USC
Pepperdine
No. 2 Trojans Crash Waves With Second-Half Surge
October 17, 2015 | Men's Water Polo
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 2 USC men's water polo team shrugged off a tight first half of action and forged a decisive path to victory in shutting out visiting No. 9 Pepperdine in the final 16 minutes of play en route to an 8-2 win. The Trojans never trailed, but were challenged by the Waves in the first stretch. USC held just a one-goal lead at halftime before firing off a run of five unanswered goals while the Trojan defense made sure Pepperdine came up empty at the other end. The 8-2 win improves USC to 16-2 overall and makes the Trojans' MPSF mark a perfect 4-0.
The opening period saw USC break through with an early goal from Blake Edwards before the game lapsed into a sluggish scoring performance at both ends. That 1-0 USC lead would stand for the first frame, but the Waves would break their silence early in the second. A 6-on-5 strike got Pepperdine on the board, equalizing things at 1-1. But 30 seconds later, USC took back the lead — where the Trojans would stay for good — on a blast from Nick Bell. USC would make good on a power play of its own minutes later, nudging ahead 3-1 on a rocket from Mihajlo Milicevic. Just second after that, however, Pepperdine fired right back, netting a score from Luke Hewko in the final minute of the half to make it 3-2. USC's final stand of the half saw the Trojan clang the post twice, and that's where the score would stay for halftime.
The second half was a different story. The Trojan defense force back-to-back shot clock violations by the Waves to set the tone, and McQuin Baron loomed large for a huge point-blank stop vs. a Pepperdine counterattack. A slick passing series next saw the ball whip around from Bell to Grant Stein to Lachlan Edwards for a booming finish that lit the fuse for the Trojans in the second half, making it 4-2 as the Trojans seemed to find their groove. Baron deftly picked a lob attempt out of the air on the defensive end next, and Blake Edwards got USC up on another 6-on-5 at the other end. James Walters hit Bell for this one, with the junior rifling it in for his second goal of the day and a 5-2 USC advantage. Milicevic put a stop to Pepperdine's next power play chance, and then serve up the assist to Bryce Hoerman for the 6-2 USC lead. Another USC power play was finished off with authority by Matteo Morelli to keep the offense chugging right along, and then Baron nabbed a takeaway on the defensive end to wrap the third period with the Trojans holding a 7-2 lead.
The fourth period hit a lull after Nick Lavayen earned a power play for the Trojans, seeing Lachlan Edwards hit Stein for the ripper to make it 8-2 Trojans. From there, both defenses held, and the game would wrap up with that final scoreline at 8-2 USC.
The Trojans continue in MPSF action tomorrow (Oct. 18) with a trip to face No. 6 UC Santa Barbara. USC is due to take on the Gauchos in a 12 p.m. matchup in Santa Barbara.
#2 USC 8, #9 Pepperdine 2
Oct. 17, 2015 - Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 1 - 2 - 4 - 1 = 8
PEP 0 - 2 - 0 - 0 = 2
SCORING:
USC — Nick Bell 2, Blake Edwards, Mihajlo Milicevic, Lachlan Edwards, Bryce Hoerman, Grant Stein, Matteo Morelli.
PEP — Mark Urban, Luke Hewko.
SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 8, Zack Rhodes (PEP) 12.
