the third quarter.
However, the Trojans countered with back-to-back strikes from Grgurevic (7:21) and Connor Cohen (6:05) to acquire a 5-4 lead over the Tigers. Princeton leveled the playing field at five-all as Luke Johnston converted a man-up chance with 3:50 on the clock, but Jack Martin (1:18) and Grgurevic (28 seconds, man-up) wrapped up the third quarter with consecutive markers to permit USC to enter the final eight minutes of action clinging to a 7-5 margin.
The lead continued to grow in the opening three minutes of the fourth quarter thanks to tallies from Grgurevic (7:04), Zach Bettino (5:06) and Robert Lopez Duart (4:18) to double-up Princeton at 10-5.
Logan McCarroll (2:49) and Tas Palcza (2:16) attempted to help the Tigers claw their way back into the game as the duo deposited balls into the twine to shrink Princeton’s deficit to 10-7, but USC held on for the remaining two plus minutes to escape with a three-goal win.
The first half was a back-and-forth affair in which neither team was able to pull away.
USC gained the early lead as Max Miller opened the scoring with 3:30 on the first quarter clock. Enrique Nuño evened the damage 16 seconds later at 3:14 before Jack Vort rifled home a man-up opportunity at 2:18 to put the Trojans back in front at 2-1.
Carson Kranz inflated the USC lead to 3-1 at the 5:24 mark of the second quarter, but McCarroll (5:07) and Roko Pozaric (20 seconds, man-up) erased USC’s lead prior to the halftime horn.
For Princeton, McCarroll (two), Nuño, Johnston, Pozaric, Palcza and Appeldorn combined for the team’s seven goals, while JP Ohl (two) and Vladan Mitrovic handed out assists. Goalkeeper Kristóf Kovács finished with 16 saves – including 10 stops in the first half.
Grgurevic (three goals, two assists), Kranz (one goal, two assists), Lopez Duart (one goal, two assists), Vort (one goal, one assist), Miller (one goal), Martin (one goal), Cohen (one goal), Bettino (one goal), Jake Carter (one assist) and Luka Brnetic (one assist) combined for Southern California’s offense to support a nine save effort by netminder Bernardo Herzer.
The loss drops Princeton to 0-10 all-time versus USC in men’s water polo with prior losses in 2008 (11-4 L), 2009 (14-3 L, 13-3 L), 2011 (13-4 L, 17-4 L), 2012 (22-5 L), 2013 (22-4 L), 2019 (14-6 L) and 2022 (11-8 L).
