Friday, September 29
Riverside, CA
12:00 PM
USC
16
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6
California Baptist
Players Mentioned
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Photo by: Dan Avila
Two Trojans Tally New Career Bests At Lancer Joust
September 29, 2017 | Men's Water Polo, Features
Blake Edwards scores seven goals and Sam Slobodien scored six to help USC to its 15th win of the year.
RIVERSIDE, CALIF. — The No. 2 USC men's water polo team drummed up back-to-back wins out at the Lancer Joust today, following up a 16-6 win over No. 15 host Cal Baptist with a hefty 24-3 win over Fresno Pacific. In that second match, two Trojans busted loose with new career highs. Senior Blake Edwards tallied seven goals — the most in a single game by a Trojan since 2014 and the third most in program history — in the win, while redshirt sophomore Sam Slobodien blasted six goals for the Trojan cause. With these two wins in the books, USC goes to 15-1 overall on the year.
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USC surrendered the first goal of the day, but made up that ground quickly against the host Lancers. Cal Baptist wouldn't go away easily, though, pulling back to force a 3-3 lockup in the first before USC fired off three in a row — including back-to-back blasts from Marko Vavic — before the end of the frame. USC would move out to a 9-4 halftime lead, then poured out five goals in the third for a lift to lead it 14-6 entering the final frame. There, the Trojan defense pitched a shutout while Murphy Slater slotted two goals to finish out a 16-6 win for the Trojans. Vavic was the high scorer in that one, registering four in the win, with Blake Edwards punching in a hat trick. Goalie McQuin Baron, meanwhile, hauled in 10 saves in a full game's work in the cage.
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Both Trojans stayed hot-handed in the next game. Up against Fresno Pacific just minutes after the close of the win over Cal Baptist, USC crafted a 2-0 lead that was soon closed down to one with a 5-meter penalty shot from the Sunbirds. The Trojans would reel off eight straight goals from there to take full control, leading 10-1 before Fresno Pacific managed to stop the run. Sam Slobodien had a new career high locked in by halftime, scoring five of USC's 13 first-half goals. That was good enough for a new career high for the two-meter man, but he'd add to the count late in the game to round out his six-goal effort. So, too, would Blake Edwards charge up a career mark for himself in the game. The Aussie had four goals by halftime, then hammered in three more in the second half. His seventh goal set a new high for Edwards, making him one of just six Trojans to score seven or more in a single game. Further, a second-half hat trick from Vavic pulled the freshman to four goals in the game, while USC rattled off the last 12 goals of the match to win it 24-3. Simon Wu manned the cage in the first half, with Will Rubschlager taking over in the second half and helping to anchor a four-frame shutout by the USC defense.
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The Trojans now turn to take a trip to Malibu tomorrow (Sept. 30) for a 12 p.m. clash with Pepperdine.Â
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LANCER JOUSTÂ (Riverside, Calif.)
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#2 USC 16, #15 Cal Baptist 6
Sept. 29, 2017 | Riverside, Calif.
USC Â 6 - 3 - 5 - 2 = 16
CBU Â 3 - 1 - 2 - 0 = 6
SCORING:
USC — Marko Vavic 4, Blake Edwards 3, Tim Leong 2, Murphy Slater 2, Daniel Leong, Grant Stein, Zach D'Sa, Matteo Morelli, Sam Slobodien.
CBU — Dominick Nevarez 2, Ryan Sargis, Kyle Rasmussen, Caleb Rogers, Tanner Shore.
SAVES:Â McQuin Baron (USC) 10, Matt Miller (CBU) 0, Gabe Thorne (CBU) 10.
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#2 USC 24, Fresno Pacific 3
Sept. 29, 2017 | Riverside, Calif.
USC Â 9 - 4 - 6 - 5 = 24
FPU Â 1 - 2 - 0 - 0 = 3
SCORING:
USC — Blake Edwards 7, Sam Slobodien 6, Marko Vavic 4, Daniel Leong 2, Lazar Pasuljevic, Thomas Dunstan, Tim Leong, Grant Stein, Christian Hockenbury.
FPU — Lazar Raca, Erik Brown, Kyle Eoff.
SAVES:Â Simon Wu (USC) 3 [1st half], Will Rubschlager (USC) 6 [2nd half], Josh Ramage (FPU) 6 [1st half], Joseph Costa (FPU) 3.
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