Friday, February 22
Irvine, CA
10:00 AM
USC
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San Diego State
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Photo by: Hali Helfgott
No. 1 USC Streaks Into Barbara Kalbus Invitational In Irvine
February 20, 2019 | Women's Water Polo, Features
Trojans tote a 29-game win streak entering the competitive tournament, running Feb. 22-24.
THIS WEEK
The top-ranked Women of Troy ride a 29-game win streak into action at the competitive Barbara Kalbus Invitational this week in Irvine. No. 1 USC is grouped up with No. 8 Arizona State, No. 25 San Diego State and No. 9 UC Santa Barbara for this one, opening up against the Aztecs in a 10 a.m. opener on Friday (Feb. 22). USC will face off against either the Sun Devils or the Gauchos in a morning match on Saturday (Feb. 23). Two wins in group play would carry the Trojans into a 2:45 p.m. semifinal that afternoon. The tournament championship game is set for 1 p.m. on Sunday (Feb. 24), preceded by an 11:30 a.m. third-place game.
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USC IN THE RANKINGS
USC kicked off 2019 ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll and selected at No. 1 in the MPSF preseason poll. As of the Week 6 rankings, the Trojans remain at No. 1 in the land.
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BKI NOTES
This year's edition of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational features 16 teams, including six MPSF teams in Arizona State, Cal, San José State, Stanford, USC and UCLA. The teams will open up action playing through four-team brackets, designated as follows:
Bracket A: #1 USC, #8 Arizona State, #9 UC Santa Barbara, #25San Diego State
Bracket B: #2 Stanford, #7 UC Irvine, #10 Pacific, #21 CSUN
Bracket C: #3 UCLA, #6 Michigan, #12 LMU, #17 Long Beach State
Bracket D: #4 Cal, #5 Hawai'i, #13 San José State, #17 UC San Diego
Saturday afternoon will feature semifinal games, with placement games taking place on Sunday. Last year at the event, USC opened up with a solid 17-1 win over San José State in its first game of group play. The next morning, USC pulled out a tight 8-6 win by making a late move to break a 5-5 tie and lean back on its defense to claim the victory over No. 6 ASU and secure a semifinal spot. Up against No. 2 Cal in the semis, USC's defense reigned supreme again. Goalie Amanda Longan locked in a career-high 18 saves, while Annika Jensen delivered her second hat trick of the day to get the Trojans back to the title match. On Sunday, USC's competitive Saturday competition caught up with the Trojans, and No. 1 Stanford was able to build a lead and stymie USC in the title match with a final 9-3 victory over the defending champs as the Trojans took their first loss of the year.Â
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LAST ACTION
USC cranked out a 19-1 win for an MPSF-opening victory in topping conference newcomer Indiana last week at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Four Trojans had hat tricks in the win, led by a four-goal outing from junior Maud Megens, who climbed to No. 18 all-time at USC in scoring with her team-high effort. Fittingly, Megens struck first for the Trojan cause, taking a feed from fellow junior Kelsey McIntosh for a 1-0 lead on USC's first possession of the game. In that first frame, USC had six different Trojans score, with Megens, McIntosh and Grace Tehaney all getting to the back of the net to start up their individual pushes to hat tricks on the day. Indiana got one goal to go late in the first period, making it 6-1 after eight minutes of action. The Trojan defense buckled down after that, rendering Indiana scoreless for the last 25-plus minutes of the game, Offensively, USC hammered in seven more goals before halftime. Tehaney and McIntosh both had their hat tricks in place by the halftime buzzer, while freshman Bayley Weber tallied two of her final three during that second period as USC built out a 13-1 halftime lead. In the third, Weber notched her third before Megens punched up back-to-back goals to make it four on the day and make that move to No. 18 on the USC career scoring charts. Paige Hauschild issued the last goal of the third, and USC clutched a 17-1 advantage with eight minutes to go. In that final stretch, two new Trojan scorers got in on the action. Randi Reinhardt unleashed a lob to make it 18-1, ad then Sabrina Garabet laced in the last of the day to wrap a 19-1 USC victory.
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SWEEPS WEEK
USC made it a sweep of the MPSF weekly honor roll after standout performances by Trojans at the Triton Invitational. Picking up her first career award as a Trojan was freshman Alejandra Aznar, who has been named MPSF Newcomer of the Week. Senior goalie Amanda Longan, meanwhile, secured her third career pick as MPSF Player of the Week. Aznar scored in all four games in USC's run to the Triton Invitational championship, accumulating six goals at the tourney. Aznar had one goal in USC's opening 15-4 win over Pomona-Pitzer before unleashing three in a 16-5 win over No. 13 LMU to wrap group play. Aznar would score again in USC's 10-3 semifinal victory over No. 8 Michigan before adding her sixth of the event during USC's 10-3 win over No. 3 UCLA in the title match. Aznar now stands as USC's second leading scorer with 19 goals in helping USC to a 12-0 start to 2019 and to USC's sixth consecutive Triton Invite title. Longan had three consecutive double-digit save efforts in USC's run to the Triton Invitational. Along the way, Longan registered seven shutout periods of work. In the opener vs. Pomona-Pitzer, Longan had three saves and allowed no goals in her one half of action in the 15-4 win. Against No. 13 LMU, Longan had 10 saves in three periods in the cage while giving up just two goals in that span. On the final day, however, Longan's dominance would grow greater. She collected a season-high 14 saves in a 10-3 win over No. 8 Michigan in the semifinal before making 11 stops against No. 3 UCLA to help beat the Bruins 10-3 and claim the tournament crown for the sixth straight year.
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CLIMB ON
As the 2019 season gets underway, the Trojans already have players climbing the career charts. With her fifth goal at the UCSB Winter Invitational, junior Maud Megens tallied her 100th career goal as a Trojan on Jan. 18. Megens now ranks No. 18 all-time at USC in scoring with 128 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Amanda Longan entered her senior season ranked No. 3 all-time at USC in career saves. She'd haul in a career-high 19 saves in USC's season opener to tally the second most single-game saves by a Trojan. The next week, she collected her fourth career complete-game shutout, The senior now grips 679 career saves.
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BY THE NUMBERS
Now 13 games into 2019, USC has outscored opponents 210-35. Junior Maud Megens is the Trojans' top scorer to date with 33 goals. Behind her on the 2019 scoresheet sits sophomore Paige Hauschild with 21 goals and  true freshman Alejandra Aznar and with 19. They're followed by freshmen Tilly Kearns with 17 and Mireia Guiral with 16. On the defensive end, two goalies have checked into the cage to date. Senior Amanda Longan has logged minutes in 10 games, averaging 11.65 saves and 2.47 goals-against per game. She also boasts the second most single-game saves by a Trojan, having made a career-high 19 stops vs. Cal Baptist on Jan. 19. Redshirt sophomore Holly Parker has stepped in in seven games, averaging 7.56 saves and 3.11 goals-against per game to date. The Trojan defense has rendered opponents silent in at least one period of play in all but one game while accumulating a grand total of 28 shutout periods this season so far, including back-to-back complete-game shutouts. Overall, USC is averaging 16.15 goals per game on the offensive end and is allowing just 2.69 goals-against per game defensively.Â
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SEASON OPENER
Against Cal Baptist in the Trojans' 2019 season opener, USC tacked up the first five goals of the game — all from the hands of newcomers. The first goal of the year came from Mireia Guiral, whose fellow Spaniard Alejandra Aznar drilled three goals in that 5-0 start. Fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also got to the back of the net in that surge before another freshman — Bayley Weber scored her first of a first-period hat trick to help USC along to a 10-2 lead after eight minutes of action. That 10th goal was also served up by a fresh face in Tilly Kearns, while the final two of the day came from new Trojans as well. Freshmen Sophia Lucas and Claire Haas would tally their first career USC goals in their first appearances in Cardinal and Gold to get in on the winning start to 2019. Aznar finished up with five goals to lead the pack, while junior Maud Megens plugged in four. Freshmen Tehaney and Weber had a hat trick apiece in that opening win over Cal Baptist.
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BACK-TO-BACK BATTLE
For almost a decade now, there's been a fierce title tug-of-war between two teams. The claim to the NCAA women's water polo championship has gone to either USC or Stanford for the past nine seasons. For every tug in the Trojan direction — there's been four titles won by USC in that stretch — the Cardinal have grabbed ahold the next year. At the end of the line this season is a chance for the USC women to do what they've never done before — to claim back-to-back national championships.Â
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ON YOUR LEFT
Alejandra Aznar's addition bumps USC's set of left-handed shooters to four, with fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also wielding a deft left hand, while returning lefties Verica Bakoc and Sabrina Garabet are already proven sharpshooters.Â
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SET DEPTH
USC has also brought in reinforcements at 2-meters. The Trojans now have three true centers at the ready in newcomers Mireia Guiral and Tilly Kearns and sophomore Nina Ceklic. Courtney Fahey and Kaylee Brownsberger also were in the mix at set last year.
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PERIMETER POWER
A powerful presence at set can open up the perimeter, where USC's top guns will be armed and ready to strike. Paige Hauschild was USC's top scorer last year, followed by Denise Mammolito, who is now a junior. Fellow junior Maud Megens also is back, standing out as one of the most dangerous scorers in the world. Add in the firepower of Alejandra Aznar, and head coach Jovan Vavic likes what he's seeing on the offensive end.Â
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GETTING DEFENSIVE
On the opposite side of the pool, Vavic also has growing confidence. No doubt that Cutino Award winner Amanda Longan looms large as arguably the best goalie in collegiate waters. She has two rising proteges alongside her in redshirt sophomore Holly Parker and freshman Erin Tharp.  That trio will back up what is becoming a strong defensive corps, where Paige Hauschild has already proven herself as a relentless defender. So, too, does freshmen Bayley Weber and Mireia Guiral stand to make a defensive impact alongside returning defensive-savvy Trojans Randi Reinhardt and Denise Mammolito.
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2019 TROJANS AT A GLANCE
The 2019 Trojans opened the season picked No. 1 in the MPSF Preseason Poll and No. 1 in the nation. In USC's arsenal for 2019 are the MPSF Player and Newcomer of the Year in Amanda Longan and Paige Hauschild, not to mention MPSF and National Coach of the Year Jovan Vavic, who is at the helm of the USC program for the 25th season. Both Longan and Hauschild were First Team All-Americans, while Longan also reigned supreme as the Peter J. Cutino Award winner. USC also boasts two more All-Americans in juniors Denise Mammolito and Maud Megens, who further highlight a grand total of 11 returning Trojans who were on the NCAA Championship-winning roster in 2018. Gone are three All-Americans who took with them two NCAA championship rings in Brianna Daboub, Victória Chamorro and Hayley McKelvey, but Vavic has great faith in the power of his returners — and his new crop of Trojan talent. USC has three new international players capped up for their first action as Trojans this year, along with a set of talented California products who stand out in the Trojan freshman class. Australian import Tilly Kearns is joined by Spaniards Alejandra Aznar and Mireia Guiral as the newest Women of Troy. That trio along with U.S. Junior National Team members Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber add a fresh depth charge to the USC gameplan. The 2019 Women of Troy are captained by seniors Longan and Courtney Fahey, who have been members of USC's 2016 and 2018 NCAA Championship teams.
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LAST SEASON
With USC's 16th straight win of 2018, the Trojans claimed the university's 105th NCAA team championship and the sixth for the USC women's water polo program on a 5-4 victory over Stanford in USC's home pool. It was the Trojans' second NCAA title in three years, and gave USC a final 26-1 overall record. It was head coach Jovan Vavic's 15th national championship as a head coach at USC, with six titles won by the USC women and nine by the USC men — all under Vavic's watch. USC had gone 5-0 in MPSF play and won the MPSF Tournament title along the way to get the top seed into the NCAA tourney. Junior goalie Amanda Longan and freshman Paige Hauschild were both named finalists for the Peter J. Cutino Award, with Longan emerging as the winner of the prestigious award to become the second USC goalie and the seventh Woman of Troy to win it. Both Longan and Hauschild earned First Team All-America honors, along with sophomore Maud Megens. Senior Brianna Daboub earned a spot on the All-America Second Team, with fellow senior Hayley McKelvey on the Third Team. Sophomore Denise Mammolito picked up All-America Honorable Mention. Longan was also the National Player of the Year, with Jovan Vavic named National Coach of the Year. •
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