Saturday, November 2
Los Angeles, Calif.
1:00 PM
USC
9
vs
8
Stanford
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water PoloPhoto by: Katie Chin
Trojans Take Down No. 1 Stanford On Senior Day
November 02, 2019 | Men's Water Polo, Features
A 9-8 USC win gets the Trojans a big boost in the MPSF race.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — In a rematch of the 2018 NCAA Championship game, the USC men's water polo team emerged victorious once again, upsetting No. 1 Stanford 9-8 on Senior Day at Uytengsu Aquatics Center today. USC sophomore goalie Nic Porter went big with a career-high 20 saves in the cage, stymying the Cardinal on the defensive end while senior Marin Dasic and freshman Marcus Longton delivered a hat trick apiece on the offensive end. The victory improves No. 7 USC to 10-4 overall and gives the Trojans an early 1-0 mark in MPSF play. Stanford goes to 15-2 with the loss to USC.
Before the action, USC honored its five graduating Trojans — Marin Dasic, Troy Furniss, Luka Karaman, Matt Maier and Sam Slobodien — in a Senior Day ceremony. By the final buzzer, those seniors had factored in heavily to the crucial upset win. Dasic led the pack with his three goals, including what would stand as the game-winner, while Maier and Slobodien each drew a pair of exclusions, and Karaman had an assist along the way to the win.
The seniors combined forces right out of the gates as Slobodien drew an exclusion. Karaman would hit Dasic for a sizzling skipper that netted an early 1-0 lead for USC on its opening possession. Stanford struck back with back-to-back goals to edge ahead 2-1 in the first three minutes of play, only to see USC freshman Longton rattle in back-to-back goals of his own to get USC back on top. Longton's second slinger had USC up 3-2 by the close of the first frame. That two-goal rally would balloon to four straight strikes from the Trojans as Dasic faked and fired for a 4-2 lead. And after Porter squashed another Stanford 6-on-5 chance, Jacob Mercep sizzled in a solo shot for a 5-2 USC advantage midway through the second. Stanford would carve the deficit down to one with a 6-on-5 finish and an even strike in the final minute of the half, and USC was gripping a 5-4 lead at the break.
A Stanford 5-meter penalty shot would knot things up 5-5 at 6:15 in the third, but USC was ready to fire back. Hannes Daube hit freshman Chris Sturtevant for a power play rocket that nudged USC back into the lead, and the Trojans would stay a step ahead the rest of the way. Daube delivered another assist with a pass to Longton for his third of the day — a career best for the freshman. That shot had USC up 7-5, and the Trojans defense stiffened from there. On another Stanford 6-on-5, Mercep blocked a shot that popped up on Porter, who was able to adjust and knock away the save. The Cardinal misfired on their next power play chance, while Porter's save count ballooned to 16 with a huge stop in the final minute of the third. That helped spur Jake Ehrhardt to lace in a nifty lob, and USC was up 8-5 entering the final frame.
Stanford made a two-goal rally thanks to another 5-meter penalty shot and then an even score pulled the Cardinal within one, down 8-7 with 5:09 to go. Once again, Porter came up clutch. A booming stop on a Stanford counterattack would be followed by a steal from Daube. A USC 6-on-5 went awry, but Ehrhardt and Daube combined forces to squash a Stanford counterattack. Daube would find Dasic soon after, and the senior captain unleashed a low slider to get USC a 9-7 advantage with 2:20 to go. The USC defense would hold strong from there, with Porter collecting his 20th save before a late Stanford 6-on-5 led to a last-second goal that would wrap the game as a final 9-8 USC victory.
The Trojans turn to their final home game of the year tomorrow (Nov. 3) with a 1 p.m. matchup against San José State at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
#7 USC 9, #1 Stanford 8
Nov. 2, 2019 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 3 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 9
STAN 2 - 2 - 1 - 3 = 8
SCORING:
USC — Marin Dasic 3, Marcus Longton 3, Jacob Mercep, Chris Sturtevant, Jake Ehrhardt.
STAN — Tyler Abramson 4, Bennett Williams 2, Quinn Woodhead, Ben Hallock.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 20, Andrew Chun (STAN) 11.
Before the action, USC honored its five graduating Trojans — Marin Dasic, Troy Furniss, Luka Karaman, Matt Maier and Sam Slobodien — in a Senior Day ceremony. By the final buzzer, those seniors had factored in heavily to the crucial upset win. Dasic led the pack with his three goals, including what would stand as the game-winner, while Maier and Slobodien each drew a pair of exclusions, and Karaman had an assist along the way to the win.
The seniors combined forces right out of the gates as Slobodien drew an exclusion. Karaman would hit Dasic for a sizzling skipper that netted an early 1-0 lead for USC on its opening possession. Stanford struck back with back-to-back goals to edge ahead 2-1 in the first three minutes of play, only to see USC freshman Longton rattle in back-to-back goals of his own to get USC back on top. Longton's second slinger had USC up 3-2 by the close of the first frame. That two-goal rally would balloon to four straight strikes from the Trojans as Dasic faked and fired for a 4-2 lead. And after Porter squashed another Stanford 6-on-5 chance, Jacob Mercep sizzled in a solo shot for a 5-2 USC advantage midway through the second. Stanford would carve the deficit down to one with a 6-on-5 finish and an even strike in the final minute of the half, and USC was gripping a 5-4 lead at the break.
A Stanford 5-meter penalty shot would knot things up 5-5 at 6:15 in the third, but USC was ready to fire back. Hannes Daube hit freshman Chris Sturtevant for a power play rocket that nudged USC back into the lead, and the Trojans would stay a step ahead the rest of the way. Daube delivered another assist with a pass to Longton for his third of the day — a career best for the freshman. That shot had USC up 7-5, and the Trojans defense stiffened from there. On another Stanford 6-on-5, Mercep blocked a shot that popped up on Porter, who was able to adjust and knock away the save. The Cardinal misfired on their next power play chance, while Porter's save count ballooned to 16 with a huge stop in the final minute of the third. That helped spur Jake Ehrhardt to lace in a nifty lob, and USC was up 8-5 entering the final frame.
Stanford made a two-goal rally thanks to another 5-meter penalty shot and then an even score pulled the Cardinal within one, down 8-7 with 5:09 to go. Once again, Porter came up clutch. A booming stop on a Stanford counterattack would be followed by a steal from Daube. A USC 6-on-5 went awry, but Ehrhardt and Daube combined forces to squash a Stanford counterattack. Daube would find Dasic soon after, and the senior captain unleashed a low slider to get USC a 9-7 advantage with 2:20 to go. The USC defense would hold strong from there, with Porter collecting his 20th save before a late Stanford 6-on-5 led to a last-second goal that would wrap the game as a final 9-8 USC victory.
The Trojans turn to their final home game of the year tomorrow (Nov. 3) with a 1 p.m. matchup against San José State at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
#7 USC 9, #1 Stanford 8
Nov. 2, 2019 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 3 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 9
STAN 2 - 2 - 1 - 3 = 8
SCORING:
USC — Marin Dasic 3, Marcus Longton 3, Jacob Mercep, Chris Sturtevant, Jake Ehrhardt.
STAN — Tyler Abramson 4, Bennett Williams 2, Quinn Woodhead, Ben Hallock.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 20, Andrew Chun (STAN) 11.
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