Men's Water Polo Gets Last-Second Win At Pepperdine

Sunday, October 20

Malibu, Calif.

12:00 PM

USC

Pepperdine*

Men's Water Polo Gets Last-Second Win At Pepperdine

October 20, 2002 | Men's Water Polo

Oct. 20, 2002

MALIBU, Calif. -- Sophomore utilityman James Shin found himself in the right place at the most opportune time Sunday afternoon.

Shin scored the game-winning goal with 10 seconds remaining and helped No. 5 ranked USC post a 7-6 win over No. 6 Pepperdine in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) game played at Raleigh Runnels Memorial Pool in Malibu.

Shin collected a missed shot attempt in front of the Pepperdine net and batted the ball past Waves' senior goalie Michael Soltis to give the Trojans the lead.

Pepperdine senior two-meter man Josh Acosta's shot attempt to tie the game with one second left sailed wide of the mark.

USC improves to 14-4 overall and 3-1 in MPSF play, while Pepperdine falls to 9-6 overall and 4-1 in league action.

The game was tied at 4-4 heading into the fourth quarter, and the Trojans built a two-goal advantage when sophomore utilityman Stephen Lipinski and freshman holeman Jaraj Zatovic both converted on extra-man chances.

Pepperdine pulled within a 6-5 count when junior driver Jeremy Grubbs cashed in an extra-man chance with 2:34 left, and the Waves tied the game when sophomore utilityman Jesse Smith scored his third goal of the contest with 52 seconds remaining.

USC took an early 2-0 lead following goals by Lipinski and junior driver Gadi Hadar. Pepperdine tied the game at 2-2 following goals by junior driver Scott Harvey and a four-meter penalty shot by Smith.

Zatovic gave the Trojans at 3-2 lead at the 4:48 mark of the third quarter, but senior driver William Rodriguez scored on a break-away with 3:33 left to tie the game at 3-3.

Junior utilityman Cameron Kaiser gave USC a 4-3 lead with a goal at the 2:45 mark of the third quarter, but the Trojans' lead was short-lived as Smith scored for the Waves just nine seconds later.

Junior goalie Bozidar Damjanovic recorded 13 saves for USC, while Soltis notched nine saves for Pepperdine.

The Trojans will play at UC Irvine in an MPSF match next Sunday (Oct. 27) at noon.

USC                2    0    2    3   --  7Pepperdine         1    1    2    2   --  6
USC Scoring: Stephen Lipinski (2), Jaraj Zatovic (2), Gadi Hadar (1),Cameron Kaiser (1), James Shin (1)Pepperdine Scoring: Jesse Smith (3), Jeremy Grubbs (1), Scott Harvey (1),William Rodriguez (1)USC Goalkeeping: Bozidar Damjanovic; 13 saves and 6 goals allowedPepperdine Goalkeeping: Michael Soltis; 9 saves and 7 goals allowed
USC: 14-4 / 3-1 in MPSF / Ranked No. 5Pepperdine: 9-6 / 4-1 in MPSF / Ranked No. 6