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Photo by: Katie Chin
USC Sets Off In Pursuit Of 10th NCAA Title
November 27, 2018 | Men's Water Polo, Features
No. 2 seeded Trojans are making their 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament this weekend in Palo Alto.
THIS WEEK
USC sets its sights on a 10th national championship as the Trojans are off to their 14th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. In 32 trips to the tourney, USC has captured nine crowns, including a run of six straight from 2008-13. For this year's National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship, hosted by Stanford at Avery Aquatic Center, USC carries a 28-3 overall record and is the No. 2 seed, scoring a direct trip to the semifinals. On Saturday (Dec. 1) at 5 p.m., USC will face either UCLA or George Washington in the semis. A win there would push the Trojans into a 14th straight NCAA title match, with this year's final set for 3 p.m. on Sunday (Dec. 2).
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. As of Oct. 17, USC was back at No. 1 in the land, where it remained until the latest rankings (Nov. 21) placed the Trojans in a tie at No. 2.
NCAA NOTES
The NCAA title winners in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 and 2013, the Trojans are making their 14th consecutive and 33rd overall appearance in the national tournament. With seven crowns claimed in the past 13 seasons, USC made history in 2012 as the first collegiate men's water polo team to make eight consecutive appearances and then added to their historic efforts in becoming the first collegiate water polo team ever to win six straight NCAA titles in 2013. USC has made 13 consecutive trips to the NCAA final entering this 2018 campaign. The Trojans are looking to claim their 10th title in 21 years, with the program's first-ever NCAA championship won in 1998.
THE CONTENDERS
The 2018 National Collegiate Championships involves an eight-team field, with two at-large teams and six automatic qualifiers as conference champions. The top two seeds — MPSF Tournament champion Stanford and at-large selection USC — earned a place in the semifinal round, where they await winners of play-in games. The rest of the field is comprised of at-large selection UCLA along with conference champions Princeton (Northeast Water Polo Conference), George Washington (Collegiate Water Polo Association), UC San Diego (Western Water Polo Association), Pomona-Pitzer (Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference) and Long Beach State (Golden Coast Conference). In the first two Opening Round games on Nov. 24, Long Beach State beat Pomona-Pitzer 12-5, and George Washington beat Princeton 14-13 to advance to the Nov. 29 Opening Round games at Stanford. The Trojans (28-3) are making their 14th consecutive trip to the NCAA tournament; defending champion UCLA (22-4) is making its fifth consecutive appearance; and host Stanford (20-2) is making its first trip since 2014. George Washington (23-6) is making its second straight NCAA appearance, Long Beach State (14-11) is back for the first time since 1991, and UC San Diego (19-5) was last in in 2015.
THIS TIME LAST YEAR
In 2017, USC was the No. 3 seed and carried a 25-3 overall record into the NCAA Tournament after winning the Trojans' 10th MPSF Tournament championship to secure an automatic bid. USC was the host of the 2017 tourney and started things off with a 16-4 win over Harvard in the Opening Round. That put USC up against Cal in the semifinals, and after trailing by three the Trojans would earn their place in a 13th consecutive NCAA final with a 12-11 comeback victory over the Golden Bears. In the final, USC faced UCLA in a championship battle that saw the Bruins notch a 7-5 win to claim the 2018 crown. USC wrapped the event with five Trojans on the All-Tournament Team. Seniors Blake Edwards and Matteo Morelli were joined by freshman Marko Vavic on the All-Tournament First Team, while seniors McQuin Baron and James Walters were named to the All-Tournament Second Team.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now entering NCAA action, USC continues to exhibit great depth and balance. The Trojans have outscored opponents 487-172, and are leading the MPSF offensively and defensively with 15.71 goals scored per game and just 5.55 goals-against per game. Leading the offensive charge so far are sophomores Marko Vavic and Jacob Mercep with 56 goals apiece. Freshman Hannes Daube is next with 54, followed by senior Zach D'Sa with 41 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 9.8 saves per game in his 17 appearances. Porter also averages 7.23 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 32 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 56 in 2018 as he makes moves on climbing the career charts at USC. With 107 goals across his true freshman and sophomore seasons, Vavic has bettered the pace of Juraj Zatovic, who is the only other four-year Trojan to break the century mark in his true sophomore season, having 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 (41 goals) and junior Matt Maier (34) 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.
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.
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. In all, seven USC newcomers have scored a combined 198 goals — 41 percent of USC's overall scoring in 2018.
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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