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Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 1 Trojans Take Aim At Third Straight MPSF Tourney Title
November 14, 2018 | Men's Water Polo, Features
USC hosts the 2018 MPSF Tournament this week, looking for victory and another ticket to the NCAA Tournament.
2018 MPSF TOURNAMENT
Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 16
9 a.m. — Penn State Behrend vs. Austin College
1 p.m. — Game 1: [3] California vs. [6] Austin/Penn State Behrend
3 p.m. — Game 2: [4] UCLA vs. [5] Austin/Penn State Behrend
SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 17
11 a.m. — Semifinal: [1] Stanford vs. Game 2 winner
1 p.m. — Semifinal: [2] USC vs. Game 1 winner
SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 18
9 a.m. — 5th Place: Losers Games 1 and 2
11 a.m. — 3rd Place: Semifinal losers (Pac-12 Network)
1 p.m. — Championship: Semifinal winners (Pac-12 Network)
THIS WEEK
USC hosts this week's 2018 MPSF Tournament, with action slated to run Nov. 16-18 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The event will open with the MPSF's two out-of-state teams, Austin College and Penn State Behrend, playing for the No. 5 and 6 seeds at 9 a.m. on Friday (Nov. 16). Quarterfinals will play out that afternoon at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m., with the top two seeds awaiting their opponents in the semifinals on Nov. 17. As the No. 2 seed in the tourney, the top-ranked Trojans (28-1) are slotted for a 1 p.m. semifinal on Saturday (Nov. 17). Placement games are set for Sunday (Nov. 18), with the NCAA automatic bid going up for grabs in the MPSF championships match at 1 p.m. Complete tournament schedule, scores, streaming, stats and event information is available at the MPSF Tournament Central page.
RANKINGS
After wrapping the 2017 season at No. 2 in the land in reaching a 13th consecutive NCAA final, USC started its 2018 journey holding strong at No. 2 in the preseason national rankings. After one week of work, the Trojans bumped up into a tie at No. 1 in the nation. In week two, USC took sole possession of the top spot, and the Trojans remained at No. 1 until an Oct. 6 loss at Stanford moved USC to No. 3 on Oct. 10. That relegation lasted just one week, however, as USC avenged that defeat with a win over the Cardinal in the Mountain Pacific Invitational championship on Oct. 14. So, as of Oct. 17, USC is back at No. 1 in the land, where it remains in the latest round of rankings (as of Nov. 7).
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
USC was 22-3 overall and seeded No. 4 in the 2017 MPSF Tournament, hosted by Stanford. The Trojans opened the event with a 17-2 win over Penn State Behrend to advance to the semifinals. There, USC unleashed a 10-5 upset win over top-seeded host Stanford to move into the title match. In the final, USC never trailed No. 3 seed UCLA en route to a 7-5 win that claimed back-to-back MPSF Championships for the Trojans and another automatic ticket to the NCAA Tournament. Senior goalie McQuin Baron would be named the Tournament MVP for the second straight season, with fellow seniors Matteo Morelli and Lachlan Edwards also on the MPSF All-Tournament Team.
AND NOW...
This year, the Trojans have the No. 2 seed in this 2018 MPSF Tournament after going 2-1 during the MPSF regular season to hold a 28-1 overall record entering the postseason. It's USC's 11th consecutive 20-win season as the Trojans seek to claim a third consecutive MPSF Tournament crown and go on to extend their streak of trips to the NCAA final to 14 in a row. A strong run by USC in this MPSF Tournament is key to securing a place in the coming NCAA Tournament, where the Trojans look to hoist the NCAA trophy for the first time since 2013. USC has won 11 MPSF Tournament titles in all and has won nine national championships.
VICTORY ON SENIOR DAY
USC led by four goals going into the final period of play before No. 2 UCLA fought back to tie up last week'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. 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 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. 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 near post 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.
WEEKLY WARRIORS
USC's freshman class has made its presence known in 2018, with three different Trojans combining forces to claim nine MPSF Newcomer of the Week awards in 11 weeks. Hannes Daube picked up his first award as a Trojan on Sept. 10 after he scored 12 goals and had 11 assists and seven steals across five USC wins in the second week of action. The very next week, goalie Sam Krutonog was named MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Sept. 17 after setting an early career high for himself with 10 saves in a complete game's work during top-ranked USC's 10-3 win over No. 7 UC Santa Barbara. Next, yet another USC freshman had a career day that earned MPSF Newcomer of the Week accolades. On Sept. 24, goalie Nic Porter got the nod after making 14 saves in a full game's work during an 11-8 win over No. 6 Pacific. Next, Daube went back-to-back to make it five in a row for the Trojan newcomers with his awards on Oct. 1 and Oct. 8 following a four-goal outburst along with two assists and a steal in USC's 16-3 win over No. 5 UC Santa Barbara and then a career-high six goals in a tough 13-11 loss at Stanford in which Daube scored the last four goals of the game for USC. Most recently, Porter gathered in his second selection on Oct. 15 after making 29 saves in three appearances, including two 5-meter penalty stops, in USC's run to the Mountain Pacific Invitational championship. At the same time, sophomore Jacob Mercep claimed USC's first MPSF Player of the Week award after dishing out 10 goals at the event, including five to beat Cal and the game-winner vs. Stanford. On Oct. 29, Daube set a new men's MPSF record in claiming a fourth MPSF Newcomer of the Week award after a hat trick in USC's win over Pacific. And in the past two weeks, it's been Porter coming through to tie Daube's count with two more picks following a career-high 15 saves in a win over Cal and nine in USC's regular-season final victory over UCLA.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now entering the postseason, top-ranked USC continues to exhibit great depth and balance. The Trojans have outscored opponents 474-155, and are leading the MPSF offensively and defensively with 16.34 goals scored per game and just 5.34 goals-against per game. Leading the offensive charge so far are sophomores Marko Vavic and Jacob Mercep with 55 and 53 goals, respectively. Freshman Hannes Daube is next with 49, followed by senior Zach D'Sa with 38 and juniors Matt Maier and Marin Dasic with 34 each. On the defensive end, USC has utilized four goalies, with freshman Nic Porter in the lead in averaging 9.77 saves per game in his 15 appearances. Porter also leads the MPSF in allowing only 7.03 goals-against per game. Behind Porter on the saves chart are freshman Sam Krutonog with 9.27 saves per game in 12 appearances and sophomore transfer Vaios Vlahotasios with 9.31 saves per game in nine appearances. Redshirt freshman Matt Moran-Flores has made 21 saves in six appearances in the cage. In all, USC has had 18 Trojans score goals to date, with seven USC newcomers in that mix. USC set a season high with 16 different scorers in USC's Sept. 28 win over La Verne. In addition to a complete-game shutout of Redlands on Sept. 29, USC has registered 31 shutout periods to date.
GOOD TO GREAT
On his second goal scored on Oct. 21 vs. Pepperdine, sophomore Marko Vavic joined the 100-win club as a Trojan. After scoring 51 goals as a freshman, Vavic is up to 55 in 2018 as he makes moves on climbing the career charts at USC. With 106 goals across his true freshman and sophomore seasons, Vavic has equalled the pace of Juraj Zatovic, who is the only other four-year Trojan to break the century mark in his true sophomore season, having also scored 106 goals in his first two years at Troy. Meanwhile, another handful of Trojan returners have already upped their previous season-best scoring to date. Senior Zach D'Sa (28) and junior Matt Maier (34 goals) have bettered their 2017 mark of 26 goals, while redshirt junior Danny Leong (31) has bested last year's 23 goals. Junior Marin Dasic also has edged out his 2017 tally of 27 with 34 in 2018 to date. So, too, have redshirt sophomores Luke Wyatt (22 goals) and Luka Karaman (12) significantly upped their 2017 totals of 2 and 1 goals, respectively.
10 IN TWENTY?
As USC water polo celebrates the 20th anniversary of the program's first national championship, the 2018 Trojans are looking to add a 10th NCAA title to the storied program's collection of trophies. Under the guidance of head coach Jovan Vavic, who has been on-hand for all nine of the USC men's NCAA titles and all six of the USC women's national championships, the Trojan men are riding an unprecedented streak of 13 consecutive NCAA finals reached as they hit the final stages this 2018 campaign.
ATTACKING BACK
Leading the charge for the Trojans is an arsenal of offensive firepower that is, in a word, daunting. USC's five returning members of the 2017 NCAA roster — Zach D'Sa, Marin Dasic and Sam Slobodien, two-time All-American Matt Maier and All-American and 2017 top scorer Marko Vavic — combined for 158 goals, which was 35 percent of USC's total scoring output on the year. But wait, there's more. For this 2018 campaign, USC has added in two high-powered transfers that help balloon that tally to 274. Last season as a true freshman at San José State, Jacob Mercep whipped up 93 goals and earned All-American honors. Sawyer Rhodes delivered 23 while at Stanford before both he and Mercep changed course to Troy.
CAGE FIGHTERS
After Cutino Award winner and Olympian McQuin Baron manned the cage almost single-handedly for the past four seasons, the Trojans are loaded up with goalies this year. Having five capable goalies in the mix lifts the level of competition in practice and forces the USC shooters to continually recalibrate their strategies for hitting the back of the net. As the season openers quickly approach, Vavic has his eyes on Australian Nic Porter and local product Sam Krutonog as his frontrunners. But he's been impressed, too, with the abilities of Matt Moran-Flores, Paul Matt and Vaios Vlahotasios. Porter is the third Australian goalie to cap up in the cage for the Trojans, following Olympians Joel Dennerley and James Clark. Dennerley won four NCAA championships at USC (2008-2011) before giving way to Clark for two seasons. Clark, too, anchored the Trojans to NCAA crowns both years he was at USC (2012 & 2013).
FIFTEEN FRESH FACES
USC's goalkeeping corps boasts four newcomers, who comprise just a corner of the 15-man class of incoming Trojans for 2018. Transfers Jacob Mercep and Sawyer Rhodes offer an instant dose of experience, but this new crew contains a number of impact freshmen as well. Most notably, USC gets a sizable boost from U.S. National Team members Hannes Daube and Jake Ehrhardt. Looming at 6-foot-5 and 6-foot-6, respectively, Daube and Ehrhardt are a double dose of danger for opposing teams. Add to that the even more international experience from Greece's Orestis Apergi and Aussie James Kolenda, and the Trojan depth charge becomes even more apparent. Further, the Trojan freshman talent pool deepens with the addition of Alexander Lansill. Goalie Paul Matt, and field players Corey Allan, Mason Farley and Bennett Winther are redshirting this season, leaving 11 active newcomers. That means exactly half of USC's 2018 active roster has made their Trojan debuts this year.
MPI CHAMPS
USC made a power move at the Mountain Pacific Invitational, tacking up three decisive wins to reach the championship match against host No. 1 Stanford. That clash was a down-to-the-wire affair. USC led by as many as four goals before Stanford leveled it in the final minute. USC's Jacob Mercep delivered the winner with five seconds to go, setting up the Trojan defense for one final stop to preserve a 10-9 victory that avenged a loss taken the previous weekend to Stanford. USC made an early statement when freshman goalie Nic Porter stuffed a Stanford 5-meter penalty shot attempt. The Trojan offense then ripped in back-to-back goals — Hannes Daube's first of a four-goal outing for the freshman, and a counterattack blast from senior Zach D'Sa — for a 2-0 advantage. Stanford closed back in and got it tangled up at 2-2 next, but USC kicked back into gear when Danny Leong zipped in a laser for a 3-2 lead by the end of the first. That Leong goal lit the fuse on a four-goal scoring blitz from the Trojans. In the second, Daube delivered again, followed by a rocket from Marko Vavic. Daube, again, drummed up a ripper, and USC was up 6-2 on the Cardinal. Stanford snapped the run with a goal next, but USC fired off another to go up 7-3 on a nearside finish from Marin Dasic. Stanford got one more to go before the break, and USC gripped a 7-4 advantage at halftime. After Mercep got on the scoresheet with a skipper to get USC up 8-4, the hosts were able to carve down the deficit with back-to-back goals next, and it was 8-6 entering the fourth period. But Daube wasn't done. The freshman zipped in a score from the top to make it 9-6 USC early in the fourth. Stanford mustered up two more to cut the margin to one, then called timeout in the final minute to set things up. The equalizer would come for the hosts on a score with 22 seconds left. The Trojans called their final timeout next, and with numerous options it would be Mercep in position to take the chance. He'd wind up and fire to the far corner, finding the back of the net to nudge USC ahead 10-9 with five seconds remaining in regulation. The Trojan defense came up with one final takeaway next, and the buzzer sounded on a big USC victory over top-ranked Stanford. In the lead-up to the title match, USC beat Air Force 20-6 and No. 9 Long Beach State 14-8 in group play to advance to the semifinals. There, the Trojans topped No. 4 California 13-6 behind a five-goal outburst from Mercep. Also the provider of the game-winner vs. the Cardinal, Jacob Mercep would become USC's first MPSF Player of the Week of the season, while goalie Nic Porter hauled in his second selection as the MPSF Newcomer of the Week after making 29 saves in three appearances, while making two 5-meter penalty saves.
OPENING WEEKEND
USC exploded out of the gates of the 2018 season in nabbing two commanding victories in the Trojans' first official action of the season last weekend. Out at the UCLA Mini Invitational, USC pinned up a 16-1 win over No. 17 Pomona-Pitzer in the morning before delivering a 25-4 victory over Whittier. In building out a 2-0 start to the year, 12 players registered their first stats as Trojans. Six newcomers scored their first career goals, and four goalies notched their first career saves capped up as Trojans. In the opener, senior captain Zach D'Sa opened the Trojans' account, lighting the fuse on an 11-0 scoring rally in the first half by USC against No. 17 Pomona-Pitzer. During that surge, newcomers Hannes Daube, Jacob Mercep and Orestis Apergi punched up their first goals as Trojans while freshman goalie Sam Krutonog had an eight-save haul in his USC debut during the first half. In the second half, redshirt freshman goalie Matt Moran-Flores checked in for his first official minutes in the cage, backing up a stingy USC defense that allowed just a single Sagehen score down the stretch. Meanwhile, two more USC newcomers — Jake Ehrhardt and James Kolenda — pumped in their first USC goals to help the Trojans along to a final 16-1 victory. Mercep's hat trick had him as the scoring leader for the Trojans in this one, leading a pack of 10 USC scorers. Hours later, the Trojans were right back to it, taking on Whittier for game two of the season. This one saw another pair of new USC goalies share time in the cage, with freshman Nic Porter getting the start and transfer Vaios Vlahotasios coming in for the second half of action. Porter would pick up three saves, and Vlahotasios tallied six in his first 16 minutes of work as a Trojan. On the offensive end, relative veterans Marin Dasic and Daniel Leong led the charge with four goals apiece, topping a group of 12 Trojans to get to the back of the net in the 25-4 win. Along the way, freshman Alexander Lansill knocked in his first USC goal, becoming the sixth Trojan newcomer to score on the day.
LAST SEASON
Last year, the USC men finished 27-4 overall, winning the 2017 MPSF Tournament and reaching the NCAA final for the 13th straight year. That USC roster would see six 2017 All-Americans play their final seasons, including senior first-teamers McQuin Baron and Lachlan Edwards. USC had two underclassmen earn All-America status last year, with freshman Marko Vavic picking up a second team selection and sophomore Matt Maier earning honorable mention. •
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