It looks like the fourth time’s the charm as USC men’s water polo finally conquered UCLA 15-13 in the MPSF Tournament finals — the fourth time these two squads had matched up this season — to take home its third straight MPSF title and 14th all-time.
Two goals from fifth-year captain 2-meter Max Miller in the first period were crucial for the Trojans to lead the Bruins 5-4 going into the second frame.
Typically, this is when the Bruins would go on a run and put them up; however, with three games of seeing this, the Trojans did not let up, and they were the ones that flipped the script. USC scored four times in the second quarter, compared to UCLA’s one. It was a combination of Miller and fifth-year captain driver Carson Kranz, sophomore utility Stefan Brankovic and senior 2-meter Connor Cohen, who all found the back of the net, putting the Trojans up 9-5 at half.
Of course, the Bruins would not go down easy. The two teams traded blows in the third, but UCLA would gain ground and get the score within three going into the final frame of play. That lead would shrink to only one after redshirt sophomore utility Ben Larsen and sophomore utility Ben Liechty would strike back-to-back to start the final period.
USC knew what needed to be done, though. With a goal first from lefty junior driver Jack Vort and then two goals from sophomore driver Robert López Duart, the Trojans had nearly sealed the win, going up four goals with about a minute left. UCLA would score two goals to cut the deficit in half, but it would be too little, too late as the Trojans celebrated their first win against the Bruins this year at the perfect time.
In order to get to that point, USC had to get through two other opponents as well. In the semifinal match, the Trojans fought against the Stanford Cardinal — a team they had an overtime win against early in the season and two losses later on. It was much similar to the first, as USC took the win in overtime again 18-16.
As is typical in these matchups, an “overtime hero” arose. In water polo, it tends to be different, though, since overtime is not a golden-goal-based event and is a set time.
Either way, there truly was a hero in the match: it was Kranz who scored a 5-meter and then a breakaway a mere 20 seconds later. He found an empty net as well, which meant he had a hat trick in overtime alone and — combined with his two earlier — would conclude his five-goal night.
The two-goal lead was something that Stanford could not overcome, and redshirt sophomore goalkeeper Bernardo Herzer put the icing on the cake when he tossed one the length of the pool, which was his second goal this season. Herzer finished with 15 saves in the matchup, making it a very impressive game for him.
The first round of MPSF was not too much of a challenge for the Trojans, as they beat the Austin College Kangaroos 31-2. The 31 points were the most that the team has put up since 2018 — the last season USC won a national championship — when they put up 32 against Concordia University.
Stanford transfer and redshirt junior 2-meter Jack Martin had eight goals on the day, the second most in a game in Trojan history, sitting behind Nikola Vavic’s nine goals back in 2012. In cage for the final three periods was redshirt freshman Charlie Mills, who made 10 saves on the day and added an assist on top of that.
After winning the MPSF Tournament, the Trojans have punched their ticket to their 20th straight NCAA Tournament. They will first face off against Cal Baptist next Friday, December 6, at 4 p.m. on the campus of Stanford University.
The Trojans, in search of their 11th national championship, have been eliminated by Cal in each of the last three NCAA Tournaments. Luckily for USC, the Golden Bears were not one of the eight teams who qualified for the tournament.