USC
NCAA Championship
No. 1 USC Advances To NCAA Championship Match
May 08, 2004 | Women's Water Polo
May 8, 2004
STANFORD, Calif. - USC scored eight first half goals and never looked back as they dismantled the Hartwick Hawks 12-4 to advance to the NCAA Championship game on Sunday. The Hawks staged a small comeback in the fourth period to cut USC's lead, but the Trojan defense was overwhelming behind solid goalkeeping by MPSF Goalie of the Year, Kelly Graff.
No. 1 seed USC will face the No. 3 seed Loyola Marymount for the national championship after the Lions upset the host and No. 2 seed Stanford Cardinal, 5-4, in the other national semifinal. The national championship will take place on Sunday (May 9) at 4 p.m. The match will be broadcast live on CSTV.
The Trojans had six players score 2 goals each, while the Hawks were led by Sheri Johnson's two fourth period scores.
USC got the scoring started early with a 6-on-5 goal by freshman Brittany Hayes after Hartwick's Carly Strub drew an ejection. The Trojans added another score at the 5:40 mark when sophomore Moriah Van Norman found the back of the cage from 2-meters. USC played very aggressive defense in the middle of the first, with keeper Kelly Graff picking up four early saves and elicited a 35 second shot clock violation. They added to their lead with 3:00 to go in the fist by recording a score on a 1-meter lob shot by Liz Simms and again with 1:10 remaining on a 2-meter shot by Erika Figge.
In the second, USC's Lauren Wenger wasted no time finding the back of the net from 6-meters just 24 seconds into the period. Van Norman added another score with 5:08 left in the half by depositing a backhand from 2-metes into the left-hand corner of the cage. The Trojans scored two more goals at 1:13 (Erika Figge's second) and 0:59 (Anna Pardo) left in the half.
Hartwick came out of halftime by playing stifling defense, holding USC scoreless until 4:44 left in the third period when the Trojans added another netter as Brittany Hayes scored a one-timer goal on a lobbed pass from Erika Figge for her second score of the match. USC capitalized on a Hawk ejection with a 4:09 score from Erin Wilson on rocketed shot from the 6-meter zone. Anne Pardo added her second goal of the match with 3;30 remaining by pounding a penalty shot well to the left of Hartwick keeper Amy Brunton. The Hawks got a huge score with 45 seconds left in the period when senior diver Collen Santos put in a picturesque lob from the right side over the outstretched hand of USC keeper Graff, spoiling her shutout attempt.
Sara Mix came in to relieve Graff in the fourth and was quickly challenged by Carly Strub on a breakaway 34 seconds into the period, but rejected the shot. The Hawks continued to ride the momentum of their third period score by peppering USC continuously in the fourth with solid defense and scoring. They posted goals with 5:47 (Sheri Johnson) and 4:48 (Strub) left in the game to cut the Trojan lead to eight. The Trojans wouldn't stop on offense though, as senior utility Liz Simms added her second goal of the match with 4:05 left. The Hawks still didn't give up, with Sheri Johnson finding the back of the cage for a second time, taking a 6-meter feed from freshman utility Keri James.
Notes: Freshman utility Erika Figge went 3-3 on sprints for USC and Marina Mayer won her fourth quarter one....USC's defense blocked 4 shots in the first half....Brunton was averaging 9.64 saves and 5.49 goals against...She had 4 saves and 12 against...USC had 8 ejections with Hartwick converting none of the ensuing 6-on-5 opportunities; the Hawks had 6 ejections and USC capitalized on 4 of those...Hartwick used all 4 of their timeouts....USC improved to 28-0, Hartwick drops to 33-9
Scorng Summary 1 2 3 4 TOTAL (1) USC 4 4 3 1 12 (4) Hartwick 0 0 1 3 4
USC Scores: Figge 2 (1, 1:10; 2, 1:13); Hayes 2 (1, 6:35; 3, 4:44); Pardo 2 (2, 0:59; 3, 3:30); Simms 2 (1, 3:00; 4, 4:05); Van Norman 2 (1, 5:40; 2: 5:08); Wilson 2 (2, 6:36; 3, 3, 4:09) Hartwick Scores: Johnson (4, 5:47; 4, 3:03); Santos (3: 0:45); Strub (4, 4:48)
Goalie Saves: USC: Graff 7 (1 against), Mix 2 (3 against) Hartwick: Brunton 2 (12 against)
