University Southern California Trojans
USC
Stanford (SoCal Championship)
Undefeated USC Claims Fifth Straight SoCal Crown
October 14, 2007 | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 14, 2007
IRVINE, CALIF. - The top-ranked USC men's water polo team tacked up its 12th straight win of the year in capturing its fifth consecutive Southern California Tournament title with an 11-6 win over No. 3 Stanford on Sunday in Irvine, Calif. The Trojans held off UCLA - the last team to beat USC in the SoCal tourney in 2002 - with a 7-6 win in the semifinals on Sunday to move into the championship against the Cardinal. USC is now a perfect 12-0 on the year.
In the title match, the Trojans fell in an early - but short-lived - hole when the Cardinal got on the board first. Thirty seconds later, Shea Buckner drilled the tying strike. He would go on to lead the Trojans with four goals in the game. The two defenses traded stops in the first period, with Trevor Clark nabbing a steal before J.W. Krumpholz earned a 6-on-5 for the Trojans. Matt Sagehorn put away a Buckner pass on the possession to grab a USC lead. Stanford would even it up with a 6-on-5 strike of its own, but after a Jovan Vranes steal USC snatched back the lead with a skip bar-down goal from Justin Rappel off a Nico Sardo assist with just 21 seconds remaining in the first.
Up 3-2 entering the second frame, the Trojans went on a scoring blitz. Buckner provided a spark for a 4-2 USC lead, and after Adam Shilling slammed away a Stanford shot, Buckner scored his third at 6:29 in the second to get USC ahead 5-2. Vranes pumped the Trojans up to a 6-2 advantage with another power play putaway. Stanford got back on the board soon after to make it 6-3, only to have another Shilling save send USC off on a counter. Anthony Artukovich found Rappel for the score, and USC was up 7-3.
Still in the second period, Krumpholz swatted a shot attempt by Stanford, and USC managed two more goals before the end of the half - one from Nico Sardo off the drive and then Buckner's fourth of the night on a counterattack strike to get USC up to a hefty 9-3 lead at the half.
Offense fizzled somewhat in the third period, as only Stanford was able to manage a goal to make it 9-4. The USC defense clamped down the rest of the way, as Gabor Sarusi served up a field block, Shilling coming out of the cage for a steal, and Vranes and Drew Vyn both added takeaways to squelch Stanford offensive series. Buckner earned a 5-meter penalty shot and lined up to take the strike, but was called for moving inside the 5-meter mark to nullify the shot.
In the fourth period, the teams matched each other with two goals apiece. Stanford struck on a 6-on-5 to make it 9-5 with 5:21 to go, but a smooth passing series by the Trojans on a 6-on-5 with just over three minutes remaining ended a scoreless slump for USC. Vyn hit Tommy Corcoran on the perimeter for a pass in to Krumpholz at set, getting USC ahead 10-5 at 3:11. With under a minute left, Sagehorn drilled a crosscage score to get the Trojans another six-goal advantage. Stanford would manage one last score, but the Trojans' dominating play in the final stood strong. Joe Cosentino wound things down for the Trojans with a steal to end the match at an 11-6 decision to lock away USC's fifth consecutive SoCal Tournament title and keep the Trojans undefeated on the year.
USC returns to action with an MPSF clash at UC Santa Barbara at noon on Oct. 20.
#1 USC 11, #3 Stanford 6
STAN 2 - 1 - 1 - 2 --- 6
USC 3 - 6 - 0 - 2 --- 11
SCORING:
STAN - Will Hindle-Katel 2, Ryan McCarthy, Janson Wigo, Andrew Drake, Michael Bury.
USC - Shea Buckner 4, Matt Sagehorn 2, Justin Rappel 2, Nico Sardo, Jovan Vranes, J.W. Krumpholz.
SAVES: Adam Shilling (USC) 8, Will Cherashore (USC) 0, Sandy Hohener (S) 8.
Players Mentioned
