No. 3 Women’s Water Polo Opens MPSF Play At No. 16 San Jose State

Saturday, February 21

San Jose, Calif.

1:00 p.m.

USC

San Jose State

Photo by: Nicole Hourigan

No. 3 Women’s Water Polo Opens MPSF Play At No. 16 San Jose State

February 18, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

LOS ANGELES - After a 13-game stretch to open the season where the team went 11-2, the USC women's water polo team is set to begin MPSF play this weekend. The Women of Troy will face San Jose State on the road to kick off the conference action.

Schedule
Saturday - No. 16 San Jose State - 1:00 p.m.
Live Stream: overnight | Live Stats: 6-8 sports

Last Time Out
USC went 2-1 at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine this past weekend, opening with a 13-11 win over No. 7 Long Beach State.

Meghan McAninch got the Trojans on the board early, and Emily Aumus and Ava Stryker helped power the USC offense. A five-goal third quarter swung momentum in USC's favor. The Beach, however, made one final push to cut the lead down to one. Morgan Netherton answered with a key goal, and Stryker sealed it on a six on five tally to advance to the semifinal game.

The Trojans then faced No. 2 UCLA the next day in a tight battle that went down to the wire, before ultimately falling 10-9. Stryker opened the scoring off a steal, and USC's defense shut out the Bruins in the second quarter to carry momentum into halftime. The third turned into a back-and-forth stretch, with McAninch, Maggie Johnson, Ausmus and Stryker all finding the back of the cage. Alma Yaacobi and Ausmus added fourth-quarter goals, but UCLA capitalized late to take the win.

USC closed the weekend with a 15-12 victory over No. 4 California to secure third place in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. Natalia Blazevic struck first on the power play, and Stryker, Ausmus, and McAninch followed as the Trojans built an early lead that they would never relinquish. Morgan Netherton and Yaacobi added goals on the man-up opportunity in the second frame, and USC stayed in control heading into the fourth.

When California made a late push, the Trojans responded each time. Ausmus and Blazevic delivered key fourth-quarter finishes, and Stryker capped it off to secure the win against the highest-ranked opponent the Trojans have defeated this season.

History
USC holds a near-perfect 37-2 record in the all-time series, with a 33-game win streak against San Jose State. The most recent meeting between the two programs came last season on the team's senior day, when USC came away with a 17-8 victory powered by a five goal performance from Emily Ausmus.

Rankings
The Trojans head into conference play ranked No. 3 by the CWPA only behind MPSF foes Stanford and UCLA.

Cage Command
Anna Reed has been the starting keeper for the Women of Troy in eight of the first nine games of the season. The redshirt-sophomore has tallied three double digit save performances so far this season. Reed has also held opponents to single digit scoring in eight outings.

All Out Attack
USC's scoring has been on fire to start the 2026 campaign. Through the first nine games, the Trojans have tallied 20-plus goals in four contests. Meghan McAninch leads the squad with 22 goals and 37 total points, while Emily Ausmus is close behind with 19. Eight Women of Troy have already surpassed the 10-goal mark on the young season.

Trojan Personnel
The 2026 squad will be led by two captains– sophomore attacker Emily Ausmus and senior attacker Maggie Johnson. Ausmus had a stellar start to her collegiate career, racking up a program single season record 114 goals. The Riverside, Calif. native had a team high 31 multiple-goal outings and was named a Cutino Award finalist along with a member of the All-America First Team, MPSF Newcomer of the Year, All-MPSF First Team, MPSF All-Tournament Team and MPSF All-Newcomer Team.

Johnson is in her third season as a captain for the USC women's water polo team. The senior out of La Jolla, Calif. scored 23 goals and recorded four multiple-goal outings. Johnson led the MPSF in assists with 58 to cap off a strong 2025 season.

All-American Returners
The Trojans return three All-Americans to the roster for the new year in Ausmus, Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker.

Gazzaniga was named to the All-America Third Team following a sophomore season in which she scored 46 goals. Gazzaniga posted 13 multiple-goal outings and tacked on 21 assists, 36 drawn exclusions and 34 steals.

Stryker recorded 72 goals, good for third on the team, in the 2025 season. An All-American Honorable Mention, Stryker had multiple goals in 23 games and tallied 41 steals.

Last Season
In 2025, Casey Moon's squad worked to a 29-5 record on its way to its 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Trojans finished as national finalists at the tournament after defeating Harvard and UCLA to advance to the championship game against Stanford. USC improved to 5-1 in conference play to tie for first overall and went undefeated at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

Offensive Onslaught
USC scored a program record 576 goals from 17 different scorers just a season ago. Although the Trojans are losing Tilly Kearns who graduated as part of the Class of 2025, the squad returns four of their five leading scorers– Ausmus (114), Stryker (72), Meghan McAninch (47) and Gazzaniga (46).

They are joined by three other Trojans who each scored 20 or more goals in the 2025 campaign in Alma Yaacobi (43), Morgan Netherton (33) and Johnson (23).

New Kids On The Deck
Six newcomers will join a stacked squad for the 2026 campaign. Natalia Blazevic out of Vancouver, B.C. is the lone international freshman. Blazevic boasts international experience, competing as part of the Canadian Junior National Team at the 2024 PanAm Games.

The five other members of the incoming class all hail from California including three from Newport Beach. Ashley Kwan, Kara Carver, Kate Sloman, Payton Netherton and EJ Hourigan round out the group that looks to make an immediate impact for the Trojans.

International Experience
Alma Yaacobi, Sinia Plotz and Jelena Sarac competed at the 2026 European Aquatics Women's Water Polo Championship. Yaacobi competed with Israel who finished seventh. Sarac was a member of Team Serbia who finished 10th. Plotz was on Team Germany who placed 11th.

Ausmus, a 2024 Olympian, and McAninch competed with Team USA at the U20 World Championships in Salvador, Brazil over the summer. The pair returned to campus with gold medals as they helped the U.S. to its first U20 championship since 2015. Ausmus was named the MVP of the tournament after leading the team with 21 goals across six wins. McAninch was named Player of the Match in group play and scored six goals to help the United States win the title.

Sinia Plotz was Germany's top scorer at the 2025 FISU World University Games. Plotz served as team captain and helped lead the host country to victory. The senior utility player scored 13 goals across the event held in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, including a hat trick in the championship match.

Ausmus, Gazzaniga and Stryker all competed at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore for Team USA where the Americans reached the semifinal round.