No. 3 USC Brings Hartwick, Stanford To Town
March 30, 2011 | Women's Water Polo
March 30, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK
No. 3 USC stays home this week for a couple important battles at McDonald's Swim Stadium. Undefeated at home for 22 straight games now, the Trojans (14-3, 3-1 MPSF)host two teams this week. The test begins on Wednesday (March 30) with a nonconference clash with No. 16 Hartwick (18-6) at 5 p.m. On Saturday (April 2) at noon, USC hosts its biggest match of the year when No. 1 Stanford (18-0, 3-0 MPSF) comes to town with MPSF bragging rights on the line. USC and Stanford have met in three straight tournament title matches leading to this Saturday's showdown, which also offers up a rematch of the 2010 NCAA Championship pairing, which USC won last year.
IN THE RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the national preseason poll and spent six weeks there until moving to No. 3 three weeks ago, and the Trojans remain at No. 3 this week.Hartwick is ranked No. 16, and Stanford stays at No. 1 in the nation.
LAST WEEK
USC got two wins last week, beating Maryland 16-7 at home before heading to LMU for a 13-8 victory that extended USC's win streak out to five. The Trojans first won their 22nd consecutive home game in spreading the wealth among 10 different scorers for a 16-7 win over No. 20 Maryland at McDonald's Swim Stadium. With four goals, Patricia Jancso had scored more than the Terrapins at halftime, and the Trojans would generate a 9-0 scoring run to power out ahead of the Terrapins and on to victory. USC took control in a whistle-filled game at No. 6 Loyola Marymount and pushed out to a 13-8 win over the host Lions. Joelle Bekhazi scored four goals in the victory to lead eight Trojan scorers on the day. There were a whopping 22 total exclusions in the game, and the Trojan defense was able to turn away half of LMU's 14 power play opportunities.
SCOUTING HARTWICK
The No. 16 Hawks are 18-6 overall after a winning run through the CBSU Roadrunner Invitational last week, with wins over Cal Baptist, host Cal State San Bernardino, Cal State Bakersfield and Redlands to extend their win streak to 14 straight. Charlotte Mensink leads Hartwick in scoring with 49 goals. USC is 7-0 all-time against the Hawks with the teams' last meeting an 18-4 USC win in the 2009 home opener.
SCOUTING STANFORD
The No. 1 Cardinal are undefeated at 18-0 overall and 3-0 in MPSF play after beating UCLA 5-2 and UC Davis 12-6 last week. Annika Dries leads Stanford in scoring with 37 goals, with goalies Amber Oland and Kate Baldoni sharing time in the cage. Oland averages 7.6 saves, and Baldoni averages 6.4 saves per game. Stanford leads the MPSF with 12.5 goals per game and 4.06 goals-against per game. USC is 24-21 all-time against Stanford with two losses to the Cardinal so far this season. The Trojans fell 10-9 in sudden death in the Stanford Invitational championship game in early February, and then lost 9-6 to Stanford in the championship game of the UCI Invitational later that month. The teams went 2-2 last season, with USC getting the big win in the NCAA Championship in a 10-9 Trojan victory.
SENIORS AT THE CENTURY MARK
USC seniors Joelle Bekhazi and Kristen Dronberger joined the century club at Troy with their 100th career goals scored this season. Both are making a push to crack the all-time top-10. Bekhazi is just ahead in the climb, holding 117 career goals to date, with Dronberger at 109.
STAT SHEET
As a team, USC sits fourth in the conference on the offensive end and fifth defensively. Having outscored their competition 184-107 so far, the Trojans are averaging 10.82 goals per game offensively and 6.29 goals-against per game. Kristen Dronberger and Patricia Jancso lead USC's scoring charge with 26 goals apiece, and freshman goalie Flora Bolonyai is averaging 7.8 saves and 6.1 goals-against per game in her first year as a Trojan, and boasts three MPSF Newcomer of the Week selections already this year.
PUSHING THROUGH PALO ALTO
USC had a strong showing at the Stanford Invitational in the Trojans' first competition of the year. A well-rounded start saw USC post a 9-1 win over No. 15 Indiana before facing crosstown rival No. 4 UCLA later in the day. The Trojans were in control throughout, winning 10-8 to get in position for a shot at the title match. To get there, USC had to get through No. 5 Hawai'i the next morning, and the Trojans took care of that business as well with a 9-7 decision. Nadia Dan recorded hat tricks to lead USC in all three games of group play, with the Trojans facing top-ranked host Stanford in the championship match -- a rematch of the 2010 NCAA final that USC won 10-9. In this one, USC and Stanford were neck-and-neck throughout, with the Trojans forcing overtime with Kristen Dronberger's fourth goal of the game to close regulation. It was tied up again after two overtime periods to bring up sudden death, the first of which passed without a score, thanks in large part to a penalty shot save from USC goalie Flora Bolonyai. Stanford would get the winning score in the second sudden-death period, however, to claim a tight 10-9 win and get the championship for the hosts. For her 31 saves in her first four games as a Trojan, freshman goalie Bolonyai was named the MPSF Newcomer of the Week.
HOME POOL ADVANTAGE
USC's win over UCLA on April 17, 2010, rounded out another undefeated home season for the Women of Troy, marking the program's eighth season overall with a flawless stand in USC's home waters. So far, USC has completed undefeated runs at home in 2001, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007 and 2009. USC's win streak at McDonald's Swim Stadium now stands at 22 straight after the Trojans' win over Maryland last week.
LAST SEASON
In 2010, the USC women emerged with their third national championship in beating top-seeded Stanford 10-9 in the 2010 NCAA Championship game. USC finished the year with a 25-3 overall record after going 6-1 in MPSF play with a second-place finish in the MPSF Tournament. USC's last NCAA title had come in 2004, and 2010 marked the Trojans' seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. Kami Craig was named the Cutino Award winner for the second straight season, and Tumua Anae was the MPSF Player of the Year. That pair also led USC's All-American count for the season, with Craig becoming just the second Trojan to be named the National Player of the Year, joining 1999 honoree Bernice Orwig. Anae and junior Joelle Bekhazi were both First Team All-Americans along with Craig. Junior Kristen Dronberger was named to the Second Team, and senior Forel Davies was on the Third Team. That led in to a trio of Trojans earning Honorable Mention: seniors Alexandra Kiss and Kally Lucas and freshman Patricia Jancso. Jovan Vavic picked up his third selection as the National Women's Coach of the Year - each of which has followed national championships for his Women of Troy (1999, 2004 and 2010).
