No. 4 USC Men’s Water Polo Racks Up Two More Solid Wins At Triton Invite - USC Athletics (2024)

Trojans top No. 8 UC Davis 18-12 and beat Westcliff 21-6 to take a 4-0 start to 2024.

Stewart McGuire

Men's Water Polo | September 08, 2024

Box Score 1 LA JOLLA, CALIF. — The No. 4 USC men's water polo team made it a winning weekend of work with two more victories at the Triton Invitational today, taking down No. 8 UC Davis 18-12 and then wrapping the event with a 21-6 win over Westcliff. Now 4-0 to open 2024 action, the Trojans now turn to their first home games of the year next weekend at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

It was a tight affair against the Aggies until Carson Kranz stepped in. The score tied up three times in the first frame, and USC edged ahead 4-3 when Kranz found Robert López Duart for the go-ahead finish just before the end of the first. To kick off the second, Kranz scored three straight goals to match his career high. He faked and fired to finish off a USC 6-on-5 first, then issued a field block and topped off the ensuing counterattack to make it a 6-3 USC lead. Twenty seconds later, Kranz took a pass from Evan Ausmus and hammered home another counter, fueling what would grow to be a five-goal USC scoring rally to take control of things. USC poured on eight goals in the second period to lead it 12-6 at halftime, then stayed largely in stride with UC Davis in the second half to secure the win. López Duart set his USC high mark with four goals scored in the 18-12 win, while Luke Nelson matched Kranz's career high with a hat trick in the victory. Goalie Bernardo Herzer collected eight saves for the Trojans in the win over the Aggies.

Hours later, USC squared off against Westcliff to wrap things up in La Jolla. That one also featured new career highs for a trio of Trojans. Jake Carter and Zac Crenshaw each delivered three goals for the Trojan cause in the 21-6 win, while redshirt freshman Chase Landa notched his first multiple-goal game as a Trojan with two. USC utilized a searing second period of play to take control, outscoring the Warriors 7-0 in that frame to craft an 11-2 halftime advantage. Eric Hubner covered the cage for the Trojans in this one, making 12saves along the way.

NOTABLE:
- With three goals vs. UC Davis, Carson Kranz matched his career high.
- With three goals vs.UC Davis, Luke Nelson set a new career high.
- With three goals vs. Westcliff, Jake Carter set a new career high.
- With three goals vs.Westcliff, Zac Crenshaw set a new career high.
- With two goals vs.Westcliff, Chase Landa set a new career high.
- With two goals scored today, Max Miller now holds 98 career goals.
- With three goals scored today, Carson Kranz now holds 99 career goals.
- Four Trojans — Andrej Grgurevic, Robert López Duart, Jack Martin and Max Miller — scored at least one goal in all four of USC's games at the Triton Invitational.
- López Duart was USC's top scorer at the Triton Invite with nine goals scored.

NEXT:USC now sets up for three games in two days in home waters this coming weekend at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans host UC Irvine at 12 p.m. on Saturday (Sept. 14) just before a 1:30 p.m. clash with Whittier. On Sunday (Sept. 15), USC hosts Pepperdine at 1 p.m.

TRITON INVITATIONAL

#4 USC 18, #8 UC Davis 12
Sept. 8, 2024 | Canyonview Aquatic Center (La Jolla, Calif.)
USC 4 - 8 - 4 - 2 = 18
UCD 3 - 3 - 1 - 5 = 12

SCORING:
USC — Robert López Duart 4, Carson Kranz 3, Luke Nelson 3, Jack Vort 2, Max Miller, Stefan Brankovic, Jack Martin, Jake Carter, Evan Ausmus, Andrej Grgurevic.
UCD — Thomas Kiesling 6, Will Nomura, Aleix Aznar Beltran, JT Kujawa, Gabe Bensen, Johnny Kujawa, Timothy Kerr.
SAVES:Bernardo Herzer (USC) 8, Frank Laptin (UCD) 2, Baxter Chelsom (UCD) 10.

#4 USC 21, Westcliff 6
Sept. 8, 2024 | Canyonview Aquatic Center (La Jolla, Calif.)
USC 4 - 7 - 6 - 4 = 21
WU 2 - 0 - 2 - 2 = 6

SCORING:
USC — Jake Carter 3,Zac Crenshaw 3, Robert López Duart 2, Jack Vort 2, Luke Nelson 2, Chase Landa 2, Max Miller, Luka Brnetic, Andrej Grgurevic, Jack Martin, Connor Cohen, Zach Bettino,Tom McGuire.
WU — Manuel Augusto 2, Andrej Maodus 2, Adam Hodi, Csanad Varga.
SAVES:Eric Hubner (USC) 12, Westcliff n/a.