Top-ranked Trojans Tangle With No. 3 Bruins Saturday

Top-ranked Trojans Tangle With No. 3 Bruins Saturday

October 29, 2008 | Men's Water Polo

Oct. 29, 2008

THIS WEEK: USC settles back into its home pool this weekend after a six-game stint on the road. Back in the familiar waters of McDonald's Swim Stadium, the top-ranked Trojans (19-0, 4-0 MPSF) will take on crosstown rival UCLA (11-4, 3-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 1). USC brings an undefeated 2008 record and a home win streak of 30 straight games into this weekend's battle with the Bruins.

RANKINGS: Undefeated USC took over the top spot in the national poll after claiming the NorCal Tournament title, now ranking No. 1 in the nation for the sixth straight week. UCLA ranks No. 3 this week.

LAST WEEK: USC won its 19th straight game last weekend in claiming a powerful win over a tough MPSF team. The Trojans tipped the scales with a 14-5 victory over host Pepperdine, getting four goals from Matt Sagehorn and nine saves from Joel Dennerley, who also put a stop to a Waves 5-meter penalty strike. Sagehorn earned a share of this week's MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week honors after his career-high scoring effort.

LEXUS GAUNTLET UP FOR GRABS: This week's USC-UCLA clash will mark the second water polo face-off this season between the Trojan and Bruin teams in the year-long competition, which culminates in the 2008-09 Lexus Gauntlet. The Gauntlet challenge incorporates all 18 sports in which USC and UCLA teams face off. USC men's water polo started off this year's competition with a 6-5 win over the Bruins in the championship game of the NorCal Tournament. USC currently leads the overall Lexus Gauntlet race 7.5-5 ,with this weekend's water polo match putting another 2.5 points on the line. USC and UCLA have traded trophy wins in the past seven years, with the Trojans claiming their fourth trophy last year.

UCLA NOTES: The No. 3 Bruins have won their past three games to hold an 11-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in MPSF play. UCLA beat Cal 11-10 and Pacific 14-2 last weekend. Krsto Sbutega leads the Bruins in scoring with 31 goals. USC is 48-41-1 all-time against UCLA after tacking up a 6-5 win earlier this season at the NorCal Tournament.

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 8.68 saves and 4.69 goals against per game for the Trojans.

TRIPLE THREAT: On the hands of 20 different scorers, the USC offense has compiled 242 goals through 19 games this season. That count almost triples the number of goals allowed by the Trojans, who are outscoring opponents 242-86 so far in 2008 to boast the top scoring offense in the nation with 12.74 gpg. Defensively, USC's 4.53 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 18 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.

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.

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.

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.