Sunday, September 15
La Verne, Calif.
10:20 AM
USC
9
vs
13
UC Santa Barbara
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Water Polo
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
2M
/ 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
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 1 USC Gets Stuck With A Split On Sunday At Inland Empire Classic
September 15, 2019 | Men's Water Polo, Features
Trojans take a rare loss to UC Santa Barbara before beating Concordia in La Verne.
LA VERNE, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC men's water polo team wound up with a split on day two of the Inland Empire Classic, taking a rare loss to UC Santa Barbara before rebounding with a big win over Concordia. The 13-9 loss to the No. 4 Gauchos was USC's first to UCSB since 1990, and snapped a run of 55 straight victories over the program. USC's perfect record over the Eagles, meanwhile, remained intact with a 27-3 win over Concordia, as the Trojans go to 3-1 overall after their first weekend of work in 2019.
Against an upset-minded UC Santa Barbara, which had toppled Cal last week, the Trojans never got closer than an early 1-1 lockup. The Gauchos rattled in three straight goals from there to go up 4-1, and although USC closed the gap to a single goal with help from strikes by Jake Ehrhardt and Marin Dasic, USC was still in a 7-6 hole by halftime. In the third, UCSB pinned up another three-goal rally before Sam Slobodien broke that up, but by the early goings of the fourth the Trojans were staring at a 12-7 deficit. Ehrhardt sizzled in his goal next, and then Matt Maier got USC a boost to make it a 12-9 hole with 4:00 to go. But that's all the Trojans would be able to muster on the offensive end, and the Gauchos emerged victorious with a 13-9 upset of the top-ranked Trojans.
Next, USC regrouped and tore out to a 6-0 lead over Concordia. By the final whistle, 15 different Trojans had scored on the Eagles, while goalies Vaios Vlahotasios and Jere Ashby collected a combined eight saves. Along the way, redshirt freshman Bennett Winther delivered his first career goal as a Trojan to help boost USC back into the win column.
The Trojans now return to home waters to set up for their home opener at 5 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 19) against Long Beach State.
INLAND EMPIRE CLASSIC
#4 UC Santa Barbara 13, #1 USC 9
Sept. 15, 2019 | La Verne, Calif.
USC 4 - 2 - 1 - 2 = 9
UCSB 5 - 2 - 4 - 2 = 13
SCORING:
USC — Jake Ehrhardt 3, Marin Dasic 2, Jacob Mercep, Hannes Daube, Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier.
UCSB — Cole Brosnan 5, Sam Nangle 2, Mason McQuet 2, Jacob Halle, Ivan Gvozdanovic, Nathan Puentes, Leo Uno.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 0 [1st period], Vaios Vlahotasios (USC) 6 [3 periods], Danny Roland (UCSB) 0, Tiago Bonchristiano (UCSB) 10.
#1 USC 27, Concordia 3
Sept. 15, 2019 | La Verne, Calif.
USC 9 - 8 - 5 - 5 = 27
CON 1 - 0 - 1 - 1 = 3
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 5, Sam Slobodien 2, Alexander Lansill 2, Marin Dasic 2, Jake Ehrhardt 2, Troy Furniss 2, Chris Sturtevant 2, Marcus Longton 2, Grayden Reynolds 2,Bennett Winther, Hannes Daube, Luka Karaman, Mat Maier, Luke Wyatt, James Kolenda.
CON — Nick Taylor, Cristiano Tomassetti, Marius Jakimcikas.
SAVES: Vaios Vlahotasios (USC) 5 [3 periods], Jere Ashby (USC) 5 [4th period], Cullen Mooers (CON) 11.
Against an upset-minded UC Santa Barbara, which had toppled Cal last week, the Trojans never got closer than an early 1-1 lockup. The Gauchos rattled in three straight goals from there to go up 4-1, and although USC closed the gap to a single goal with help from strikes by Jake Ehrhardt and Marin Dasic, USC was still in a 7-6 hole by halftime. In the third, UCSB pinned up another three-goal rally before Sam Slobodien broke that up, but by the early goings of the fourth the Trojans were staring at a 12-7 deficit. Ehrhardt sizzled in his goal next, and then Matt Maier got USC a boost to make it a 12-9 hole with 4:00 to go. But that's all the Trojans would be able to muster on the offensive end, and the Gauchos emerged victorious with a 13-9 upset of the top-ranked Trojans.
Next, USC regrouped and tore out to a 6-0 lead over Concordia. By the final whistle, 15 different Trojans had scored on the Eagles, while goalies Vaios Vlahotasios and Jere Ashby collected a combined eight saves. Along the way, redshirt freshman Bennett Winther delivered his first career goal as a Trojan to help boost USC back into the win column.
The Trojans now return to home waters to set up for their home opener at 5 p.m. on Thursday (Sept. 19) against Long Beach State.
INLAND EMPIRE CLASSIC
#4 UC Santa Barbara 13, #1 USC 9
Sept. 15, 2019 | La Verne, Calif.
USC 4 - 2 - 1 - 2 = 9
UCSB 5 - 2 - 4 - 2 = 13
SCORING:
USC — Jake Ehrhardt 3, Marin Dasic 2, Jacob Mercep, Hannes Daube, Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier.
UCSB — Cole Brosnan 5, Sam Nangle 2, Mason McQuet 2, Jacob Halle, Ivan Gvozdanovic, Nathan Puentes, Leo Uno.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 0 [1st period], Vaios Vlahotasios (USC) 6 [3 periods], Danny Roland (UCSB) 0, Tiago Bonchristiano (UCSB) 10.
#1 USC 27, Concordia 3
Sept. 15, 2019 | La Verne, Calif.
USC 9 - 8 - 5 - 5 = 27
CON 1 - 0 - 1 - 1 = 3
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 5, Sam Slobodien 2, Alexander Lansill 2, Marin Dasic 2, Jake Ehrhardt 2, Troy Furniss 2, Chris Sturtevant 2, Marcus Longton 2, Grayden Reynolds 2,Bennett Winther, Hannes Daube, Luka Karaman, Mat Maier, Luke Wyatt, James Kolenda.
CON — Nick Taylor, Cristiano Tomassetti, Marius Jakimcikas.
SAVES: Vaios Vlahotasios (USC) 5 [3 periods], Jere Ashby (USC) 5 [4th period], Cullen Mooers (CON) 11.
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