Saturday, November 10
Los Angeles, CA
3:00 PM
USC
12
vs
11
UCLA
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water PoloPhoto by: Katie Chin
Dasic Delivers The Late Winner As No. 1 USC Beats No. 2 UCLA 12-11
November 10, 2018 | Men's Water Polo, Features
The Trojans will be the No. 2 seed in the coming MPSF Tournament, hosted by USC next week.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC men's water polo team led by four goals going into the final period of play before No. 2 UCLA fought back to tie up today's regular-season finale in Trojan waters. After a miss by the Bruins, USC countered and got the go-ahead goal from junior Marin Dasic with 19 seconds left. That would stand, and USC emerged victorious with the 12-11 victory over its crosstown rival. Now 28-1 overall, USC has the No. 2 seed for the coming MPSF Tournament, which will be hosted by the Trojans next weekend (Nov. 16-18) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
Before the rivalry clash, USC honored its two graduating seniors — Zach D'Sa and Danny Leong — in a Senior Day ceremony. Both Trojan veterans had key hands in today's victory. Leong delivered the assist on USC's second goal of the day, and D'Sa unleashed a hat trick, including the only two goals of the third period, to help ensure it was a winning Senior Day.
Leong's assist to Marin Dasic made it 2-0 Trojans midway through the first, as Sawyer Rhodes had opened the action with a crosscage rocket. UCLA answered with a 6-on-5 finish, only to see Jacob Mercep hit Dasic for a nearside blast that was too hot to handle, making it 3-1 USC. The Bruins got another to go 15 seconds later, and then D'Sa bumped the margin back to two with his first goal of the day. Again, UCLA answered, converting on another power play, and it was 4-3 USC entering the second.
The Bruins pulled even after an unlucky defensive deflection caromed the ball into the back of the USC cage. That's when Sam Slobodien got down to some serious business for the Trojans. A slick redirect out of two-meters off a Dasic setup nudged USC back ahead 5-4. Forty seconds later, Slobodien struck again, this one an incredible backhand ripper to make it 6-4. UCLA struck off the foul next, but USC relieved that pressure quickly. Hannes Daube sizzled in a 6-on-5 strike to make it 7-5, and then Slobodien was there again, this time collecting a rebound of a D'Sa shot and shoving it through. That made it 8-5 USC, although UCLA would have the last word after a couple USC exclusions gave the Bruins a 6-on-4 advantage. They'd get the goal, and it was an 8-6 USC lead at halftime.Â
In the third, the Trojan defense silenced its rivals. USC goalie Nic Porter made a series of key stops on the defensive end, while captain D'Sa fizzed in back-to-back goals to give his Trojans a 10-6 lead. That stayed intact entering the fourth, where USC would answer an early UCLA score to maintain a four-goal lead, up 11-7 on Slobodien's fourth goal — another ridiculous ripper out of set. The Bruins were unimpressed, however, and would pull off four consecutive goals to pull even. It was 11-11 with 2:24 to go, and Porter made a huge save on the way into the final minute. UCLA would clang the bar on its attempt to take a late lead, and USC would counter. A Bruin exclusion during the transition helped fuel the fire for the Trojans on the attack, with Matt Maier collecting a pass with a 1-on-1 opportunity. He'd unselfishly send it over to a streaking Dasic, though, and the junior pounced on the chance, firing the ball inside the nearpost to net a 12-11 advantage for USC. The Bruins would come up empty in the remaining 19 seconds, and USC had the win in the books.
Next, the Trojans await their MPSF Tournament semifinal opponent. As a top-two seed, USC has a first-round by at the tourney and will open up with a 1 p.m. semifinal match on Nov. 17. For the full schedule and for more information, visit the MPSF Tournament Central page.
#1 USC 12, #2 UCLA 11
Nov. 10, 2018 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC Â 4 Â - 4 - 2 - 2 = 12
UCLA Â 3 - 3 - 0 - 5 = 11
SCORING:
USC — Sam Slobodien 4, Zach D'Sa 3, Marin Dasic 3, Sawyer Rhodes, Hannes Daube.
UCLA — Nicolas Saveljic 4, Jake Cavano 3, Austin Rone 2, Ashworth Molthen 2.
SAVES:Â Nic Porter (USC) 9, Alex Wolf (UCLA) 13.
Â
Before the rivalry clash, USC honored its two graduating seniors — Zach D'Sa and Danny Leong — in a Senior Day ceremony. Both Trojan veterans had key hands in today's victory. Leong delivered the assist on USC's second goal of the day, and D'Sa unleashed a hat trick, including the only two goals of the third period, to help ensure it was a winning Senior Day.
Leong's assist to Marin Dasic made it 2-0 Trojans midway through the first, as Sawyer Rhodes had opened the action with a crosscage rocket. UCLA answered with a 6-on-5 finish, only to see Jacob Mercep hit Dasic for a nearside blast that was too hot to handle, making it 3-1 USC. The Bruins got another to go 15 seconds later, and then D'Sa bumped the margin back to two with his first goal of the day. Again, UCLA answered, converting on another power play, and it was 4-3 USC entering the second.
The Bruins pulled even after an unlucky defensive deflection caromed the ball into the back of the USC cage. That's when Sam Slobodien got down to some serious business for the Trojans. A slick redirect out of two-meters off a Dasic setup nudged USC back ahead 5-4. Forty seconds later, Slobodien struck again, this one an incredible backhand ripper to make it 6-4. UCLA struck off the foul next, but USC relieved that pressure quickly. Hannes Daube sizzled in a 6-on-5 strike to make it 7-5, and then Slobodien was there again, this time collecting a rebound of a D'Sa shot and shoving it through. That made it 8-5 USC, although UCLA would have the last word after a couple USC exclusions gave the Bruins a 6-on-4 advantage. They'd get the goal, and it was an 8-6 USC lead at halftime.Â
In the third, the Trojan defense silenced its rivals. USC goalie Nic Porter made a series of key stops on the defensive end, while captain D'Sa fizzed in back-to-back goals to give his Trojans a 10-6 lead. That stayed intact entering the fourth, where USC would answer an early UCLA score to maintain a four-goal lead, up 11-7 on Slobodien's fourth goal — another ridiculous ripper out of set. The Bruins were unimpressed, however, and would pull off four consecutive goals to pull even. It was 11-11 with 2:24 to go, and Porter made a huge save on the way into the final minute. UCLA would clang the bar on its attempt to take a late lead, and USC would counter. A Bruin exclusion during the transition helped fuel the fire for the Trojans on the attack, with Matt Maier collecting a pass with a 1-on-1 opportunity. He'd unselfishly send it over to a streaking Dasic, though, and the junior pounced on the chance, firing the ball inside the nearpost to net a 12-11 advantage for USC. The Bruins would come up empty in the remaining 19 seconds, and USC had the win in the books.
Next, the Trojans await their MPSF Tournament semifinal opponent. As a top-two seed, USC has a first-round by at the tourney and will open up with a 1 p.m. semifinal match on Nov. 17. For the full schedule and for more information, visit the MPSF Tournament Central page.
#1 USC 12, #2 UCLA 11
Nov. 10, 2018 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC Â 4 Â - 4 - 2 - 2 = 12
UCLA Â 3 - 3 - 0 - 5 = 11
SCORING:
USC — Sam Slobodien 4, Zach D'Sa 3, Marin Dasic 3, Sawyer Rhodes, Hannes Daube.
UCLA — Nicolas Saveljic 4, Jake Cavano 3, Austin Rone 2, Ashworth Molthen 2.
SAVES:Â Nic Porter (USC) 9, Alex Wolf (UCLA) 13.
Â
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