LONG BEACH, Calif. – No. 2 USC Men’s Water Polo picked up their fifth straight win to open the season, taking down No. 7 Long Beach State 17-11 on the road Friday night. The Trojans led wire-to-wire to pick up their third win over a ranked opponent in the first five games.\u00a0<\/p>\n
#2 USC 17, #7 Long Beach State 11 The second half quickly turned into the Efe Naipoglu<\/a> show as the sophomore driver scored a third quarter hat trick. The Trojans led 13-10 after three quarters and clamped down on defense to earn the 17-11 victory.<\/p>\n Krstic led USC with six goals to tie his career high, which he set just one weekend ago against Claremont-Mudd-Scripps. He has scored at least four goals in all but one game so far this season. Naipoglu set his career high with five goals, along with a team-high four assists and three steals. Robert L\u00f3pez Duart chipped in with two goals and Charlie Mills went four quarters in the cage, racking up nine saves.<\/p>\n Scoring: Strahinja Krstic<\/a> (6), Efe Naipoglu<\/a> (5), Robert L\u00f3pez Duart (2), Gavin Conant<\/a>, Apostolos Georgaras<\/a>, Ante Jerkovic<\/a>, Luke Nelson<\/a><\/p>\n Saves: Charlie Mills (9)\u00a0<\/p>\n Notables:<\/p>\n
\nAnte Jerkovic<\/a> got the scoring started for the Trojans before Strahinja Krstic<\/a> buried back-to-back goals to put USC up 3-0 early. USC led 5-1 after the first eight minutes. The Trojans then led by as many as five in the second quarter, but held just a 9-7 advantage at the half as The Beach worked to get back into the contest.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\n\tEfe Naipoglu<\/a> set his career high in goals with five. Naipoglu also set a new career high in points with nine.\u00a0
\n\tStrahinja Krstic<\/a> tied his career high in goals with six
\n\tStrahinja Krstic<\/a> has scored at least four goals in four out of five games.
\n\tRobert L\u00f3pez Duart has scored multiple goals in all five games this season.
\n\tThe Trojans went 17-for-31, firing at a .548 clip. Seven different players scored for USC in the win.
\n\tUSC is now 80-15 all-time against Long Beach State, having won 40 straight games.\u00a0
\n\tUSC had started the season 5-0 for the third straight year.
\n\tIt is USC’s third win over a ranked opponent to begin the 2026 season
<\/p>\n
\nUp Next
\nUSC will play in home water for the first time this season, taking on No. 9 Pepperdine followed by an exhibition match against Golden West. The games will be Sunday, Sept. 6 at 1:00 p.m and 2:30 p.m at Uytengsu Aquatics Center and streaming on Overnght.com
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