USC Looks For Third Straight MPSF Championship
November 25, 2009 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 25, 2009
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THIS WEEK: Top-ranked USC extends its push for perfection at home as host of the first postseason tournament of the season -- the 2009 MPSF Championships. The Trojans carry a 15-game winning streak as well as a 39-game winning run in their home pool at McDonald's Swim Stadium into this year's conference tournament. USC (22-1) has secured the top seed with an undefeated run through MPSF play, and opens up against No. 8 seed Pacific (13-15) in a 10 a.m. match on Friday (Nov. 27). A win there would put USC in the semifinals with a possible clash against crosstown rival UCLA in the 1 p.m. semifinal on Saturday (Nov. 28). The title match is set for 3 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 29), where an automatic bid to the coming 2009 NCAA Championships is up for grabs. USC is aiming for a third straight MPSF title and seventh overall conference crown in order to secure a shot at back-to-back NCAA championships.
FOLLOW MPSF CHAMPIONSHIP PLAY AT TOURNAMENT CENTRAL
RANKINGS: USC is at the No. 1 spot in the nation for the seventh consecutive week after having been at No. 3 for three weeks.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR: USC blasted through an undefeated regular season to set itself up as the undisputed top seed in the 2008 MPSF Tournament. USC was the top seed with a 24-0 overall record, opening with an 8-6 win over UC Irvine to take a step into the semifinals. There, USC topped UCLA decisively with a 9-5 win. In the final against Pepperdine, USC won out in a defensive battle with a 3-2 victory to claim the Trojans' second straight MPSF Championship title -- USC's sixth overall championship.
AND NOW...: This year, USC (22-1) sits as the top seed in the MPSF Tournament ahead of No. 2 Stanford (20-2) and No. 3 Cal (20-5). UCLA (19-6) picked up the No. 4 seed, while Pepperdine (12-10) takes the No. 5 seed. At No. 6 is UC Irvine (15-11), UC Santa Barbara (12-14) is No. 7, and Pacific (13-15) is the No. 8 seed. Long Beach State (9-12) finished ninth in the MPSF this season.
LAST WEEK: USC put the finishing touches on another perfect regular-season run at home with a 15-9 win over No. 7 UC Irvine to wrap up an undefeated MPSF record on the year last week. The win pulled USC's home win streak out to 39 straight for some extra momentum going into this week's MPSF Championships, which will be held at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium Nov. 27-29. In the conference finale, three different Trojans tallied hat tricks to help carry USC past the visiting Anteaters. Leading the offensive surge for the Trojans were sophomore Peter Kurzeka and seniors J.W. Krumpholz and Justin Rappel with three goals apiece on the day. Kurzeka has his hat trick in place by halftime, as he nailed the first and last goal for the Trojans in the first period for a leg up on the Anteaters. UC Irvine managed the first goal of the game, but USC rattled off the next three with Kurzeka's 6-on-5 strike and blasts out of set from Krumpholz and senior Jordan Thompson to set USC on its path to victory.
PICK SIX: To date, USC leads the conference in MPSF Player of the Week selections with six total. Five different Trojans have picked up the weekly honor, led by a pair of awards for goalie Joel Dennerley. Peter Kurzeka, Justin Rappel, Kyle Sterling and Jordan Thompson have each earned their first career MPSF Player of the Week accolades this season, while Dennerley holds four total to his name in his two seasons so far at Troy.
YOUNG GUNS: Although the stellar senior class of Trojans seem to get the bulk of the attention, the season's first MPSF honors went to a pair of players with some extra eligibility in the books. Sophomore Peter Kurzeka grabbed his first career honor as an MPSF Player of the Week after leading USC with eight goals as the Trojans successfully defended their title at the Triton Invitational. Kurzeka served up three multiple-goal games at the tournament, including two goals in the championship win over #7 UC Santa Barbara and two vs. #6 LMU to help push USC into the final, making it a four-goal day on the last day of competition in San Diego. More recently, redshirt junior Kyle Sterling picked up his first career conference honor as the MPSF Player of the Week after a career-high three-goal effort and an added assist in USC's 14-8 win over Pepperdine. Also standing out as a crucial all-around presence for the Trojans is sophomore Matt Burton, who has gone under the radar as far as the honor roll goes, but without a doubt keys the USC gameplan.
CENTURY CLUB AND CLIMBING: USC seniors J.W. Krumpholz and Matt Sagehorn have not only chiseled their place in USC history as national champions and All-Americans, the two Trojans also have passed the century mark in career goals. Both recently busted into the all-time top-20, with Krumpholz now alone at No. 13 with 130, and Sagehorn just steps behind at No. 15 with 122. Early this year, both players leapt over current assistant coach Marko Pintaric's total of 103.
BETTER BALANCE: For an example of the Trojans' widespread scoring prowess, look no further than USC's 8-6 win over Cal at the NorCal Tournament. Eight different Trojans scored in the game -- one apiece for a USC squad that has seen 19 players score on the year and seven different Trojans holding at least 20 goals so far. Through the first 12 games of the year, no one had scored more than three goals in a single game, until J.W. Krumpholz hit five against Princeton and Shea Bucker had four against UC Santa Barbara. In total, seven different Trojans can attest to at least one hat trick to date.
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. With USC's fifth straight undefeated regular season at home in the books as of last week's MPSF win over UC Irvine, that win streak tally is up to 39. This weekend, USC can extend the run further as host of the 2009 MPSF Championships.
SEWING UP SOCAL: In the 2009 edition of the SoCal Tournament -- this year hosted by UC Irvine as the UCI Invitational -- USC worked its way to its seventh straight SoCal crown. USC first topped Bucknell 21-4, and then Shea Buckner tallied four goals in USC's second game of the day -- a 17-3 win over UC Santa Barbara to move into Sunday's semifinals. In the semi, USC went up against crosstown rival UCLA, which had dealt the Trojans their lone loss of the season earlier in the year. USC exacted revenge over the Bruins this time, staying a step ahead thanks in part to three goals from Justin Rappel on the way to a 9-8 win for a spot in the title match. There, USC faced Cal, and the Trojans again never trailed on the way to a 7-6 win over the Bears to win the tournament crown and claim USC's seventh consecutive SoCal title. For his key role in pushing USC toward the title with four goals and four assists on the second day at UCI, senior Justin Rappel picked up his first career selection as MPSF Player of the Week, becoming one of four Trojans to win the honor this season.
NUMBERS GAME: Not only did the Trojans tack up big digits in 2008 -- a perfect 29-0 record; head coach Jovan Vavic's 300th career victory; and USC's fourth NCAA Championship trophy -- the numbers rolling in for the 2009 season have the Trojans leveling their collective gaze on a feat never before achieved by the program: back-to-back national championships. The formula for success is there. Six starters return from last year's championship team. Five of them are All-Americans. Four were NCAA All-Tournament Team selections. Almost 80 percent of last season's scoring production is back. Both the MPSF Player of the Year (J.W. Krumpholz) and the Newcomer of the Year (Joel Dennerley) return to the water. And Coach of the Year Vavic is back on the deck to lead them. Entering this 2009 postseason, USC is outscoring opponents 268-123.
SENIOR STANDOUTS: USC's vaunted senior class includes an overpowering unit of six players who entered as freshmen in 2006 and have experienced only NCAA and MPSF finals since coming to Troy. J.W. Krumpholz may headline the group as the 2008 Peter J. Cutino Award winner, but fellow seniors Anthony Artukovich, Justin Rappel, Matt Sagehorn, Nico Sardo and Jordan Thompson have also been a key part of that winning formula. The addition of transfer Shea Buckner added another depth charge to that class, rounding out arguably the most talented set of seniors ever to cap up at Troy. This season to date, the group has generated over half USC's scoring with a combined 161 goals between the seven senior field players.
DEFENSE IS BEST: While the Trojans do return almost 80 percent of last year's scoring production, the name of the game for USC teams has always been defense. In the field, senior Shea Buckner is an agile and powerful presence on defense, and junior Devon Borisoff and sophomore Matt Burton also bring their deft defense back to the hole. And sophomore goalie Joel Dennerley still has his wall up in the cage. The All-American and MPSF Newcomer of the Year as a freshman last season once again is anchoring that still-dominant Trojan defense. Recently, Dennerley was named MPSF Player of the Week for his 12-save effort in the cage against Long Beach State, as the sophomore made three 5-on-6 stops and allowed just four goals -- one of which was a 5-meter penalty score. Right now, the Trojan defense has allowed just 123 goals in 23 games for a 5.35 goals-against average -- best in the MPSF and the nation once again.
OFFENSIVE ONSLAUGHT: Seniors Justin Rappel, Matt Sagehorn, Shea Buckner and J.W. Krumpholz, junior Kyle Sterling and sophomore Peter Kurzeka all scored at least 20 goals for the Trojans in 2008. This year, the group is already well within that range, as the Trojans boast one of the most widespread offenses in the country. Krumpholz and fellow senior Jordan Thompson are a potent tag-team at two-meters along with new addition Brian Boswell, while Buckner, Rappel, Sagehorn, Sterling and Kurzeka open up the field as sharpshooters on the perimeter side-by-side with experienced senior drivers Anthony Artukovich and Nico Sardo and speedy junior Devon Borisoff.
2008 RECAP: The 2008 Trojans blasted their way to an undefeated 29-0 season and USC's fourth NCAA championship last season. USC also captured back-to-back MPSF championships and the Trojans' sixth overall MPSF crown en route to head coach Jovan Vavic's seventh MPSF Coach of the Year award and sixth National Coach of the Year honors. The Trojans finished out the program's first undefeated overall year since a 5-0 final record in 1944. USC became the first team in 16 years to go undefeated through an entire season. For the fourth consecutive season, USC led the nation in team defense (4.76 gapg), while the offense saw 20 different players score on the year, averaging a total of 11.7 gpg. All told, USC outscored its opponents 340-138 in 2008. Seven Trojans were named All-Americans, including 2008 Cutino Award winner J.W. Krumpholz.
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