Saturday, November 3
Los Angeles, CA
1:00 PM
USC
13
vs
7
California
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ 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 Polo
DR
/ Men's Water PoloPhoto by: John McGillen
Top-Ranked Trojans Too Tough For No. 3 Cal, Win 13-7 MPSF Matchup
November 03, 2018 | Men's Water Polo, Features
USC captures a key conference win and improves to 26-1 overall on the year.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC men's water polo team scored the first three goals of the first, second and fourth period of play to keep visiting No. 3 California on the ropes en route to a 13-7 final Trojan victory today at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Golden Bears would get it to a three-goal margin entering the final frame, but the Trojans unleashed another scoring surge to lock away the important MPSF victory. Winner of nine straight games now, USC improves to 26-1 overall and to 1-1 in MPSF play with just one week left in the regular season.
The Trojans got an early bump from Sawyer Rhodes, who made a power move and capped it off with a blast that notched USC's first goal of the day. Bit a minute later, Jake Ehrhardt faked and fired for a 2-0 USC advantage. After a save from Nic Porter — the first of a career-high 15 saves by the freshman goalie — is was Rhodes again. The sophomore tore off a blazing backhand to make it 3-0 Trojans barely four minutes into the game. Cal would break its silence in converting a 5-meter penalty shot next, only to see the Trojans net a sizzling two-meter score from Sam Slobodien off a setup from Danny Leong. That's 4-1 USC advantage would balloon to a 7-1 lead in the second period. That surge was highlighted by an incredible effort from senior captain Zach D'Sa, who flipped the ball over his defender, collected it and then found junior Matt Maier at the ready at two-meters for a rocket that topped off the highlight-reel series. The next two Trojan goals came care of freshman Hannes Daube, who zipped in a couple lasers for the Trojans to craft that 7-1 lead. Cal would convert on a 6-on-5 to break up the four-goal USC rally, and later would score off the counter to make it 7-3 by halftime.Â
Cal made up some ground in the third, but not until the Trojans had put the Golden Bears in a six-goal hold. Jacob Mercep hammered home his first goal of the game midway through the third, and then D'Sa stepped up, walked it in and fired for a 9-3 USC advantage. Cal would regroup and punch up three goals in the last 2:30 of the third, but that prompted USC to regroup in the fourth. After coming up with a booming field block to close out the third, sophomore Marko Vavic rifled in back-to-back goals to open the final frame. His second was a ripper out of set, making it 11-6 Trojans. Next, Mercep came up big, earning a 6-on-5 for USC and then muscling in the power play goal to get USC back to a six-goal advantage, up 12-6 not two minutes into the fourth. Cal got an impressive goal next to snap the three-goal surge by the hosts, but Mercep was not done. Another power play earned by the sophomore was followed by another quick strike, notching a hat trick for Mercep and a 13-7 lead for the Trojans. The final word of the day was a defensive stand by USC, with Maier making a big field block to squash a late Cal 6-on-5 as Daube collected the rebound to close out the victory.
USC now heads to a nonconference bout tomorrow (Nov. 4) at UC Irvine at 1 p.m.
#1 USC 13, #3 California 7
Nov. 3, 2018 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Uytengsu Aquatics Center)
USC Â 4 - 3 - 2 - 4 = 13
CAL Â 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 7
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 3, Sawyer Rhodes 2, Hannes Daube 2, Marko Vavic 2, Jake Ehrhardt, Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier, Zach D'Sa.
CAL — Johnny Hooper 4, Jordan Hoover 2, Odysseas Masmanidis.
SAVES:Â Nic Porter (USC) 15, Bernardo Carelli (CAL) 6.
Â
The Trojans got an early bump from Sawyer Rhodes, who made a power move and capped it off with a blast that notched USC's first goal of the day. Bit a minute later, Jake Ehrhardt faked and fired for a 2-0 USC advantage. After a save from Nic Porter — the first of a career-high 15 saves by the freshman goalie — is was Rhodes again. The sophomore tore off a blazing backhand to make it 3-0 Trojans barely four minutes into the game. Cal would break its silence in converting a 5-meter penalty shot next, only to see the Trojans net a sizzling two-meter score from Sam Slobodien off a setup from Danny Leong. That's 4-1 USC advantage would balloon to a 7-1 lead in the second period. That surge was highlighted by an incredible effort from senior captain Zach D'Sa, who flipped the ball over his defender, collected it and then found junior Matt Maier at the ready at two-meters for a rocket that topped off the highlight-reel series. The next two Trojan goals came care of freshman Hannes Daube, who zipped in a couple lasers for the Trojans to craft that 7-1 lead. Cal would convert on a 6-on-5 to break up the four-goal USC rally, and later would score off the counter to make it 7-3 by halftime.Â
Cal made up some ground in the third, but not until the Trojans had put the Golden Bears in a six-goal hold. Jacob Mercep hammered home his first goal of the game midway through the third, and then D'Sa stepped up, walked it in and fired for a 9-3 USC advantage. Cal would regroup and punch up three goals in the last 2:30 of the third, but that prompted USC to regroup in the fourth. After coming up with a booming field block to close out the third, sophomore Marko Vavic rifled in back-to-back goals to open the final frame. His second was a ripper out of set, making it 11-6 Trojans. Next, Mercep came up big, earning a 6-on-5 for USC and then muscling in the power play goal to get USC back to a six-goal advantage, up 12-6 not two minutes into the fourth. Cal got an impressive goal next to snap the three-goal surge by the hosts, but Mercep was not done. Another power play earned by the sophomore was followed by another quick strike, notching a hat trick for Mercep and a 13-7 lead for the Trojans. The final word of the day was a defensive stand by USC, with Maier making a big field block to squash a late Cal 6-on-5 as Daube collected the rebound to close out the victory.
USC now heads to a nonconference bout tomorrow (Nov. 4) at UC Irvine at 1 p.m.
#1 USC 13, #3 California 7
Nov. 3, 2018 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Uytengsu Aquatics Center)
USC Â 4 - 3 - 2 - 4 = 13
CAL Â 1 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 7
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 3, Sawyer Rhodes 2, Hannes Daube 2, Marko Vavic 2, Jake Ehrhardt, Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier, Zach D'Sa.
CAL — Johnny Hooper 4, Jordan Hoover 2, Odysseas Masmanidis.
SAVES:Â Nic Porter (USC) 15, Bernardo Carelli (CAL) 6.
Â
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