Thursday, December 1
Berkeley, Calif.
5:00 PM
USC
11
vs
8
Princeton
Players Mentioned
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
D
/ Men's Water Polo
U
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water PoloPhoto by: Stewart McGuire
Top-Ranked USC Men’s Water Polo Surges Into NCAA Semifinals
December 01, 2022 | Men's Water Polo
Trojans take control in the second half thanks in part to a four-goal outburst from senior Marcus Longton.
LOS ANGELES — The No. 1 USC men's water polo team turned up the defense in the second half to take its place in an 18th straight NCAA semifinal with tonight's 11-8 quarterfinal win over Princeton. The Trojans turned the tide on the Tigers thanks in part to senior Marcus Longton's four-goal outburst along with an 11-save performance from grad student goalie Kyle McKenney. Now 19-6 overall on the year, USC will square off against rival UCLA in the semifinals of the National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Tournament at 4 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 3) at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley, Calif.
The Tigers proved fierce in the first half, forcing USC to play catch-up as Princeton took the lead early and came up with an answer for the Trojans' tying goals throughout the first period to lead it 3-2 entering the second. A 5-meter penalty shot for the Tigers had Princeton on top 4-3 two minutes into that frame, but USC found a spark soon after when Massimo Di Martire ripped in a bar-in blast to beat the shot clock buzzer to snarl it at 4-4. USC's defense forced a shot clock violation by the Tigers, and then Marcus Longton found fellow senior Chris Sturtevant for the go-ahead goal on the ensuring USC possession. Princeton would equalize on a 6-on-5 two minutes later, only to see Ashworth Molthen get a takeaway on the defensive end to help set up Longton's first strike of the night off a setup from Carson Kranz, and USC was up 6-5 for halftime.
In the third, USC's offense was all Longton, with two assists from Di Martire helping charge up the Trojans to a 9-6 advantage entering the fourth. There, USC's Max Miller took another Di Martire feed for a slam at the post on a 6-on-5 to go up 10-6. Luka Brnetic would interrupt a Princeton 6-on-5 soon after, and then McKenney hit Ashworth Molthen on the counter for a finish that had the Trojans well on their way to the win with an 11-6 lead with 2:55 to go. Princeton would manage two goals in the next stretch, but USC had things well under control to wrap an 11-8 win.
NEXT:
USC faces UCLA in the NCAA semifinals at 4 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 3) at Spieker Aquatics Center to fight for a spot in Sunday's 3 p.m. NCAA Championship game.
NOTABLE:
- USC advances to its 18th consecutive NCAA semifinal.
- With a goal today, Ashworth Molthen has scored in 12 consecutive games.
- With four goals today, Marcus Longton leads the team in having scored in 23 games this season.
- With 11 saves tonight, Kyle McKenney recorded his fourth game with double-digit saves.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINAL
USC 11, Princeton 8
Dec. 1, 2022 | Spieker Aquatics Complex (Berkeley, Calif.)
USC 2 - 4 - 3 - 2 = 11
PU 3 - 2 - 1 - 2 = 8
SCORING:
USC — Marcus Longton 4, Max Miller 2, Andrej Grgurevic, Luka Brnetic, Massimo Di Martire, Chris Sturtevant, Ashworth Molthen.
PU — Kelley Maloney 3, Vladan Mitrovic 2, Luke Johnson, Roko Pozaric, Joan Coloma.
SAVES: Kyle McKenney (USC) 11, Antonio Knez (PU) 8.
The Tigers proved fierce in the first half, forcing USC to play catch-up as Princeton took the lead early and came up with an answer for the Trojans' tying goals throughout the first period to lead it 3-2 entering the second. A 5-meter penalty shot for the Tigers had Princeton on top 4-3 two minutes into that frame, but USC found a spark soon after when Massimo Di Martire ripped in a bar-in blast to beat the shot clock buzzer to snarl it at 4-4. USC's defense forced a shot clock violation by the Tigers, and then Marcus Longton found fellow senior Chris Sturtevant for the go-ahead goal on the ensuring USC possession. Princeton would equalize on a 6-on-5 two minutes later, only to see Ashworth Molthen get a takeaway on the defensive end to help set up Longton's first strike of the night off a setup from Carson Kranz, and USC was up 6-5 for halftime.
In the third, USC's offense was all Longton, with two assists from Di Martire helping charge up the Trojans to a 9-6 advantage entering the fourth. There, USC's Max Miller took another Di Martire feed for a slam at the post on a 6-on-5 to go up 10-6. Luka Brnetic would interrupt a Princeton 6-on-5 soon after, and then McKenney hit Ashworth Molthen on the counter for a finish that had the Trojans well on their way to the win with an 11-6 lead with 2:55 to go. Princeton would manage two goals in the next stretch, but USC had things well under control to wrap an 11-8 win.
NEXT:
USC faces UCLA in the NCAA semifinals at 4 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 3) at Spieker Aquatics Center to fight for a spot in Sunday's 3 p.m. NCAA Championship game.
NOTABLE:
- USC advances to its 18th consecutive NCAA semifinal.
- With a goal today, Ashworth Molthen has scored in 12 consecutive games.
- With four goals today, Marcus Longton leads the team in having scored in 23 games this season.
- With 11 saves tonight, Kyle McKenney recorded his fourth game with double-digit saves.
NCAA TOURNAMENT
QUARTERFINAL
USC 11, Princeton 8
Dec. 1, 2022 | Spieker Aquatics Complex (Berkeley, Calif.)
USC 2 - 4 - 3 - 2 = 11
PU 3 - 2 - 1 - 2 = 8
SCORING:
USC — Marcus Longton 4, Max Miller 2, Andrej Grgurevic, Luka Brnetic, Massimo Di Martire, Chris Sturtevant, Ashworth Molthen.
PU — Kelley Maloney 3, Vladan Mitrovic 2, Luke Johnson, Roko Pozaric, Joan Coloma.
SAVES: Kyle McKenney (USC) 11, Antonio Knez (PU) 8.
Carson Kranz: Trojans Live 11.25.24
Monday, November 25
Stefan Brankovic | Trojans Live 09.23.24
Monday, September 23
Men's Water Polo - USC 13, UCLA 9: Highlights (11/18/23)
Saturday, November 18
Men’s Water Polo - USC 20, Augustana 4 : Highlights (11/17/23)
Friday, November 17
