No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo Whips Up 18-10 Win Over No. 10 UC Davis

LOS ANGELES — The No. 2 USC men's water polo team turned up the heat in the last 11 minutes of action to top off its final home game of the year with an 18-10 victory over visiting No. 10 UC Davis. It was a one-goal margin in the third until the Trojans unleashed nine goals and allowed only two to gather in USC's 16th win of the season. The Trojans are now 16-3 overall.

It was a wild first frame with three penalties and seven exclusions in that first eight-minute span. Both teams were effective in their advantages, and it was a 6-5 USC edge at the end of the first. The USC defense went on lockdown next, though, turning away a pair of Aggie power plays while Jake Carter and Carson Kranz each hammered home 6-on-5 scores on the other end to go with an opportunistic finish from Max Miller to make it a 9-5 USC lead at halftime. Again, the Aggies were able to get in stride with the Trojans, carving the margin down to one at 9-8 midway through the third. 

That's when USC buckled back in. Zach Bettino blasted one to make 10-8 off a feed from Evan Ausmus, and then Jack Vort found Robert López Duart for a 6-on-5 strike. Connor Cohen knocked in USC's third straight to make it 12-8, and USC was back in gear. Leading 13-9 entering the fourth, USC made another three-goal surge as Andrej Grgurevic got on the board and Jack Martin notched his second. Topping off the scoring action for the Trojans in teh final stretch were seniors Reed Stemler and Tom McGuire, who both found the back of the net in their final competition at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

NEXT: 
USC hits the road for the rest of the year's work, with a Bay Area road trip first on the docket next week. The Trojans visit Stanford for a 1 p.m. meeting on Saturday (Nov. 2) and then head to Berkeley to face Cal at 1 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 3) in a pair of key MPSF meetings.

NOTABLE:
- With a hat trick today, Robert López Duart continues to lead USC in scoring this season, now with 41 goals.
- With their goals today, López Duart and Max Miller have each now scored in 18 of USC's 19 games so far this season.
- López Duart and Miller also have each scored at least one goal in USC's last 13 straight games.
- With a hat trick today, Carson Kranz matched his career high.
- USC had 12 different scorers today, marking the 12th time this season that 10 or more Trojans have scored in a single game.

#2 USC 18, #10 UC Davis 10
Oct. 25, 2024 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC    6 - 3 - 4 - 5 = 18
UCD   5 - 0 - 4 - 1 = 10

SCORING: 
USC — Robert López Duart 3, Carson Kranz 3, Jack Martin 2, Max Miller 2, Stefan Brankovic, Jake Carter, Zach Bettino, Connor Cohen, Luka Brnetic, Andrej Grgurevic, Reed Stemler, Tom McGuire.
UCD — Thomas Kiesling 4, Holden Neach 3, Aleix Aznar Beltran 2, Will Stryker.

SAVES: Bernardo Herzer (USC) 8, Eric Hubner (USC) 1, Frank Laptin (UCD) 8.