Friday, September 8
Los Angeles, CA
5:00 PM
USC
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Stanford
Players Mentioned
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UT
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Photo by: John McGillen
No. 2 USC Sets Up For Friday Home Stand Against No. 3 Stanford
September 06, 2017 | Men's Water Polo, Features
Trojans host the Cardinal in a key MPSF clash at 5 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
THIS WEEK
No. 2 USC sets up for an early standoff against a serious MPSF rival this week. The Trojans (2-0) will host No. 3 Stanford (4-0) in a televised showdown at Uytengsu Aquatics Center, starting at 5 p.m. on Friday (Sept. 8). The tangle between the No. 2 and No. 3 teams in the land will be broadcast live on Pac-12 Network, Pac-12 Los Angeles and Pac-12 Bay Area, with Jason Knapp and Adam Krikorian on the call. Two days later, USC will hit the road for a doubleheader day out in Redlands, Calif., facing Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 10:20 a.m. on Sunday (Sept. 10) and then clashing with host Redlands at 1 p.m. that afternoon at the Inland Empire Classic.
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RANKINGS
USC started its 2017 journey holding strong at No. 2 in the preseason national rankings. The Trojans wrapped 2016 at No. 2 in the land after reaching the NCAA final for the 12th consecutive season. Entering the second week of 2017 competition, USC remains ranked at No. 2 in the nation.
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LAST WEEK
Twenty-one Trojans got on the scoresheets last weekend in USC's season-opening action at the UCLA Mini Invitational. Fifteen Trojans logged goals in each game as USC posted a 27-3 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps followed by a 24-3 win over Pomona-Pitzer. Along the way, five Trojans — Marko Vavic, Troy Furniss, Christian Emerson, Christian Hockenbury and Chas Hornecker — registered their first career goals at USC. Senior goalie McQuin Baron capped up in the cage for the first half of both tilts, allowing just a single goal while compiling eight saves across his four periods of work. Sophomore Will Rubschlager stepped in for the second half of the matchup against CMS to haul in five saves while the Stags managed three goals in the 27-3 USC victory. Next, it was redshirt sophomore Simon Wu who spelled Baron for the second half against Pomona-Pitzer, allowing just a pair of goals while collecting three saves to wrap up the 24-3 win over the Sagehens. On the offensive end, it was redshirt sophomore Sam Slobodien and senior Grant Stein who went big vs. the Stags. Both Trojans punched up four goals apiece while the Edwards brothers hammered home hat tricks to lead the Trojans' scoring surge. USC's season opener also saw true freshman Vavic nail two goals in his Trojan debut, joined by redshirt sophomore Emerson and redshirt freshman Furniss on the scoresheet for the first time in their young USC careers. USC constructed a 17-0 lead on the Stags before surrendering a goal at the start of the second half. In game two, USC scored the first six goals of the matchup against Pomona-Pitzer, then made a 15-0 rally to take full control of things. Sophomore Thomas Dunstan and senior James Walters each delivered a hat trick to pace the Trojan offense, while two new Trojans tallied their first goals. Hockenbury and Hornecker both got on the board in the fourth quarter as USC put the finishing touches on a 24-3 win over the Sagehens.Â
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SCOUTING STANFORD
The No. 3 Cardinal is 4-0 after a run through the Bruno Classic at Brown last week, beating #10 Harvard 21-5, MIT 24-1, #19 St. Francis Brooklyn 21-5 and #15 Brown 19-0 at the event. Blake Parrish led Stanford's scoring charge with 13 goals, while Ben Hallock and Bennett Williams added 11 apiece. Goalies Drew Holland and Andrew Chun shared time in the cage, with Holland making one save and allowing seven goals and Chun making no saves and allowing four goals. USC is 64-60 all-time against Stanford with wins in the past five meetings. Last year, USC beat the Cardinal 8-4 in their MPSF clash in Palo Alto and won 9-5 in the first round of the 2016 MPSF Tournament. Stanford's last win over the Trojans was a 6-5 victory in the semifinals of the 2015 NorCal Invitational in Palo Alto.
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ALL-AMERICAN EDGE
With eight All-Americans back in the water for 2017, USC head coach Jovan Vavic has more All-American talent than he has room for in his starting lineup. In that core group of decorated All-Americans, seven are seniors. Two of them are repeat team captains — James Walters and returning top scorer Blake Edwards — both two-time All-Americans. One is Cutino Award winner McQuin Baron, who will soon be taking over as USC's all-time saves leader. Three more Trojan All-Americans — Matteo Morelli, Lachlan Edwards and Grant Stein — accumulated over 100 combined goals last year. The seventh — standing out as the brains of the group — is NCAA Elite 90 Award winner Mihajlo Milicevic, who stars as a stingy defender for the Trojan cause. The only first-time All-American in the crew is on his way in to his second season at USC, as sophomore Matt Maier returns to the pool as the 2016 MPSF Newcomer of the Year.Â
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DEPTH CHARGE
As valuable as USC's sizeable senior class is, Jovan Vavic has his eyes on a few other returners as linchpins in this season's efforts. Now sophomores, Olympian Thomas Dunstan, MPSF Newcomer of the Year Matt Maier and FINA Junior World Championship silver medalist Marin Dasic are even more prepared to be impact players for the Trojans. Junior Zach D'Sa and redshirt sophomore Daniel Leong both had breakout seasons last year and are primed for major playing time in 2017. Redshirt junior Tim Leong has also maneuvered his way into an increased role, while redshirt sophomore Sam Slobodien, too, made major strides last season and during the summer, lining himself up for extra duty at the two-meter mark along with fellow centers Maier, James Walters and Lachlan Edwards. In all, the Trojans return 90 percent of their scoring production from last season as well as their entire goalkeeping corps.Â
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CLIMB ON
USC senior McQuin Baron is poised to take over as USC's most prolific goalie. With 825 saves collected to date, Baron is just 31 saves away from becoming USC's all-time saves leader. Also charging up the career charts are a set of All-American senior sharpshooters. After one weekend of work in 2017, Grant Stein has climbed to No. 25 all-time with 116 career goals, followed by Matteo Morelli with 114, Blake Edwards with 113 and Lachlan Edwards with 112 so far.Â
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NEW CREW
Among the talented Trojan youth movement, Vavic taps redshirt freshmen Luke Wyatt, Chas Hornecker and Luka Karaman and true freshmen Marko Vavic and Christian Hockenbury as the brightest stars who are seeing the benefits of their hard work and skills developed in the run-up to this 2017 campaign. At 6-foot-6 and with U.S. National Team experience, Vavic stands to be a quick and powerful fit into his father's gameplan. Marko is the third of head coach Jovan Vavic's children to cap up at USC, following in the footsteps of older brother Nikola and sister Monica, who won a combined five NCAA Championships as Trojans.
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TROJAN TRAVELS
In July, the Trojans took a trip through international waters, soaking up some sun while splashing down in seas, pools and rivers across France, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. The Trojans set up camp in Nice (France), Recco (Italy), Split (Croatia) and Herceg Novi (Montenegro) while scrimmaging local teams and training for the upcoming 2017 season back in the USA. That European adventure brought the entire USC squad together as a team, offering up invaluable opportunities to gel in the water and out. In fact, the last three USC teams to take a similar summer training trip to Europe came back to the USA and won the national championship that same year. It's a theme that bodes well for the 2017 Trojans, who boast a senior class that is 13 Trojans strong and who have 11 redshirt freshmen and newcomers lined up for their first official action this season.
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AND NOW, THIS
Now in his 23rd year at the helm of the USC water polo program, Jovan Vavic has guided the Trojans to the NCAA title match every season for the past 12 years. He's captured seven championships during that stretch. Last season, USC manufactured a 24-2 overall record, losing just one road game during the regular season, winning the MPSF Championship and then falling in a frustrating NCAA final that went to overtime in its opponent's home pool. This year, the Trojans are lined up as host of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, set for Dec. 2-3 at USC's own Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The last time the Trojans hosted the national championship, they capped it off by hoisting the 2012 championship trophy. This year, USC aims to once again successfully defend the Trojans' home waters while adding a 10th NCAA trophy to the men's collection of championships.Â
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