USC
Loyola Marymount
No. 2 USC Women Push To UCI Invite Semis
February 25, 2012 | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 25, 2012
IRVINE, CALIF. - The No. 2 USC women's water polo team shoved its way through group play with two wins today at the UCI Invitational, securing a semifinal spot against crosstown rival UCLA tomorrow. The Trojans dealt Long Beach State an 11-3 loss to open the day, then topped LMU 8-6. Today's wins improve USC's overall mark to 10-1 as the Trojans now turn to face No. 3 UCLA tomorrow at 11:45 a.m. in Irvine.
USC got out of the gates with a power move past No. 20 Long Beach State. The Trojans pulled out of a tight first frame by making a seven-goal scoring surge to pad out a lead. The USC defense pitched shutouts in the second and fourth periods while the offense fired in four in the third to puts the 49ers behind 9-3 entering the final frame. On the way to registering the 11-3 Trojan win, USC had freshman Monica Vavic lead the way on the scoring front with a hat trick, with Nicolina McCall, Nadia Dan and Dominique Sardo each adding a pair of goals for the Trojans. Flora Bolonyai and Morgan Vickers shared time in the cage in the win, with Bolonyai gathering in five saves and Vickers tallying four.
In the afternoon match to round out group play, USC saw LMU close to within one late in the game before punching up some padding to get to the 8-6 victory. The Lions stayed within range for much of the match, as USC led 2-1 after the first period and got ahead 4-2 at halftime before the team paced each other in the second half. Nadia Dan and Monica Vavic were the top scorers for the Trojans in that one, plugging in two apiece while USC goalie Flora Bolonyai tallied 10 saves to anchor the Trojan defense.
Tomorrow's matchup against UCLA will be the first official clash of the year between the Trojans and the Bruins. Their semifinal matchup is set for 11:45 a.m.
UCI INVITATIONAL
Group Play
Feb. 25, 2012 - Irvine, Calif.
#2 USC 11, #20 Long Beach State 3
USC 3 - 2 - 4 - 2 = 11
LBSU 2 - 0 - 1 - 0 = 3
SCORING:
USC - Monica Vavic 3, Nicolina McCall 2, Nadia Dan 2, Dominique Sardo 2, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Patricia Jancso.
LBSU - Snyder, McKeon, Van Derhoof.
SAVES: Flora Bolonyai (USC) 5, Morgan Vickers (USC) 4, Ringel (LBSU) 12.
#2 USC 8,#10 LMU 6
USC 2 - 2 - 2 - 2 = 8
LMU 1 - 1 - 2 - 2 = 6
SCORING:
USC - Nadia Dan 2, Monica Vavic 2, Kaleigh Gilchrist, Chelsea Silvers, Patricia Jancso, Colleen O'Donnell.
LMU - Honny 2, Ki. Benedetti 2, Delgado, Flacks.
SAVES: Flora Bolonyai (USC) 10, Ponce (LMU) 10.
