Friday, September 8
Los Angeles, CA
5:00 PM
USC
8
vs
6
Stanford
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water PoloPhoto by: John McGillen
No. 2 Trojans Score Key 8-6 MPSF Win Over No. 3 Stanford
September 08, 2017 | Men's Water Polo, Features
Balanced effort sees USC stay in control vs. the Cardinal.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 2 USC men's water polo team stayed in control down the stretch for an important early MPSF victory over No. 3 Stanford in a televised game tonight at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Two seniors and two underclassmen tallied goals for the Trojans while the USC defense fended off the Cardinal when it mattered to register the home-opening victory. USC goes to 3-0 overall and takes a 1-0 start to MPSF play with the win, while Stanford goes to 4-1, 0-1.
Senior goalie McQuin Baron tacked up 12 saves as he continues to climb the USC career saves ladder, now standing 19 saves shy of the program record as he holds 837 saves to leader Joel Dennerley's 855. Meanwhile, USC had true freshman Marko Vavic plug in two goals along with a pair apiece from seniors Blake Edwards and Matteo Morelli and single strikes from sophomores Matt Maier and Marin Dasic. The Cardinal got within a goal late in the first and second periods, but the Trojans turned it on with a goal from Maier before halftime and then plugged in two more goals for a three-goal run to lead it by four late in the third to keep USC in control down the stretch.
The game opened up with Marko Vavic delivering a searing crosscage strike off a setup from James Walters to give USC a leg up on its first possession of the game. Later, after Thomas Dunstan got the Trojans up on a 6-on-5, the sophomore fed senior captain Blake Edwards for the power play blast and a 2-0 lead with 2:53 on the clock. Stanford would convert on its next 6-on-5 to close the gap to 2-1, only to see the Trojans go back-to-back out of the gates in the second. The period opened with Stanford misfiring off the bar on a 5-meter penalty shot chance. USC promptly responded with a rocket from Matteo Morelli to go up 3-1. Not 27 seconds later, Vavic ripped in another goal to make it 4-1 Trojans. Stanford would manage two goal of its own next to close the gap to one with 3:41 left until halftime. USC's defense made a stand next, with steals from Edwards and Vavic and a field block from Vavic turning away the Cardinal. With a late 6-on-5 chance, Dunstan hit Vavic for a feed to Matt Maier and the slam to get USC a 5-3 halftime advantage.
In the second half, Baron turned away a Stanford 6-on-5 shot and the USC got a power play of its own to go. This time, Edwards earned the advantage, with Dunstan finding Morelli for the rocket to the top of the cage to get a 6-3 lead for USC. Stanford would earn a 5-meter penalty — its second of the game — but Baron put up a wall and hauled in the save as the Cardinal came up empty from the 5-meter mark again. Minutes later, Grant Stein delivered a cross on a power play for Marin Dasic to hammer home, and USC was up 7-3 with 3:12 left in the third. Stanford got a lob to go with seconds left in the frame to make it 7-4, but USC's defense shut down the next two Stanford 6-on-5 chances to keep its three-goal advantage intact. With 5:06 to go, Stanford punched in a score to make it 7-5, but Baron was up to the challenge in the next stretch. The Cutino Award winner made three saves against the Cardinal's next few shot attempts before Lachlan Edwards earned one last power play for the Trojans. Brother Blake rifled in the ensuing goal, and USC held an 8-5 lead in the final minute. Stanford would get the last work with a goal with 37 seconds left, but the host Trojans had the game well in hand and finished out the 8-6 victory.
USC now heads to Redlands, Calif, to play a pair of games on Sunday (Sept. 10) at the Inland Empire Invitational. The Trojans face Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 10:20 a.m and then play Redlands at 1 p.m. that day.
#2 USC 8, #3 Stanford 6
Sept. 8, 2017 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 2 - 3 - 2 - 1 = 8
STAN 1 - 2 - 1 - 2 - 6
SCORING:
STAN — Ben Hallock 2, Bennett Williams, Sawyer Rhodes, Jackson Kimbell, Cody Smith.
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