Bruins Edge Trojans In Battle At Uytengsu

LOS ANGELES —  The No. 2 USC men's water polo team was right in stride with rival UCLA until the third quarter, where the Bruins capitalized on a power play and a 5-meter penalty shot to take the lead for good in an eventual 7-5 decision. The loss puts USC at 2-5 overall on the year and in MPSF play.

Under the lights of Uytengsu Aquatics Center, defense was the name of the game in the first frame. UCLA broke through first on a 6-on-5 and then USC saw Max Miller earn a 5-meter penalty shot that Jacob Mercep hammered home to level it 1-1. Goalie Nic Porter made two big saves to preserve the lockup through the end of the first, but UCLA moved back on top after converting a counterattack and then capitalizing on another power play. Down 3-1, USC reeled the Bruins back in by halftime. First came a laser from Luke Wyatt off a 6-on-5 delivery from Marcus Longton, then another huge stop by Porter. Carson Kranz earned another 5-meter look for the Trojans, and Mercep came through again, knotting things at 3-3. Chris Agliozzo kept that intact with a booming field block against a UCLA 6-on-5 just before halftime. 

USC's efforts to equalize were undone when the Bruins converted on a 6-on-5  and then  a 5-meter penalty in the first 1:15 of the third, as UCLA went ahead 5-3. A slam from Kranz got USC back within one with 1:46 on the clock, but UCLA got another power play on its next possession and finished it off for a 6-4 advantage that held to the fourth.  There, USC cut in again, with Sturtevant netting a searing cross cage strike to make it 6-5 early in the fourth. The equalizer would evade the Trojans this time, though, and UCLA found a cushion with a goal at 2:25 that would hold the Bruins through to the end for a 7-5 UCLA victory.

In the earlier games today, UCLA beat Stanford 15-13, and Cal beat Stanford 16-11 in Round Robin action at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. All results from today are below.

Next up for USC is a nonconference bout against Pepperdine at 11 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 14) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

GAME 6
#2 UCLA 7, #2 USC 5
Feb. 7, 2021 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC   1 - 2 - 1  - 1 = 5
UCLA 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 7

SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 2, Chris Sturtevant, Luke Wyatt, Carson Kranz.
UCLA — Tommy Gruwell 3, Gabe Discipulo, Nicolas Saveljic, Mo Kenney, Tanner Pulice.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 8, BernardoMaurizi (UCLA) 10.

GAME 4
#2 UCLA 15, #1 Stanford 13
Feb. 7, 2021 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
UCLA   3 - 5 - 2  -  5 =  15
STAN   3  - 2 -  2 - 6 = 13

SCORING:
UCLA — Saveljic 8, Gruwell 2, Cavano 2, Discipulo, Kenney, Pulice.
STAN — Parrish 3, Abramson 2, Jurasius 2, Weigle 2, Seymour, Churukian, Jensen, Painter.
SAVES: Maurizi (UCLA) 15, Chun (STAN) 8.

GAME 5
#2 California 16, #1 Stanford 11
Feb. 7, 2021 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
CAL       3 - 7 - 4 - 2 = 16
STAN  3 - 3 - 3 - 2 = 11

SCORING:
CAL — Deely 4, Dunn 3, Papanikolaou 2, Kennedy 2, Molina, O'Brien-Schridde, Delagrammatikas, Naone, Avakian 
STAN — Jurasius 3, Rossman 2, Woodhead 2, Abramson, Parrish, Killion, Jensen.
SAVES: Adrian Weinberg (CAL) 15, Andrew Chun (STAN) 16.