University Southern California Trojans
No. 1 USC In Pursuit of MPSF Championship
November 21, 2007 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 21, 2007
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK: The Trojans are ranked No. 1 in the nation once again, but seeded second in this weekend's MPSF Tournament after finishing behind Cal in the regular season. With the winner of the MPSF tourney poised to claim an automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament, competition this weekend is certain to be high as MPSF teams descend on California's Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley. USC (15-2, 6-2 MPSF)) opens the tournament against No. 7 UC Santa Barbara (18-12, 3-5) at 12:30 p.m. on Friday (Nov. 23). A win would put the Trojans up against either No. 3 Stanford or No. 6 Pepperdine in the semifinals at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 24). The MPSF championship match is set for 4 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 25) and the third-place game will be at 2 p.m.
RANKINGS: The Trojans have bumped back up to the No. 1 slot in the national polls this week, sitting three points ahead of the MPSF Tournament's top seed California. USC's first opponent in the MPSF Tournament is No. 7 UC Santa Barbara.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR: USC carried a a 42-game winning streak into the 2006 MPSF Tournament, where the top-seeded Trojans were able to extend the streak to 44 before falling to Cal 6-5 in the championship game. USC beat UC Irvine 13-2 in the first round, then topped Stanford 5-3 in the semifinal.
AND NOW...: This year, USC sits as the No. 2 seed in the MPSF Tournament behind Cal (24-3), which suffered its first MPSF loss last week to Stanford. Stanford (16-6) holds the No. 3 seed and UCLA (19-6) is the No. 4 seed. Rounding out the eight-team tournament are No. 5 UC Irvine (12-10), No. 6 Pepperdine (26-8), No. 7 UC Santa Barbara (18-12) and No. 8 Long Beach State (17-12). Pacific (14-17) did not make the tournament.
LAST WEEK: USC capped off a third straight undefeated home season with a 9-7 win over No. 5 UC Irvine last weekend. The Trojans ¬-- honoring seven departing seniors -- pushed past the Anteaters and held them off thanks in part to 14 saves from senior goalie Adam Shilling. Sophomore Matt Sagehorn punched in a career-high four goals for the Trojans. The win marked USC's 27th consecutive home victory and wraps up a home record of 5-0 for the Trojans at McDonald's Swim Stadium. USC held a 4-3 lead at halftime but padded it to 7-4 on a late counterattack strike from Sagehorn to put UCI out of reach entering the fourth period.
GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Trojans boast the top defense in the nation for the third straight season, having allowed opponents and average of only 5.7 goals per game thanks to a stingy effort in the field and from goalies Adam Shilling and Will Cherashore. Shilling's time in the cage has seen a MPSF-best of 5.6 goals against per game. Season-low defensive stands include a full-game shutout of UC Santa Cruz and a two-goal outing by Stanford on Oct. 6 that garnered Shilling the nod as MPSF Mikasa Co-Player of the Week with 10 saves in the win.
DEPTH CHARGE: A whopping 13 different Trojans got to the back of the net in USC's most decisive win since 1998. USC pinned up a 22-0 win over UC Santa Cruz on Sept. 15, notching the first career shared shutout for goalies Adam Shilling and Will Cherashore. The last time USC blew out a team by at least 22 goals was a 28-3 win over UC Davis in 1998. USC's scoring balance expanded even further at the SoCal Tournament, as 14 different Trojans scored in a 19-1 win over Redlands on Oct. 13. To date, 19 players have tallied scores with 10 different players leading the team in scoring in the first 10 games.
FAMILIAR FACES: There are a few faces lined up on the Trojan bench that fans haven't seen in action for a while; but all three have NCAA title-winning experience Injuries have kept Joe Cosentino and Trevor Clark out of the pool for a season or two, respectively, but both are working on a comeback this year. After winning a national championship in 2005, a shoulder injury and heart surgery took him out of the lineup through 2006. Cosentino got back in the water against LMU on Sept. 8 and scored his first goal of the year on Sept. 15. Owner of the 2003 NCAA title-winning goal, Clark is still battling injuries, but made his return to the pool known on Saturday against Pepperdine with his first goal of the year in his first game back. He has since added eight more goals, giving the senior 45 career goals at USC.
BACK FOR MORE: A year ago, eight USC newcomers were making their Trojan debuts. Those fresh faces saw a lot in their first year, helping push USC into the NCAA final. Now well-seasoned returners, those Trojans add their experienced talent to the 2007 charge. Plan on seeing plenty of dominant depth in the form of Trojans in their second year of action - Anthony Artukovich, J.W. Krumpholz, Justin Rappel, Matt Sagehorn, Nico Sardo, Gabor Sarusi, Jordan Thompson and Drew Vyn. Those eight have combined for 108 of USC's 184 goals so far this year.
INTERNATIONAL WATERS: Six Trojans expanded their roles in the international water polo scene over the summer, spending the bulk of their time training and competing with the U.S. Junior National Team at tournaments in Europe and at the 2007 FINA Junior World Championships, where Team USA took sixth place. Anthony Artukovich, J.W. Krumpholz, Arjan Ligtenberg, Justin Rappel, Matt Sagehorn and Nico Sardo all were key members of the U.S. junior team. Krumpholz and Ligtenberg are also lined up alongside fellow Trojan Shea Buckner for double duty as members of the training roster for the U.S. Senior National Team.
HOME POOL DOMINATION: The home waters of McDonald's Swim Stadium have provided smooth sailing for USC for the past two seasons now. The Trojans finished off 2005 with a perfect 9-0 record at home, and they went 13-0 at home in 2006 to hold a 22-game win streak in their home pool. That streak is now at 27 straight after closing out its third consecutive undefeated home run with a 5-0 mark at McDonald's after topping UC Irvine last week.
SENIOR STRENGTH: Two-time All-Americans Tommy Corcoran and Adam Shilling are two of five seniors on the roster, joined by two 2006 transfers who made immediate impacts -- left-handed driver Drew Vyn and two-meter Gabor Sarusi -- and returning star Trevor Clark. Clark served up the game-winning goal for the Trojans in their 2003 NCAA championship as a freshman, and after two injury-plagued seasons is working his way back in the pool for his senior season.
DIVING RIGHT IN: Only one true freshman is capped up for action this season -- a testament to the experienced depth on the Trojan roster this year. That standout fresh face is Devon Borisoff, a U.S. Youth National teamer who boasts such strong all-around talent that coach Jovan Vavic has entrusted him to plenty of playing time. Watch for Borisoff's dominating defensive skills and speed on the counterattack.
GABOR GOT IT: After a career day at the NorCal Tournament, USC senior Gabor Sarusi earned his first career award as the MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week on Sept. 18, becoming the first Trojan this season to win the honor. Sarusi came up huge for the Trojans in the championship game of the competitive NorCal Tournament, scoring a career-high three goals, including the game-winning penalty shot to get USC a big win over host California. Sarusi scored once in the second period and twice in the fourth. After Tommy Corcoran earned a penalty shot with 5 seconds left, Sarusi took the 5-meter strike and nailed it to get the win, along with his first career hat trick. He also had two assists in the game. Sarusi finished the tournament with five goals for the undefeated Trojans.
SHEA'S DAY: His USC career may just be getting underway, but sophomore transfer Shea Buckner made his opener as a Trojan a career day, punching in four goals in a win over LMU. As a freshman at Cal, Buckner hit the four-goal mark twice before opting to transfer to USC after that season. He hit his career mark again in the final of the SoCal Tournament on Oct. 14, punching in four against Stanford following a two-goal effort against UCLA in the semi to help USC notch its fifth straight SoCal tourney title and earn Buckner his first career MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week honor.
WELL-CENTERED: Trevor Clark is one member of USC's ferociously deep staff of two-meter men along with fellow senior Tommy Corcoran. Back in the center slot as well are U.S. Senior National teamers J.W. Krumpholz, Shea Buckner and Arjan Ligtenberg. That highly skilled group is bulked up by several more versatile centers with the ability to provide both offensive surges and defensive strongholds at set, namely Gabor Sarusi, Jovan Vranes, Jordan Thompson and freshman U.S. Youth National Team player Devon Borisoff.
NEVER BETTER: USC's 23-0 sweep through the 2006 regular season marked the first time since men's water polo became an NCAA sport in 1969 that the Trojans have gone undefeated in the regular season. USC went 5-0 in 1944 -- long before the NCAA recognized the sport. No NCAA team has posted an undefeated overall record since California went 31-0 in 1992.
2006 RECAP: The Trojans made their second straight trip to the NCAA championship game, having ridden an undefeated regular season into the MPSF Tournament. USC was upended by Cal in the MPSF final, and was edged out in the final second of the NCAA championship game by the Bears, finishing 2006 with a 26-2 overall record.
