No. 2 USC Moves Into Semifinals Of NorCal Tournament

Saturday, October 15

Orinda, Calif.

2:30 PM

USC

UC Irvine (NorCal Tournament)

Juraj Zatovic joined Juan Delgadillo with five goals in two games on Saturday.

No. 2 USC Moves Into Semifinals Of NorCal Tournament

October 15, 2005 | Men's Water Polo

Oct. 15, 2005

Day one of the Northern California Tournament was a successful one for the USC men's water polo team, as the Trojans earned themselves a place in Sunday's semifinals with a pair of wins. USC will face No. 3 Stanford at 11:30 a.m. at Spieker Aquatic Center in Berkeley for the right to move onto the afternoon's championship game. Host No. 4 California faces top-ranked UCLA in the other semifinal match on Sunday morning. The championship game is set for 4:10 p.m.

In the opening game of the tournament on Saturday, USC started things off with a 14-1 win over No. 18 Santa Clara. Next up was No. 6 UC Irvine, which the Trojans dispatched in a close battle 7-6. The Trojans now hold a 10-1 overall record on the season.

Against No. 18 Santa Clara, the Trojans got eight scorers in on the action on the way to the lopsided win. Goalie Don Ricci and the solid USC defense held the Mustangs scoreless through Ricci's three quarters in the cage. The Mustangs broke through once in the fourth period, but that was all the Trojans would allow, however, making the 14-1 win the fifth game of the season that they have allowed no more than two goals.

Juan Delgadillo and Juraj Zatovic led the way for USC on the scoring front with three apiece, and Joe Cosentino and Jovan Vranes also added multiple-goal efforts with a pair each.

That afternoon, USC came up against No. 6 UC Irvine in a much tighter battle. After falling behind by one in the first quarter, the Trojans worked their way ahead and held on through a scoreless fourth period for a 7-6 win to move to the semifinals. Once again, Delgadillo and Zatovic were the Trojans' top scorers - this time with two apiece. Adam Shilling capped up to guard the goal for the Trojans against the Anteaters, and the sophomore knocked down nine saves in the win.

Saturday's box scores:

USC 14, Santa Clara 1

Santa Clara     0   0   1   0  -  1USC         5   3   4   2  -  14
Scoring:USC -- Juan Delgadillo 3, Juraj Zatovic 3, Joe Cosentino 2 Jovan Vranes 2, Thomas Hale, Jeff El-Hajj, Grant Edgcomb Tommy Corcoran.SCU -- Tom Hendrickson.
Saves: Don Ricci (USC) 6, Justin McCain (USC) 3, Robert Callahan (SCU) 8.

USC 7, UC Irvine 6
UC Irvine    3   1   2   0  -  6USC         2   3   2   0  -  7
Scoring:UCI --  Dreason Barry 4, Nate White, Taylor Wells.USC -- Juan Delgadillo 2, Juraj Zatovic 2, Pavol Valovic, Arjan Ligtenberg Tommy Corcoran.
Saves: Adam Shilling (USC) 9, Joe Wynn (UCI) 7.