USC broke open a tight first faceoff with UC Irvine during the third period. Until then, the Trojans had to play catchup against the Anteaters, who led the game on three occasions during the first half. USC took its first lead of the game on a Luke Nelson rocket off a block to go up 5-4, only to see UC Irvine fire back and level it at 5-5 just 20 seconds later. Andrej Grgurevic would fake and fire a searing skipper to net a Trojan lead before halftime and build some momentum for the hosts. Cue captain Miller. He'd get USC up on a 6-on-5 and then finish off a pass from Kranz to get USC a two-goal cushion along with his 100th career goal early in the third. Some pesky defense from Zach Bettino helped keep USC on the attack, and Luka Brnetic unleashed a ripper to tug the Trojans to an 8-5 lead. The Anteaters would get not closer than two goals away the rest of the way. Kranz converted on a 5-meter penalty shot for his 100th goal as a Trojan to make it 10-7 and keep USC in the driver's seat. USC would build a lead as big as five goals with a three-goal surge in the fourth on strikes from Grgurevic, Miller and Jack Vort to go up 15-10. UC Irvine got one to go next to make it 15-11, and the Bernardo Herzer came up with an interception to help wrap up the Trojan victory over the Anteaters.

Next up for the Trojans was a matchup with Whittier. USC would unload seven goals in the first eight minutes to establish its control. Jack Martin delivered two goals for the Trojans in that frame to help USC to a 7-3 lead. The Trojan defense would give up just a single goal by the Poets in the second, while Connor Cohen, Stefan Brankovic, Zac Crenshaw and Jake Carter joined the scoresheet. USC's power move came from Luka Brnetic, who rose up and rocketed in three straight goals to open the second half and get USC out to a 10-goal lead. By the final buzzer, USC had a whopping 14 Trojans in the goal column, while goalies Charles Mills and Eric Hubner had shared time in the cage to help wrap up USC's 21-9 victory over visiting Whittier.

NOTABLE:
- With his second goal of his eventual hat trick vs. UC Irvine, Max Miller tallied his 100th career goal.
- With one goal vs. UC Irvine, Carson Kranz scored his 100th career goal.
- USC's 14 different scorers vs. Whittier was a season high.
- With three goals vs. Whittier, Luka Brnetic tied his career high.
- With two goals vs. Whittier, Jack Martin set his career high.
- Martin also is now the only Trojan to have scored in every game this season.
- With two goals vs. Whittier, Spencer Averitt tied his career high.

NEXT: Tomorrow (Sept. 15), No. 3 USC has a key clash against No. 4 Pepperdine on the docket, with the Trojans and the Waves meeting at 1 p.m. at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

#3 USC 15, #9 UC Irvine 11
Saturday, Sept. 14 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 2 - 4 - 5 - 4 = 15
UCI 2 - 3 - 3 - 3 = 11

SCORING:
USC — Max Miller 3, Andrej Grgurevic 2, Robert López Duart 2, Stefan Brankovic, Zach Bettino, Evan Ausmus, Luke Nelson, Luka Brnetic, Jack Martin, Carson Kranz, Jack Vort.
UCI — Luka Krstic 3, Tyler Padua 2, Cole Francisco 2, Jackson Matos 2, Gage Verdegaal, Ethan Spoon.

SAVES: Bernardo Herzer (USC) 7, Jacob Pyle (UCI) 10.

#3 USC 21, Whittier 9
Saturday, Sept. 14 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 7 - 5 - 5 - 4 = 21
WC 3 - 1 - 2 - 3 = 9

SCORING:
USC — Luka Brnetic 3, Luke Nelson 2, Jack Martin 2, Aidan Wattson 2, Jake Carter 2, Spencer Averitt 2, Carson Kranz, Reed Stemler, Tom McGuire, Connor Cohen, Stefan Brankovic, Zac Crenshaw, Chase Landa, Taj Whitehead.
WC — Noah Bigara 2, Ethan Klerck 2, Ivan Cubelic, Matron Thuroczy, Zander Montoya, Zander Huynh. Evan Borunda.

SAVES: Charles Mills (USC) 2 [1st half], Eric Hubner (USC) 3 [2nd half], Kenshiro Matsuzawa (WC) 8 [1st half], Loronzo Angelucci (WC) 2 [2nd half].