No. 3 USC opened MPSF play with a wild one, outlasting No. 4 California 15-14 in double overtime in Los Angeles for its second win over the Bears in the last 14 days.
This one had all the swings. California struck first, but Apostolos Georgaras answered on the power play, and USC briefly built a 3-1 edge behind goals from Gavin Conant and Efe Naipoglu. The Bears clawed right back to tie it after eight minutes, setting the tone for a game that never really let either side breathe.
The second quarter kept spinning in circles. The teams traded goals for most of the frame, then Charles Mills came up with a penalty-shot save and Naipoglu buried one with four seconds left in the half to send USC to the break up 7-6.
Neither team ever got comfortable in the second half. Luke Nelson scored twice in the third quarter, and the game was deadlocked 10-10 heading to the fourth. USC seemed to grab control when López Duart scored on the power play to make it 11-10 with 6:05 left, but California answered with a late surge, took a 12-11 lead, and had possession with 35 seconds remaining.
USC still had one last crack. The Trojans got the ball back with five seconds left, drew an exclusion, and Nelson hammered in his third goal of the night off a Naipoglu assist with less than a second on the clock to force overtime.
The first overtime stayed tense. Mills stopped his second penalty of the game, setting up López Duart’s fourth goal, and Conant later pushed USC ahead by two.
California fought back again, leveling the score on a power-play goal with 1:06 left in the period. No winner emerged, and the game moved to sudden death.
In double overtime, USC had a chance to end it on a penalty after California’s goalkeeper was ejected, but the Trojans couldn’t finish the 5-meter. Less than 30 seconds later, Strahinja Krstic delivered the golden goal off an Ante Jerkovic assist.
López Duart led USC with four goals, while Nelson added three. Jerkovic finished with a career-high four assists, and Krstic not only scored the winner but also drew a season-high eight exclusions. Mills played the full game in net and posted a career-best 15 saves.
A few more notes from the night: Mills’ 15 saves included two penalty stops, giving him his first double-digit save performance of the year. USC earned its first sudden death victory since Dec. 6, 2014, when it beat Stanford in the NCAA tournament semifinal.
Krstic has now scored in every game this season and has 10 multi-goal outings. The Trojans also moved to 75-73 all-time against California, and five different USC players recorded field blocks.
It was the seventh straight game in which USC logged at least two field blocks.
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Jahkeem Stewarts fumble return for a score gave USC a huge lift, and Kameryn Crawford made key defensive plays late to help secure the finish. Even so, Washington had chances behind Demond Williams Jr. and Chris Lawson, and the combination of injuries and breakdowns made this one feel closer than the Trojans would have preferred, with one brutal lapse standing out in a game they still managed to escape. [Read more 🡒]