Courtesy: USC Athletics
#4 USC (11-5, 0-4) vs. #3 Stanford (14-5, 2-2)
Saturday, Nov. 4 | 12 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record (since 1979): USC leads 75-65 (L1)
Last Meeting: STAN 14, USC 13 (ot) [Oct. 7, 2023]
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 4 USC heads back to home waters this week to host Stanford in a key MPSF matchup. The Trojans will also honor the 1998 NCAA Championship team in celebration of the 25th anniversary of USC’s first NCAA men’s water polo title. The Trojans (11-5, 0-4 MPSF) and No. 3 Cardinal (14-5, 2-2) will face off at 12 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 4) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
RANKINGS
USC started the 2023 season ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and tied at No. 2 in the preseason MPSF Coaches Poll. Currently 11-5 overall, USC is ranked No. 4 in the nation as of the latest set of national rankings (released Nov. 1). USC also spent four weeks at No. 3 this year.
LAST ACTION
USC was hot out of the gates and built a commanding lead over No. 8 Long Beach State to secure a key road win in a final 16-13 victory over the Beach. The Trojans received career-high efforts from goalie Bernardo Herzer (13 saves), Zach Bettino (four goals) and Carson Kranz (three goals) to help boost USC to 11-5 overall on the year. Kranz struck twice early to set the Trojans on their course, following Bettino’s opening blast with back-to-back scores off Evan Ausmus assists as USC led it 3-0. The Beach answered with a 6-on-5 finish, only to see USC heap on three more goals before the end of the frame, with Jake Carter, Luka Brnetic and Ausmus joining the scoring column along the way to a 6-2 USC advantage. The Trojans would work their way out to seven-goal leads in the second. Max Miller, Bettino and Andrej Grgurevic stoked the fires for a three-goal USC surge to lead it 9-2. After a Beach bar-in score, Kranz earned and then finished off a 5-meter penalty that had USC on top 10-3 midway through the second. By the close of the first half, Miller had punched in an opportunistic second goal, and Joshua Waldoch launched a nearside rocket for the Trojan cause, making it 12-7 at the break. The scoring pace slowed a beat in the third, but USC had three Trojans add to their tallies to keep USC in strong position. Grgurevic and Brnetic each sizzled in their second strikes of the night, and Bettino blasted his third, helping USC hold a 15-9 advantage for the fourth. There, the hosts’ hands heated up a bit, as the Beach buried four in the final frame. Bettino clicked off his fourth of the night before things came to the close, and USC had a well-earned 16-13 road win in the books.
NOTABLE:
– RS FR goalie Bernardo Herzer set a new career high with 13 saves tonight.
– With a game-high four goals tonight, FR Zach Bettino tied his career high.
– In tying his career high with three goals tonight, SR Carson Kranz extends his team-leading scoring streak to 10 straight games with at least one goal scored.
– With two goals tonight, SR Max Miller now leads USC in scoring with 28 goals this season.
– Miller also now leads the team with nine multiple-goal games this year.
– USC is now 76-15-1 all-time against Long Beach State in a series dating back to 1979.
– The Trojans have now beaten the Beach in the past 36 consecutive meetings.
BY THE NUMBERS
Max Miller is currently spearheading USC’s scoring charge with 27 goals, just ahead of Massimo Di Martire’s 27 to date. Miller also leads the team in having tallied nine multiple-goal games this year, while Di Martire has scored in all 14 games in which he’s played. The Trojans’ assists leader is senior Tom McGuire with 26, while Di Martire tops the steals board with 24. Miller and fellow two-meter man Tony Nardelli have combined for 74 drawn exclusions, with Miller leading the count with 46 through his 16 games of work. On the defensive end, three goalies have seen time in the cage, with redshirt sophomore Bernardo Herzer capping up in 12 games and redshirt sophomore Eric Hubner checking for seven. In their respective USC debuts, Herzer (12 saves vs. Pomona-Pitzer) and freshman Charles Mills (13 saves vs. Biola) set career highs. All told, USC’s goalkeeping corps is averaging 10.0 saves per game. As a team, USC has outscored its opponents 206-146 for an average of 12.9 goals per game offensively and 9.1 goals-against per game defensively. The USC defense has held opponents scoreless in 12 periods of regulation play.
MPSF TO THE MAX
USC capped off a sizable home stretch with a decisive win over visiting No. 10 Pacific, led by senior Max Miller’s four-goal outburst. For his efforts, Miller was named MPSF Player of the Week for the first time in his Trojan career with his pick on Oct. 2. Miller scored USC’s first three goals of the game in an eventual 16-6 win over the Tigers. The victory avenged last year’s road loss at Pacific thanks to a well-rounded USC effort, led by Miller’s four goals to go along with a drawn exclusion and steal by the senior. He was 4-of-5 shooting in the USC win. Miller is the first Trojan to win the award since 2021. He was an MPSF Newcomer of the Week selection as a freshman in 2020.
BETTINO ON THE BOARD
Freshman Zach Bettino captured his first official award as a Trojan in being selected MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Sept. 25 following a clutch performance at the Overnght/MPSF Invitational. Bettino scored the game-winning goal in overtime and finished with a career-high four goals to help USC beat No. 4 Stanford 13-12 in the third-place game on Sunday. Before that game, Bettino’s season best had been two-goal outings, making this game a breakout for the freshman, who also had five assists at the tournament. Against the Cardinal, he was 4-of-6 shooting and dealt out an assist and a steal. Bettino is the first Trojan to pick up weekly honors from the conference this season, and is the 12th USC player to earn the award since it began in 2016. He is now tied for fourth on the team in scoring this season with 19 goals.
BACK FOR MORE
USC returns over half of its 2022 NCAA roster, including All-American and MPSF Newcomer of the Year Massimo Di Martire, who led the Trojans in scoring with 63 goals in the 2022 season — seven of those goals scored in the NCAA Tournament. Senior captain Carson Kranz and junior Luka Brnetic also return as All-MPSF honorees, with Kranz and Max Miller tabbed as team captains for 2023. Brnetic and Reed Stemler are seasoned hole guards ready to shut down any moves at two-meters. In front of the cage as well will be senior captain Miller and Tony Nardelli, each bringing valuable experience in their fourth years as centers. Newcomer Connor Cohen and sophomore Zac Crenshaw also add size and power to that spot for the Trojans. Back in the water for his sophomore season, Andrej Grgurevic spent his summer playing with the Australian Junior National Team. Grgurevic scored 21 goals as a true freshman last season.
STRIKE FORCE
With the graduation of some powerful left-handed shooters, sophomore Jack Vort, freshman Zach Bettino and redshirt freshman Charlie Saunders are ready to step up on the 4-6 side, joined by righties Di Martire and Jake Carter, who are proven sharpshooters on that side of the pool. Working on the 1-2 side is a group of guys making an impact with their utility and speed on both sides of the pool in returners Evan Ausmus, Tom McGuire, Joshua Waldoch and Aidan Wattson.
CAGE FIGHTERS
The Trojans’ goalie squad is ripe with skill and size, with 6-foot-7 Eric Hubner bringing upperclassman experience and 6-6 Bernardo Herzer coming off a redshirt year. Incoming freshman goalies Charles Mills and Cooper Mathisrud further bolster USC in the cage as the group competes for playing time as the backbone of the Trojan defense.
NEW CREW
The balance of the 2023 USC squad is rounded out by new additions to the roster. Stanford transfer Jack Martin and Serbian newcomer Stefan Brankovic are raising the level of competition in practice for the younger additions of Spencer Averitt, Chase Landa, Luke Nelson and Will Sanchez. Each player on the roster has an opportunity to make an impact on the way to NCAAs.
PINTA’S PROGRAM
Marko Pintaric, who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 21 years on the USC coaching staff, is in his fifth year at the helm of the Trojan men’s program. Last season, he guided the Trojans to an 18th consecutive NCAA appearance, reaching the NCAA final for the 17th time in that span. An All-American and 1998 NCAA champion as a player at USC, Pintaric served as co-head coach for the USC men for three seasons (2016-18), most recently helping the Trojans to the 2018 NCAA Championship. His USC coaching career began as an assistant coach to both the USC men and women in 2001. Pintaric stayed in a dual coaching role until NCAA rules for coaching staff sizes changed in 2015-16, prompting a move to a scouting director role with the women while his assistant coaching role continued with the men for the next four years.
LAST SEASON
USC’s 2022 campaign saw the Trojans win the MPSF Tournament championship in order to clinch an 18th straight trip to the NCAA tourney. USC finished up undefeated at home and posted a 20-7 overall record after a run to the NCAA title match, where USC fell in a one-goal loss to host Cal. At season’s end, USC had four players earn ACWPC All-America honors in First Team picks Jake Ehrhardt, Massimo Di Martire and Ashworth Molthen along with second-team selection Kyle McKenney. Ehrhardt also was picked as a finalist for the 2022 Peter J. Cutino Award. •