USC
*UCLA
USC's Streak Snapped By UCLA
October 28, 2007 | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 28, 2007
WESTWOOD, CALIF. - The top-ranked USC men's water polo team stalled out on Sunday afternoon, as No. 3 UCLA snapped a 13-game win streak by the Trojans with a 9-5 decision in Westwood. USC's overall record moves to 13-1 and its MPSF mark is 4-1, while UCLA improves to 16-5, 3-2.
The matchup featured the nation's top-ranked defense vs. the top offense. Defensively, USC came into the match averaging just 4.8 goals against per game, and UCLA boasted an offense responsible for an average of 14.3 goals per game. The Bruins were able to hold USC to a season-low five goals thanks in large part to a dominating effort in the cage by goalie Chay Lapin, who tallied 15 saves in the match to hold off the Trojans, including a pair of stops against USC 5-meter penalty shots.
All the scoring in the first period came on 6-on-5 opportunities, as UCLA opened the game with a score to take an early lead before USC tied it back up. After the Trojans had misfired on their first 6-on-5 chance of the game, Drew Vyn earned another power play for USC. He sent the ball to Shea Buckner, who fed a pass to Matt Sagehorn for the putaway and a 1-1 lockup just under three minutes into the game. The Bruins would go back ahead, however, finishing off another 6-on-5 for a 2-1 UCLA lead that would stand through the remainder of the period.
In the second frame, UCLA struck again from deep when Tyler Jemmett skimmed in a long one that pulled the Bruins ahead by two. Sagehorn then registered his second goal with a near corner skip off a pass from Arjan Ligtenberg, and USC was within one at 3-2. As the shotclock drained on UCLA's next possession, the Bruins broke through again to go up by two with 4:48 to go in the half. Both teams would strike out on 6-on-5 chances, and then Nico Sardo came up with a takeaway at two meters to squelch a Bruin possession. With a minute left in the half, USC went up on a 6-on-5. Sardo delivered a pass to Justin Rappel, who laced in the score for the Trojans to make it 4-3. In the final stretch of the half, Tommy Corcoran earned an exclusion against Ben Hohl, who was then charged with a 5-meter penalty with nine seconds on the clock. Shea Buckner lined up for the shot, but Lapin came up with the save to maintain UCLA's one-goal edge going into halftime.
Down by one in the third, USC was unable to get on the board. UCLA managed to break through twice, however, leaving the Trojans behind 6-3 entering the fourth period. Another Lapin save fed into a UCLA counterattack two minutes into the fourth. Matthew Jacobs squared off with USC goalie Adam Shilling on the counter and scored to get UCLA ahead 7-3 with 5:28 remaining. Twenty seconds later, Rappel struck again for the Trojans, ending almost 12 minutes of scoreless play by USC with a smooth crosscage shot that made it 7-4. UCLA was awarded a 6-on-5 opportunity next, however, and the Bruins converted to make it a four-goal game once again. USC would answer with a 6-on-5 rocket from Jovan Vranes with 3:11 remaining, but the Trojans' hopes of generating a comeback were running short of time, and one last UCLA 6-on-5 score put the Trojans behind 9-5 with 1:37 left. Lapin finished off the game for the Bruins with a save on a Gabor Sarusi 5-meter penalty shot, holding UCLA ahead for the MPSF win.
The 9-5 loss was the largest margin of defeat for the Trojans since 1997, when Stanford beat USC 9-5. The Trojans still are the only team in the nation with just a single loss this season. USC is out of competition next weekend, returning to MPSF action on Nov. 10 with a showdown at No. 2 California at 1:30 p.m. USC will visit Pacific on Nov. 11 at 12 p.m. to continue MPSF play.
#3 UCLA 9, #1 USC 5
USC 1 - 2 - 0 - 2 -- 5
UCLA 2 - 2 - 2 - 3 -- 9
SCORING:
USC - Matt Sagehorn 2, Justin Rappel 2, Jovan Vranes.
UCLA - Scott Davidson 2, Krsto Sbutega 2, Marco Santos, Tyler Jemmett, Russell Simpkins, Matthew Jacobs, Scott Swanson.
SAVES: Adam Shilling (USC) 4, Chay Lapin (UCLA) 15.
Players Mentioned
