Top-Ranked Trojans Tack Up 20th Win Of 2017

IRVINE, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC men's water polo team had 13 different Trojans get in on the scoring action while USC goalies McQuin Baron and Will Rubschlager anchored the USC defense with a shutout period apiece in a 25-3 Trojan victory over host Concordia today in Irvine. Senior Matteo Morelli served up this third career five-goal game to pace the USC offense this one to help secure USC's 20th win of 2017. The Trojans are now 20-1 overall on the year. USC will return to home waters tomorrow (Oct. 28) to set up for a Senior Day celebration prior to taking on No. 11 San José State at 1 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

USC had four seniors take up the scoring responsibility in the first period to counter an early goal by Concordia and a 5-meter penalty shot slotted by the Eagles. Grant Stein would answer that penalty strike with a score off a setup from Marin Dasic to make it 5-2 Trojans by the end of the first frame. Matteo Morelli had a hat trick in the books by the early goings of the second as he rifled in his third to make it 6-2 Trojans, sparking an eight-minute stretch that was all-USC. James Walters' second goal came during a flurry of USC scoring, with Morelli adding another and Marko Vavic punching in a pair. Meanwhile, the USC defense held its ground with Baron in the cage for a second-period shutout that helped USC to an 11-2 advantage at halftime.

Morelli's fifth goal would kick off the second half of action, while Blake Edwards sandwiched a single Concordia goal with a pair of his own to make it 14-3 Trojans. A set of new USC scorers stepped up next, with Lazar Pasuljevic ripping in two of his eventual three goals in the win, while Mihajlo Milicevic and Mitch Embrey delivered their first goals of the day. That had USC ahead 18-3 entering the fourth, where Will Rubschlager took over the cage for Baron. Under Rubschlager's watch, Concordia would be silenced in the final frame. And as Sam Slobodien worked his way into a hat trick on the day, Tim Leong, Thomas Dunstan, Marin Dasic and Christian Emerson joined the scoresheet to top off a 25-3 win for the Trojans.

USC's final regular-season home game comes up tomorrow (Oct. 28) for that 1 p.m. showdown with the Spartans. Before the game, USC will honor its 13-man senior class in a Senior Day ceremony at Uytengsu.

#1 USC 25, Concordia 3
Oct. 27, 2017 | Irvine, Calif.
USC 5 - 6 - 7 - 7 = 25
CON 2 - 0 - 1 - 0 = 3

SCORING:
USC — Matteo Morelli 5, Lazar Pasuljevic 3, Marko Vavic 3, Sam Slobodien 3, James Walters 2, Blake Edwards 2, Grant Stein, Mihajlo Milicevic, Mitch Embrey, Tim Leong, Thomas Dunstan, Marin Dasic, Christian Emerson.
CON — n/a

SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 9 [3 periods], Will Rubschlager (USC) 0 [4th period], Concordia n/a.

Players Mentioned

McQuin Baron

Marin Dasic

Thomas Dunstan

Blake Edwards

Mitch Embrey

Christian Emerson

Tim Leong

Mihajlo Milicevic

Matteo Morelli

Lazar Pasuljevic

Will Rubschlager

Sam Slobodien

Grant Stein

Marko Vavic

James Walters