Kami Craig Named MPSF Player of the Year
April 27, 2009 | Women's Water Polo
April 27, 2009
Complete All-MPSF Awards in PDF Format 
Three Women of Troy pepper the All-MPSF First Team list this season, and two more Trojans also have emerged with conference honors as the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation announced its honorees for the 2009 women's water polo season today. Headlining the charge in the pool and on the award list this year is redshirt junior Kami Craig, who has locked down the MPSF Player of the Year award to become the first USC player since 2004 to win the award. That also happens to be the last time that USC had three All-MPSF First Team honorees - and is the last time won the NCAA Championship, for which the Trojans go to battle May 8-10 as the top seed in the 2009 tournament in Maryland. Craig is joined on the All-MPSF First Team by USC's No. 7 all-time career scorer, senior Michelle Stein, and junior All-American goalie Tumua Anae. Meanwhile, two Trojan newcomers also have been recognized with conference honors, as sophomore Joelle Bekhazi was selected to the All-MPSF Second Team and freshman goalie Ilse van der Meijden has received All-MPSF Honorable Mention as well as a pick to the All-MPSF Freshman Team.
USC's top force in the water this season has been redshirt junior Kami Craig, who has been dominating the two-meter position for the Trojans. In addition to 36 goals scored on the year so far, Craig's strength has opened up a wildly balanced offense for USC to help solidify her as this year's MPSF Player of the Year and consequently an All-MPSF First Team member. A two-time All-American already, Craig took the 2008 season off from action at USC in order to train with and compete for the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing, where she won a silver medal with Team USA. Now back in full force with the Trojans, Craig has scored in 18 games this year and is second on the team in scoring, having punched in a new career high this season in a five-goal outing that helped earn her first career honor as an MPSF Player of the Week. She has since collected two such honors for her performances in big MPSF wins for USC. Craig and the Women of Troy recently extended their win streak out to 14 straight victories in capturing the program's second MPSF Championship. Craig scored three goals at the tourney and earned numerous ejections for the Trojans to keep them on pace as the nation's top-ranked team and secure a selection as the MPSF Tournament MVP. Craig becomes the first Trojan to be named MPSF Player of the Year since fellow 2008 Olympian and two-meter standout Moriah Van Norman did so in 2004. Craig earned 2006 MPSF All-Freshman Team honors and was an All-MPSF First Team pick in 2007 as a sophomore.
Arguably the top gun in collegiate waters this season is senior Michelle Stein, who has plugged in a whopping 68 goals so far to have tallied the fourth-most single-season goals in USC history. And with 163 career goals currently, Stein has locked in at No. 7 all-time on the USC career list. She has scored in all but one game for USC this season, registering 21 multiple-goal games to lead USC and stand at No. 2 in the MPSF in scoring with 2.72 goals per game to date. Along the way, Stein has picked up a pair of MPSF Player of the Week awards for her efforts in crucial USC wins. Twice she has hit a season-high five goals for the Trojans, and she came away with six goals scored at the recent MPSF Championships, including a hat trick in the championship win over Stanford, to earn a spot on the MPSF All-Tournament Team. Surprisingly, although an All-American pick as a junior, this is Stein's first career selection to an All-MPSF Team, as the senior's overpowering skill on both ends of the pool has garnered her selection to the 2009 All-MPSF First Team.
Meanwhile, goalie Tumua Anae can now boast back-to-back All-MPSF First Team honors. The junior came back strong from early-season injuries that sidelined her for several games and has maintained her prowess in the cage to the tune of three MPSF Player of the Week accolades as well as taking the goalie place on the 2009 MPSF All-Tournament Team. Anae tallied 23 saves in two games for USC at the MPSF Championships, giving her seven double-digit save counts in her 10 appearances in goal for the Trojans this season. She topped out with a career-high 20 saves in an MPSF home game this year, a total that stands as the highest mark set within the MPSF this season and is the highest single-game saves mark of record in USC history. Anae enters the 2009 NCAA Championships averaging 10.5 saves per game and just 5.3 goals-against per game to help hold USC as the top defensive team in the conference.
Making their marks on the MPSF in their first seasons at Trojans are USC newcomers Joelle Bekhazi and Ilse van der Meijden. Both are driving defensive forces for the Women of Troy, although Bekhazi does her work in the field while van der Meijden has been tag-teaming the goal with Anae. Joelle Bekhazi has proven dangerous on both ends of the pool for USC as she has followed up her staunch defensive skills to stand as USC's No. 2 scoring threat alongside Craig with 36 goals to date. Bekhazi picks up All-MPSF Second Team honors thanks in part to her touch to the tune of 19 games scored in and 14 multiple-goal outings as a Trojans. A goalie with a full slate of eligibility ahead, Ilse van der Meijden has nabbed All-MPSF Honorable Mention as well as a place on the All-MPSF Freshman Team. She has capped up for 17 USC games to date, accumulating 162 saves for a 9.5 saves per game average and is allowing just 5.4 goals-against per game to assist in that MPSF-leading defensive effort by the Trojans. Van der Meijden has tallied nine games with double-digit saves so far, with a career best coming in two different 15-save performances.
Now, USC's five All-MPSF selections will help lead their team in pursuit of USC's third national championship, as the Trojans ride a 14-game winning streak across the country, touching down as the top seed for the 2009 NCAA Championships. The Women of Troy - holding a 24-1 overall record and fresh off their second MPSF Championship victory - secured the No. 1 seed today, joining seven other teams for tournament play in College Station, Md., from May 8-10. It will be the Trojans' sixth consecutive trip to the NCAA tourney since USC won the title in its first appearance in 2004.
