Undefeated Trojans Take Top Seed Into MPSF Tournament
November 26, 2008 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 26, 2008
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THIS WEEK: USC has blasted through an undefeated regular season to set itself up as the undisputed top seed in the 2008 MPSF Tournament. While the rest of the conference standings underwent some shakeups in the final weekend of MPSF play, USC held tight to its top slot to take a 24-0 overall record into this weekend's postseason tourney. An automatic NCAA berth goes to the MPSF winner, which USC claimed last year for the fifth time in history. The Trojans open up defense of that crown on Friday (Nov. 28) with a 10 a.m. first-round game against eighth-seeded UC Irvine at Pepperdine's Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool. A win would put USC into the Saturday semifinals against either fourth-seeded UCLA or No. 5 seed California at 1:30 p.m. The final day of action will be Sunday (Nov. 30), with the championship game set for 3 p.m. in Malibu.
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 10th straight week.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR: USC was the No. 2 seed in last year's MPSF Tournament with a 15-2 overall record after a 6-2 mark in MPSF play. The Trojans opened with a 10-7 win over UC Santa Barbara before taking down Stanford 10-6 in the semifinals and then securing their fifth MPSF Tournament title with a 10-6 win over UC Irvine in the final. Matt Sagehorn posted three straight hat tricks during the tourney to help lead USC to the crown and the automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament.
AND NOW...: This year, USC sits as the top seed in the MPSF Tournament ahead of No. 2 Stanford (22-4) and No. 3 Pepperdine (19-6). UCLA (15-6) picked up the No. 4 seed, while California (18-7) takes the No. 5 seed. At No. 6 is UC Santa Barbara (15-10), Long Beach State (14-15) is No. 7, and UC Irvine (10-13) is the No. 8 seed. Pacific (10-20) finished ninth in the MPSF this season.
CLEAN SWEEP: USC closed out its second undefeated regular season in three seasons with a two last road wins during the Trojans' final push toward the postseason. After picking up a 22-2 win at UC Santa Cruz on the hands of 14 different scorers on Nov. 14, USC went over to Stanford and pocketed the top seed for the conference tournament by finishing off the Cardinal with a 6-5 comeback effort to wrap up the MPSF regular season. Joel Dennerley turned away 13 Stanford shots in the win, including a final 6-on-5 chance by the Cardinal to lock away the win and another MPSF Player of the Week honor for the freshman goalie. Peter Kurzeka and Justin Rappel each had a pair of goals for the Trojans in the victory.
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 and UC Santa Barbara 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 wins over Air Force and 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.
STRIKING SILVER: USC junior J.W. Krumpholz helped spark the United States men's water polo team to a largely unexpected medal finish at the 2008 Olympic Games this summer. The youngest member of Team USA, Krumpholz became one of only two USC men's water polo players to win an Olympic medal. He returned from Beijing just in time for the Trojan season, and has been a powerful force back in collegiate waters, leading USC in scoring with 38 goals so far this year.
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 a count of 33 saves in three games. Dennerley has hauled in at least 10 saves in nine separate games this year, and currently is averaging 8.05 saves and 4.36 goals against per game for the Trojans.
TRIPLE THREAT: On the hands of 20 different scorers, the USC offense has compiled 299 goals through an undefeated 24 games this season. That count almost triples the number of goals allowed by the Trojans, who are outscoring opponents 299-111 so far in 2008 to boast the No. 2 scoring offense in the nation with 12.46 gpg. Defensively, USC's 4.63 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.
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 finished off the 2008 home season holding a 33-game win streak in the home waters of McDonald's Swim Stadium, having gone undefeated at home for four straight seasons.
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 25 goals. Kevin May has added 13 goals; Elliott Samuels has eight; Matthew Burton has five; and Cem Carak has tallied four.
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.
