Sunday, November 3
Los Angeles, Calif.
1:00 PM
USC
17
vs
9
San Jose State
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water PoloPhoto by: Hayley Hom
Perfect Home Stretch Complete For USC After Winning Weekend At Uytengsu
November 03, 2019 | Men's Water Polo, Features
Trojans top San José State 17-9 behind hat tricks from Daube, Dasic and Mercep.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 7 USC men's water polo team made it a winning weekend in home waters with a power move against visiting No. 12 San José State today at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans would shake off a two-goal deficit by scoring five straight goals to storm into the lead before going even bigger in the fourth frame to top the Spartans 17-9 in USC's final home game of the year. Perfect in home waters this season after also serving up a 9-8 upset of No. 1 Stanford the day before, USC now grips an 11-4 overall record to go with a 1-0 start to MPSF play thanks to the win over the Cardinal.
Coming off the crucial win over Stanford, the Trojans were lagging a bit out of the gates in today's tilt. San José State came to play, and had USC in a two-goal hole on three occasions USC trailed 3-1 at the end of the first, with senior Sam Slobodien's slam standing as the Trojans' lone goal of the first frame. Each USC goal from there would be answered swiftly by the Spartans, who followed Trojan goals from Hannes Daube and Marcus Longton with blasts that had the visitors up 5-3 midway through the second. A breakthrough was just around the corner for the Trojans, however. Daube delivered a cross to Jacob Mercep for a sizzler that lit the spark on what would balloon to a five-goal USC scoring surge. Marin Dasic would fake and fire for the equalizer next, and then Jake Ehrhardt went on a solo mission to get USC its first lead of the game, up 6-5 in the final minute of the first half. Hard-working senior Slobodien earned a late 6-on-5 for his Trojans, then promptly found Luke Wyatt for a lefty laser just before the halftime buzzer, and USC was back in form while gripping a 7-5 advantage.
Ehrhardt squashed SJSU's opening 6-on-5 chance with a booming field block, and then Dasic found Daube for a ripper that tallied USC's fifth straight score and an 8-5 lead. The Spartans broke their silence with a 6-on-5 next, and the teams would stay in scoring stride during the third with three goals apiece. Daube had his hat trick complete by the end of the third, while Longton zipped in his second as USC was up 11-8 entering the fourth. That's where the USC gameplan finally clicked into place. Only one SJSU goal would get through the USC defense, while the Trojans piled on seven goals of their own at the other end. Senior Matt Maier struck twice in the fourth, as did fellow senior Dasic and junior Mercep. Slobodien would unleash a searing backhand blast as well, and USC had a decisive 17-9 comeback win in the books to round out a perfect season at home for the Trojans.
Next up for USC is an MPSF matchup against crosstown rival UCLA. The Trojans visit the Bruins on Saturday (Nov. 9) at 10:30 a.m. in a matchup set to be televised on Pac-12 Network.
#7 USC 17, #12 San José State 9
Nov. 3, 2019 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 1 - 6 - 3 - 7 = 17
SJSU 3 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 9
SCORING:
USC — Hannes Daube 3, Jacob Mercep 3, Marin Dasic 3, Sam Slobodien 2, Marcus Longton 2, Matt Maier 2, Jake Ehrhardt, Luke Wyatt.
SJSU — Finn Pardon 4, Gage Pranajaya, Justin Pickering, Mark Weber, Niels Hofmeijer, Adam Bado.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 9, Yahav Fire (SJSU) 9, Griffin O'Brien (SJSU) 1.
Coming off the crucial win over Stanford, the Trojans were lagging a bit out of the gates in today's tilt. San José State came to play, and had USC in a two-goal hole on three occasions USC trailed 3-1 at the end of the first, with senior Sam Slobodien's slam standing as the Trojans' lone goal of the first frame. Each USC goal from there would be answered swiftly by the Spartans, who followed Trojan goals from Hannes Daube and Marcus Longton with blasts that had the visitors up 5-3 midway through the second. A breakthrough was just around the corner for the Trojans, however. Daube delivered a cross to Jacob Mercep for a sizzler that lit the spark on what would balloon to a five-goal USC scoring surge. Marin Dasic would fake and fire for the equalizer next, and then Jake Ehrhardt went on a solo mission to get USC its first lead of the game, up 6-5 in the final minute of the first half. Hard-working senior Slobodien earned a late 6-on-5 for his Trojans, then promptly found Luke Wyatt for a lefty laser just before the halftime buzzer, and USC was back in form while gripping a 7-5 advantage.
Ehrhardt squashed SJSU's opening 6-on-5 chance with a booming field block, and then Dasic found Daube for a ripper that tallied USC's fifth straight score and an 8-5 lead. The Spartans broke their silence with a 6-on-5 next, and the teams would stay in scoring stride during the third with three goals apiece. Daube had his hat trick complete by the end of the third, while Longton zipped in his second as USC was up 11-8 entering the fourth. That's where the USC gameplan finally clicked into place. Only one SJSU goal would get through the USC defense, while the Trojans piled on seven goals of their own at the other end. Senior Matt Maier struck twice in the fourth, as did fellow senior Dasic and junior Mercep. Slobodien would unleash a searing backhand blast as well, and USC had a decisive 17-9 comeback win in the books to round out a perfect season at home for the Trojans.
Next up for USC is an MPSF matchup against crosstown rival UCLA. The Trojans visit the Bruins on Saturday (Nov. 9) at 10:30 a.m. in a matchup set to be televised on Pac-12 Network.
#7 USC 17, #12 San José State 9
Nov. 3, 2019 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 1 - 6 - 3 - 7 = 17
SJSU 3 - 2 - 3 - 1 = 9
SCORING:
USC — Hannes Daube 3, Jacob Mercep 3, Marin Dasic 3, Sam Slobodien 2, Marcus Longton 2, Matt Maier 2, Jake Ehrhardt, Luke Wyatt.
SJSU — Finn Pardon 4, Gage Pranajaya, Justin Pickering, Mark Weber, Niels Hofmeijer, Adam Bado.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 9, Yahav Fire (SJSU) 9, Griffin O'Brien (SJSU) 1.
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