Saturday, November 9
Los Angeles, Calif.
10:30 AM
USC
10
at
7
UCLA
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ 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
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
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/ Men's Water Polohttps://youtu.be/xi0uZX5U-Ck
Photo by: Katie Chin
Trojans Never Trail, Topple No. 1 UCLA In Westwood
November 09, 2019 | Men's Water Polo, Features
After another Marin Dasic hat trick, USC knocks off another top-ranked team with a strong showing in this year’s Crosstown Splashdown.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 4 USC men's water polo upended another top-ranked opponent in unleashing a 10-7 victory over No. 1 host and rival UCLA today in Westwood. The Trojans never trailed in this one and were up by four at one point en route to a key MPSF road win. Senior Marin Dasic delivered his third consecutive hat trick to help the Trojans build out a hefty lead on the road. The rivalry win improves USC to 12-4 and to 2-0 in MPSF play with one more regular-season contest left. It also secures the No. 1 seed for the Trojans in the coming MPSF Tournament.
The Trojans clearly came to play in this one, turning away the Bruins defensively before Sam Slobodien earned and finished a USC 6-on-5 for the lead at 4:19 in the first. Jake Ehrhardt ripped one in next to take the Trojans ahead 2-0 before UCLA would get on the board with a power play finish of its own. Luke Wyatt and Ehrhardt would sandwich beautiful USC goals around another UCLA power play strike, and USC was up 4-2 after eight minutes of action. The Trojans would go one better than the Bruins in the second after breaking up a defensive stalemate. Dasic broke the silence with a skipper that netted a 5-2 USC lead at 2:55 in the second. UCLA answered, but could not stop super senior Slobodien 30 seconds later, with a rocket from Slobodien coming just 22 seconds from the halftime buzzer for a 6-3 USC lead at the break.
The Trojans and Bruins would stay in stride the rest of the way, as USC maintained composure and control in keeping UCLA from getting any closer that two goals' distance. A UCLA power play in the third made it 6-4, but Dasic delivered again with a laser off a setup from Wyatt to make it 7-4 Trojans. Stingy USC defense kept that score intact entering the fourth, where Dasic drummed up his third of the day with a crosscage catapult off a pass from Hannes Daube to go up 8-4 with 6:25 to go. The Bruins would manage back-to-back goals next, carving it down to a two-goal game, only to see Daube sling in a ridiculous shot to the upper-90 and steal back the momentum. Jacob Mercep zipped in a skipper two minutes later for USC to get the Trojans a 10-6 lead with 2:24 remaining. He'd then throw up a key defensive field block, and goalie Nic Porter hauled in his seventh clutch save of the game to leave UCLA flailing in the late stages. The Bruins would find one last 6-on-5 finish in the final minute, but the Trojans had things well in-hand and rounded out the 10-7 victory with one last exclamation point coming on a booming field block from Daube.
USC now turns to take a trip to Berkeley next weekend, facing Cal in a final MPSF matchup at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 16) in an effort to build momentum with the top seed already secured for the MPSF Tournament.
#4 USC 10, #1 UCLA 7
Nov. 9, 2019 | Spieker Aquatics Center (Westwood, Calif.)
USC 4 - 2 - 1 - 3 = 10
UCLA 2 - 1 - 1 - 3 = 7
SCORING:
USC — Marin Dasic 3, Sam Slobodien 2, Jake Ehrhardt 2, Luke Wyatt, Hannes Daube, Jacob Mercep.
UCLA — Nicolas Saveljic 3, Ashworth Molthen, Andy Rogers, Casen Travisano, Jake Cavano.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 7, Alex Wolf (UCLA) 12.
The Trojans clearly came to play in this one, turning away the Bruins defensively before Sam Slobodien earned and finished a USC 6-on-5 for the lead at 4:19 in the first. Jake Ehrhardt ripped one in next to take the Trojans ahead 2-0 before UCLA would get on the board with a power play finish of its own. Luke Wyatt and Ehrhardt would sandwich beautiful USC goals around another UCLA power play strike, and USC was up 4-2 after eight minutes of action. The Trojans would go one better than the Bruins in the second after breaking up a defensive stalemate. Dasic broke the silence with a skipper that netted a 5-2 USC lead at 2:55 in the second. UCLA answered, but could not stop super senior Slobodien 30 seconds later, with a rocket from Slobodien coming just 22 seconds from the halftime buzzer for a 6-3 USC lead at the break.
The Trojans and Bruins would stay in stride the rest of the way, as USC maintained composure and control in keeping UCLA from getting any closer that two goals' distance. A UCLA power play in the third made it 6-4, but Dasic delivered again with a laser off a setup from Wyatt to make it 7-4 Trojans. Stingy USC defense kept that score intact entering the fourth, where Dasic drummed up his third of the day with a crosscage catapult off a pass from Hannes Daube to go up 8-4 with 6:25 to go. The Bruins would manage back-to-back goals next, carving it down to a two-goal game, only to see Daube sling in a ridiculous shot to the upper-90 and steal back the momentum. Jacob Mercep zipped in a skipper two minutes later for USC to get the Trojans a 10-6 lead with 2:24 remaining. He'd then throw up a key defensive field block, and goalie Nic Porter hauled in his seventh clutch save of the game to leave UCLA flailing in the late stages. The Bruins would find one last 6-on-5 finish in the final minute, but the Trojans had things well in-hand and rounded out the 10-7 victory with one last exclamation point coming on a booming field block from Daube.
USC now turns to take a trip to Berkeley next weekend, facing Cal in a final MPSF matchup at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Nov. 16) in an effort to build momentum with the top seed already secured for the MPSF Tournament.
#4 USC 10, #1 UCLA 7
Nov. 9, 2019 | Spieker Aquatics Center (Westwood, Calif.)
USC 4 - 2 - 1 - 3 = 10
UCLA 2 - 1 - 1 - 3 = 7
SCORING:
USC — Marin Dasic 3, Sam Slobodien 2, Jake Ehrhardt 2, Luke Wyatt, Hannes Daube, Jacob Mercep.
UCLA — Nicolas Saveljic 3, Ashworth Molthen, Andy Rogers, Casen Travisano, Jake Cavano.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 7, Alex Wolf (UCLA) 12.
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