University Southern California Trojans
USC
*Pacific
Top-ranked Trojans Rolls Through Pacific 23-12
October 07, 2006 | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 7, 2006
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. - The No. 1 USC men's water polo team flexed some serious scoring muscle in their MPSF clash with No. 5 Pacific, ringing up a 23-12 victory at the hands of a season-high 13 different Trojan scorers. The resounding win over the Tigers on Saturday punched USC's winning streak up to 30 straight games, and holds the Trojans at 11-0 overall and 3-0 in MPSF play this season. Pacific is now 10-7 overall.
Led by the swift scoring arm of senior Juan Delgadillo - who led the Trojans with four goals before halftime - USC broke out of a tight first period to run away with the game in the second period. Pacific got on the board first in the game before Pavol Valovic sliced in an answering score early in the match. The Tigers held tough, however, and worked ahead to a 3-2 edge and then led 4-3 with 14 seconds to go in the first. Delgadillo had the last word in the period, however, when Valovic delivered a pass that Delgadillo ripped in for the tying score just three second before the buzzer.
That late-period score served as a spark for the Trojans, who went on to outscore the Tigers 7-1 in the second period. Delgadillo tacked up his third and fourth goals of the game, while fellow senior Thomas Hale also tallied a pair. J.W. Krumpholz finished off a slick pass from Tommy Corcoran, and Arjan Ligtenberg and Nico Sardo also knocked in goals for the Trojans as they streaked ahead 11-5 by halftime.
The scoring onslaught didn't slow, thanks to Valovic's third winning sprint, which kept the ball in Trojan hands to open the second half. Krumpholz ripped in USC's sixth straight goal to make it 12-5 before Pacific was able to end its scoring slump. Hale's third goal of the game came next, followed by one from Corcoran, a 5-meter penalty shot converted by Matt Sagehorn and another score from Sardo to get USC ahead 16-7 for the final period.
Junior goalie Adam Shilling gave way to Ben Weil in the cage for the fourth quarter, and Ronnie Giery stepped in next to close out the final minutes of the game for USC. Both offenses were near unstoppable in the fourth, though USC held the edge by pouring another seven goals to Pacific's five. Freshman Jordan Thompson went big for the Trojans with three straight goals in the fourth, culminating in a powerful backhand score that gave USC a 19-10 lead with five minutes left in the game. Drew Vyn, Justin Rappel, Anthony Artukovich and Matt Norris also got to the back of the net for the Trojans in the frame to close things down on USC's 14th straight home win and hold USC at 5-0 at home this season.
The 23-goal outing marks the most goals scored by the Trojans since 1998. Pacific's scoring effort was paced by Dragan Bakic with four goals, while Duje Kaurloto and Clint McLaughlin each scored two for the Tigers. Pacific goalie Brian Domecus played the first three quarters in goal, and David Andrus filled in in the fourth period.
No. 1 USC 23, No. 5 Pacific 12
PAC 4 - 1 - 2 - 5 --- 12
USC 4 - 7 - 5 - 7 --- 23
SCORING:
USC - Juan Delgadillo 4, Thomas Hale 3, Jordan Thompson 3, J.W. Krumpholz 2, Arjan Ligtenberg 2, Nico Sardo 2, Pavol Valovic, Tommy Corcoran, Matt Sagehorn, Drew Vyn, Justin Rappel, Anthony Artukovich, Matt Norris.
PAC - Dragan Bakic 4, Duje Kaurloto 2, Clint McLaughlin 2, Andy Skora, Shane Mahoney, Matt Turnbull, Joey Rossi.
SAVES:
Adam Shilling (USC) 5, Ben Weil (USC) 1, Ronnie Giery (USC) 1, Brian Domecus (PAC) 3, David Andrus (PAC) 0.
