IRVINE, Calif. – No. 8 UC Irvine men's water polo came up short against No. 2 USC, falling 13-8, Saturday afternoon at Anteater Aquatics Complex.
 
The 'Eaters, who faced the top-two teams in the country on back-to-back days, dropped to 6-2 on the year. The Trojans remained undefeated with a 7-0 record.
 
USC raced out to an early three-goal advantage. UCI closed the gap to one on two occasions, both coming on Luka Krstic goals early in the second quarter (4-3) and midway through the third period (7-6). That was the closest the Anteaters would get as the Trojans did not relinquish the lead.
 
BY THE NUMBERS: Senior Luka Krstic recorded his third hat trick of the season with a team-high three goals. Junior Wyley Dale, sophomore Cole Francisco, junior Gage Verdegaal, senior Jack Stevens, and junior Johann Thrall also found the back of the net. Zayd Mahmoud tallied eight saves in the cage.
 
Mihailo Vukazic accounted for eight of USC's 13 goals. Bernardo Herzer anchored the defensive effort with 11 saves in between the posts.
 
HOW IT HAPPENED: USC's Vukazic scored the first three goals of the game. Thrall then got UC Irvine on the board, rising up to beat the shot clock with 3:03 remaining in the opening quarter. After Vukazic struck again, Stevens closed the gap to 4-2 with a tally at the 1:17 mark.
 
Krstic converted a penalty shot just 37 seconds into the second period to make it a one-goal game. The Trojans responded with two unanswered to push their margin to 6-3. Francisco scored on another penalty, but Vukazic returned the favor with six seconds on the clock to give USC a 7-4 edge.
 
Dale and Krstic both had impressive goals for the Anteaters to start the third frame. Dale received a pass from Stevens at center and deposited a backhand shot into the netting. Krstic then snuck one past the USC keeper to the near post to bring UCI within one at 7-6 with 4:27 left. The Trojans punched back with a pair of goals over the final four minutes to pull ahead, 9-6.
 
USC outscored the 'Eaters, 4-2, over the final eight minutes to come away with the 13-8 victory. Krstic and Verdegaal both scored for UC Irvine.
 
UP NEXT: UCI heads to Los Angeles for the MPSF Invitational, Sept. 19-21. The three-day tournament will be held at both USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center and UCLA's Spieker Aquatics Center.
 
NOTES
• Luka Krstic had his fourth multi-goal game of the year.
• He increased his season total to a team-best 15 goals.
• After not scoring in the first two games of the season, Johann Thrall has now found the back of the net in six-straight outings.
• Jack Stevens also extended his streak to five games with at least one goal scored.
 
 
#2 USC 13, #8 UC Irvine 8
September 13, 2025  |  Anteater Aquatics Complex (Irvine, Calif.)

USC        4 – 3 – 2 – 4 = 13
UCI          2 – 2 – 2 – 2 = 8

SCORING:
USC – Mihailo Vukazic 8, Stefan Brankovic 1, Gavin Conant 1, Zac Crenshaw 1, Robert López Duart 1, Strahinja Krstic 1

UCI – Luka Krstic 3, Wyley Dale 1, Cole Francisco 1, Gage Verdegaal 1, Jack Stevens 1, Johann Thrall 1


SAVES:
USC – Bernardo Herzer 11
 
UCI – Zayd Mahmoud 8