University Southern California Trojans
No. 2 USC Holds Off No. 10 Pepperdine, 7-6
November 11, 2010 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 11, 2010
Los Angeles, Calif. - The No. 2 ranked USC men's water polo team put forth an all-around team effort Thursday night to hang on for 7-6 victory after sophomore Tobias Preuss came up with a critical field block on Travis Gough with one second remaining in regulation.
The non-conference win improved USC's record to 21-2 overall while Pepperdine dropped to 9-13. USC resumes MPSF play this Saturday at Long Beach State and closes out the season with UC Irvine next weekend.
The Trojans jumped to a quick 2-0 lead after goals by Peter Kurzeka and Matthew Burton in an action packed first quarter. Redshirt sophomore Forest Monroe and sophomore Mace Rapsey each added a goal as well to put USC up 4-3 after one quarter of play.
USC proceeded to hold Pepperdine scoreless in the second quarter as freshman Jeremy Davie added to the Trojans lead and redshirt freshman Stephen Siri scored with 14 seconds on the clock. Kurzeka netted his second goal of the game early in the third quarter to give USC a 7-3 lead but Pepperdine still had plenty of fight left.
Sophomore Spencer Hamby put the Waves back on the board with a score that made it a three-goal game, and then on the Waves' next possession, Stephen Loomis buried a shot taken from the outside.
Gough scored his second goal of the game at the 3:22 mark of the fourth quarter to get the Waves' to within one score, but the Trojans forced two more turnovers and a shot by Hamby missed wide.
Preuss' block on Gough at the end of the fourth quarter proved to be crucial and preserved the 7-6 win for the Trojans.
#2 USC 7, #10 Pepperdine 6 (Malibu, Calif.)
USC 4 - 2 - 1 - 0 = 7
PEP 3 - 0 - 2 - 1 = 6
SCORING:
USC -- Peter Kurzeka (2), Matthew Burton, Forest Monroe, Mace Rapsey, Jeremy Davie, Stephen Siri
PEP -- Travis Gough (2), Tommy Briskey, Spencer Hamby, Stephen Loomis, Jake Schrimpf
SAVES: Joel Dennerley (USC) 8, Bence Valics (PEP) 12.
6-On-5 Opportunities
USC: 4/10
Pepperdine: 1/6
