USC Wins National Championship!

Dec. 8, 2003

STANFORD, Calif. - Freshman Trevor Clark's (Huntington Beach, Calif/Servite HS) go-ahead power-play goal with 56 seconds remaining in the second overtime period Sunday proved to be the difference as the USC Trojans won the 2003 NCAA men's water polo national championship with the 9-7 overtime victory over the host Stanford Cardinal.

Senior Predrag Damjanov (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) capped the scoring with a penalty shot with 14 seconds remaining as the Trojans won their second national championship in men's water polo, five years after their first title in 1998.

USC finishes the season with a 24-3 record, defeating Stanford in all four meetings this season. This was the first meeting between the two teams at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. Stanford finishes the season with a 22-5 mark.

"I compare the excitement of winning a national championship with the birth of my children because you simply can't match this feeling," said USC head coach Jovan Vavic. "This is why I fight for these guys all the time. Our guys never gave up tonight."

Trojan senior goalie Bozidar Damjanovic (Belgrade, Yugoslavia) made 14 saves and was named co-most valuable player of the tournament, along with Stanford's Tony Azevedo.

The Trojans controlled the tempo in the first half, but could not hold off a fierce Cardinal team, playing in front of a home crowd of 2,886. Cameron Kaiser scored first at 1:44 on a backhander before Azevedo scored the first of his team-high four goals for the Cardinal at 3:49 to tie the match. Damjanov put the Trojans ahead at 6:09 with a shot from the two-meter position.

Goals by James Shin and Kaiser in the second period for the Trojans provided the only scoring as USC held a 4-1 advantage at halftime before a Stanford rally in the third period.

Azevedo ignited the crowd with a long distance shot only 19 seconds into the third period, followed by two six-on-five power-play goals by the Cardinal to tie the match at 4-4 with 2:23 remaining. Stanford was then called for a foul that allowed USC senior Gadi Hadar (Kibutz-Givat-Haim-Icud, Israel) to score on a penalty shot with 1:54 remaining for a 5-4 lead.

Damjanov scored again early in the fourth period, but the momentum swung in Stanford's favor with three unanswered goals by the Cardinal. Matt Moser started the streak with a six-on-five goal at 2:52, followed by back-to-back goals by Azevedo. Stanford held a 7-6 lead with 2:48 remaining, but USC tied the match with a key six-on-five goal by with 1:31 left in regulation.

Both teams played stellar defense in the overtime periods as the Cardinal drew a third ejection on USC's Juraj Zatovic. Zatovic served as a key defender against Azevedo as the Trojans went to junior James Shin (Long Beach, Calif./Wilson HS) for defending duties. Shin provided the assist to Clark on the left side on the power play.

"It was intense," said Damjanovic. "It's always like that in a final game. We felt comfortable that we would do well. We played our game and did not pay attention to the crowd."

"Our guys fought hard," said Stanford head coach John Vargas. "Tony tried to carry us on his back and he came very close tonight."

Tonight's men's water polo championship is the 72nd NCAA men's title for USC, the 80th overall men's title and the 98th overall men's and women's combined championship.

Stanford    1-0-3-3-0-0---7USC     2-2-1-2-0-2---9
Stanford Goals: Tony Azevedo 4, Mike Derse, Matt Moser, Peter VarellasUSC Goals:  Predrag Damjanov 3, Gadi Hadar 2, Cameron Kaiser 2, James Shin, Trevor Clark.
Goalie Saves:  Bozidar Damjanovic (USC) 14; Chad Taylor (STAN) 11

USC Head Coach Jovan Vavic "This has been an incredible season and there is nothing better than winning a national championship."

On the game ... "For my guys to come back, and especially for my freshmen to come back, and score that goal, I really think that tells what sports are all about. No one ever gave up out there tonight."

"This is a game that is all about match ups and we really match up well against Stanford with our deep bench and excellent goalie."

On previous Stanford matches ... "I don't think that any of our guys ever thought about our last games against Stanford. It is so exhausting out there that you don't really have time to think. You execute the best you can and just react."

On game strategy ... "Our strategy coming in to this game was to drive more than in our last games. But down the stretch, strategy gets thrown in the water and it all becomes about playing with heart and desire."

USC Goalie Bozidar Damjanovic "It was tense from beginning to end, but it is always tense in a final game. Our whole team felt comfortable out there and we were not going to give up. What was most important for us is that wee just played our game."

Stanford Head Coach John Vargas "I was very proud of the team and how we fought. I thought we played pretty well defensively, but give credit to USC, they played great. (USC's) Damjanov presents a lot of problems because of his size, but I thought we played pretty good defense to keep the game close."

Stanford 2-meter Defender Michael Derse "Damjanov is very strong. He outweighs me by 70 pounds, but I tried to use my quickness. It was a battle the entire game."

2003 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship All-Tournament Teams

First Team Juraj Zatovic (USC) Bozidar Damjanovic (USC) Tony Azevedo (Stanford) Predrag Damjanov (USC) Mike Derse (Stanford) Endre Rex-Kiss (Loyola Marymount) Peter Varellas (Stanford)

Second Team Joe Donahue (Navy) James Shin (USC) Alex Ratcliffe (Navy) Chad Taylor (Stanford) Thomas Hopkins (Stanford) Gadi Hadar (USC) Tomas Szego (Loyola Marymount)

NCAA Championship Co-Most Valuable Players Bozidar Damjanovic (USC) and Tony Azevedo (Stanford)

USC Wins National Championship!

Players Mentioned

Trevor Clark

Cameron Kaiser

James Shin

Juraj Zatovic

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University Southern California Trojans

USC Wins National Championship!

Players Mentioned

Trevor Clark

Cameron Kaiser

James Shin

Juraj Zatovic

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