USC
Cal State Bakersfield
No. 2 USC Doubles Up With Two Season-Opening Wins
February 05, 2006 | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 5, 2006
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. -- The No. 2-ranked USC women's water polo team had a busy first day of competition to open the 2006 season. The Women of Troy hosted two teams on Saturday afternoon and pinned up a pair of dominating wins, first with a 20-4 decision over Hartwick, followed by a 16-7 win over Cal State Bakersfield at McDonald's Swim Stadium. Thirteen different Women of Troy scored across the two games, including five players who notched their first goals as Trojans. With the wins, USC gets a 2-0 start to the 2006 season.
In USC's opener against No. 13 Hartwick, Moriah Van Norman earned a four-meter penalty shot that Brittany Hayes converted to get the ball rolling on the Trojans' win. USC blanked the Hawks 6-0 in the first quarter, and then Kami Craig tallied her first goal as a Trojan with a turn and score at set to get USC up 7-0. Patty Cardenas was next to get her first USC goal with a rocket from the top that made it 8-0. It wasn't until 18 seconds left in the half that Hartwick got on the board to get it to an 8-1 USC lead at the half. In the fourth quarter, two more new Trojans notched the first career goals. Michelle Stein got USC up 16-2, and then Carolyn Conway busted in a pair of goals in the period. By the final buzzer, Van Norman and Lauren Wenger had capped off hat tricks to lead the Trojans. Conway, Hayes, Jana Wenger, Miranda Nichols also had multiple-goal efforts with a pair each as 12 different Trojans scored in the 20-4 win.
A half-hour later, the Women of Troy hit the pool once more to take on Cal State Bakersfield. Lefty Hayes scored a team-high four goals in the game, including another four-meter score. Anna Pardo opened up the scoring for USC with a crosscage lob in the first 30 seconds. The Roadrunners managed a goal in the first quarter and two in the second, but the Trojans' offense reigned supreme with another balanced attack. USC led 9-2 at halftime. USC exploded with six goals in the third period -- three of which came from Hayes for a 15-5 lead going into the final period. In the fourth, Jordan Anae outlasted the Cal State Bakersfield goalie with a slick score from close range to get her first USC goal. USC goalie Alex Lopez capped up in the cage for both games, gathering seven saves in each game.
USC 20, Hartwick 4
Hart 0 1 1 2 -- 4USC 6 2 7 5 -- 20Scoring:
USC -- Moriah Van Norman 3, Lauren Wenger 3, Brittany Hayes 2, Miranda Nichols 2, Jana Wenger 2, Carolyn Conway 2, Anna Pardo, Kami Craig, Patty Cardenas, Veronika Bartunkova, Michelle Stein, Alison Riddle.
Hartwick -- Bronwen Knox 2, Megan Dahl-Smith 2.
Saves: Alex Lopez (USC) 7, Olivia Colebourne (HART) 3.
USC 16, Cal State Bakersfield 7
CSUB 1 2 2 2 -- 7USC 4 5 6 1 -- 16Scoring:
USC -- Brittany Hayes 4, Patty Cardenas 2, Moriah Van Norman 2, Anna Pardo, Alison Riddle, Lauren Wenger, Kami Craig, Michelle Stein, Jana Wenger, Veronika Bartunkova, Jordan Anae.
CSUB -- Kaila Kerr 3, Kathrine Gillett 2, Amanda Ortiz, Yulia Blinovskaya.
Saves: Alex Lopez (USC) 7, Tatiana Yakhina (CSUB) 4.
