Undefeated No. 1 USC Streaks Into Match At Pepperdine
October 22, 2008 | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 22, 2008
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THIS WEEK: USC squares off this week with Pepperdine, which also boasts a winning start to MPSF play. The top-ranked Trojans (18-0, 3-0 MPSF) will visit the No. 5 Waves (14-4, 2-0) for a conference clash on Sunday (Oct. 26) at 1 p.m. in Malibu. The last time the two teams tangled, USC pulled out an overtime win over Pepperdine during the early-season Triton Invitational.
RANKINGS: Undefeated USC took over the top spot in the national poll five weeks ago, ranking No. 1 in the nation for the fifth straight week. Pepperdine ranks No. 5 this week.
LAST WEEK: USC had a lighter load last week, going from a five-game stretch from the previous weekend to a single MPSF match at Long Beach State. In a hotly contested match against the 49ers, USC got a hat trick from Shea Buckner and 10 saves from goalie Joel Dennerley en route to a 12-7 win over Long Beach State that ran USC's win streak up to 18 games.
PEPPERDINE NOTES: The No. 5 Waves have won four straight games to hold a 14-4 overall record and 2-0 mark in MPSF play. Pepperdine beat UC Davis 14-9 and Pacific 9-4 last weekend. Grant Miller and JP MacDonnell lead the Waves in scoring with 35 goals apiece. USC is 50-19-2 all-time against the Waves after winning a 7-6 overtime game against Pepperdine earlier this season.
SEWING UP SOCAL: USC emerged victorious for the sixth straight time at the competitive SoCal Tournament this year, topping No. 5 California 12-7 in the semifinal before pulling out an 8-7 overtime win over No. 3 Stanford in the championship game on a game-winning goal from Arjan Ligtenberg in the first period of overtime. The SoCal title made it three straight tournament wins for the Trojans this season. USC won out at the Triton Invitation to open the year, and then went on to win its fourth consecutive NorCal Tournament championship before claiming another SoCal Tournament crown. On the first day of tournament play, USC topped Pomona-Pitzer 18-1 and then beat UC Santa Barbara 11-4 to move into the semifinal clash with Cal, which was the first meeting between the two teams since the 2007 NCAA championship game.
FOUR IN THE NORTH: The Trojans' fourth consecutive NorCal crown came as USC allowed a tournament all-time low 10 goals in four games, capped off with a tight 6-5 win over UCLA in the title match. Matt Sagehorn served up the championship-winning strike, scoring with just one second left in regulation against the Bruins to claim victory for the Trojans. USC entered the championship game having allowed only two goals on the first day of tournament play with a 19-1 win over Air Force and a 13-1 win over UC Irvine. In the semifinals, USC registered its biggest win over Stanford since 1996 with a 10-3 victory that put the Trojans up against UCLA.
DENNERLEY'S DEBUT: USC freshman goalie Joel Dennerley wasted little time making a name for himself at Troy. In his first weekend of competition as a Trojan, Dennerley opened with a shutout effort in three periods played against Pacific on the first day of the Triton Invitational. On the second day, Dennerley had 14 saves in a sudden-death semifinal win over LMU and had nine saves in the championship game -- another overtime effort ending in a win over Pepperdine. For his efforts on the weekend -- gathering 33 saves in three games -- freshman goalie Dennerley was named the MPSF Co-Player of the Week. Dennerley currently is averaging 8.67 saves and 4.67 goals against per game for the Trojans.
TRIPLE THREAT: On the hands of 20 different scorers, the USC offense has compiled 228 goals through 18 games this season. That count almost triples the number of goals allowed by the Trojans, who are outscoring opponents 228-81 so far in 2008 to boast the top scoring offense in the nation with 12.67 gpg. Defensively, USC's 4.5 goals-allowed per game mark ranks the Trojans No. 1 in the nation -- a spot they've monopolized in the previous three seasons as well.
FIRST LOOK: Five USC freshmen are seeing playing time in their first year at Troy, and have already gotten in on the scoring attack as Trojans. Peter Kurzeka leads the way with 17 goals. Kevin May has added 10 goals; Elliott Samuels has six; and Cem Carak and Matthew Burton have four each.
FINAL WORD: USC has a set of seven players who know nothing but NCAA title match appearances since splashing down at Troy. Seniors Arjan Ligtenberg and Jovan Vranes have been in the pool for the past three national championship games, including the 2005 NCAA Championship victory. Juniors Anthony Artukovich, J.W. Krumpholz, Justin Rappel, Matt Sagehorn, Nico Sardo and Jordan Thompson have done it twice in their two seasons at Troy.
JUNIOR NATION: USC's junior class is a hefty one. Headlined by 2008 Olympic silver medalist J.W. Krumpholz, the group also boasts U.S. Senior Team members Shea Buckner and Matt Sagehorn. Krumpholz and Sagehorn, along with fellow juniors Anthony Artukovich, Justin Rappel and Nico Sardo also served as members of the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2007 FINA Junior World Championships, where Team USA took sixth place. Last year, the group of seven now-juniors including Jordan Thompson provided 55 percent of USC's total offense.
HOME POOL ADVANTAGE: USC now holds a 30-game win streak in the home waters of McDonald's Swim Stadium, having gone undefeated at home for the past three seasons.
REGAINING BALANCE: Helping to lead the Trojan offense to its 19-3 mark last season was a balanced scoring attack. Leading scorers Matt Sagehorn and Shea Buckner are both back as USC's top sharpshooters, having combined for 62 goals last season as sophomores. Senior Jovan Vranes still wields one of the hardest shots in the game, and USC's offensive onslaught is bolstered further by its powerful junior class as well as sophomores Devon Borisoff and Kyle Sterling and newcomers Peter Kurzeka, Kevin May, Cem Carak, Elliott Samuels and Matthew Burton. All told, USC returns 70 percent of its scoring from last season.
CAGE FIGHTERS: As ferocious and deep as USC's offensive firepower has been, the Trojans' staple for years now has been on the defensive end. USC has led the nation defensively in the past three seasons, and that foundation looks equally solid once again. Joel Dennerley joins the Trojan roster as a freshman goalie with experience on the Australian Junior National Team. Senior Ben Weil has served as a capable backup to Shilling, and the goalie corps continues to run deep with Will Cherashore, Tyler McManigal and Brett Giery in the cage.
2007 RECAP: The Trojans pushed through to their third straight appearance in the NCAA championship game after claiming the 2007 MPSF Championship title -- USC's fifth all-time MPSF crown. In the national championship game, USC came up short again of California in an 8-6 loss that left the Trojans with a 19-3 overall record. Six Trojans were named All-Americans at the close of the 2007 season: Tommy Corcoran, Adam Shilling, Matt Sagehorn, J.W. Krumpholz, Shea Buckner and Gabor Sarusi. Shilling also was named a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award.
