University Southern California Trojans
No. 1 Trojans Take Over Top Spot In National Rankings
September 21, 2005 | Men's Water Polo
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Sept. 21, 2005
THIS WEEK: The No. 1 Trojans have some hefty momentum heading into their second tournament of the season. Now 5-0, top-ranked USC moves on to the Lancer Invitational at Cal Baptist this Saturday (Sept. 24).
RANKINGS: USC (5-0) is ranked No. 1 in this week's national poll -- up from No. 3 last week. None of the other teams playing at the Lancer Invite -- Cal Baptist (7-8), Occidental (2-4), Riverside CC (2-7) -- are ranked in the Top 20.
WEEKEND RECAP: Then ranked No. 3, the Trojans reeled off their third consecutive Southern California Tournament title by rolling undefeated through the tough competition at the tourney hosted by UC Irvine last weekend. To claim that prestigious title, USC beat No. 15 Redlands 12-2 and No. 6 Long Beach State 12-6 in group play before dealing a 8-7 upset win to No. 2 California in the semifinals. Facing No. 4 Stanford in the championship, USC fought back from a one-goal deficit entering the fourth period, getting the tying goal from Juraj Zatovic and the game-winner from Juan Delgadillo, while the Trojan defense held the Cardinal scoreless on the way to the 6-5 victory. Zatovic pinned up nine goals in the tournament, and Delgadillo was next with eight.
LANCER INVITE PREVIEW: The Lancer Invitational brings six teams to the Cal Baptist pool this weekend. The Trojans will join in the action on Saturday with three straight games. USC first faces Occidental at 10:05 a.m., followed by the Cal Baptist `A' squad at 11:10 a.m. The Trojans close out the day against Riverside CC at 12:15 p.m.
MASS PRODUCTION: Only five games into the season, USC may not have the bulky totals that other teams are boasting, but the Trojans' offensive production and defensive control are glaringly apparant. USC is averaging 9.2 goals per game, while allowing a mere 5.0 per game to lead the nation. Individually, Juraj Zatovic's 2.6 goals per game average is the third best in the nation so far.
DELGADILLO GETS IT DONE: For the first time in his USC career, junior driver Juan Delgadillo has been named MPSF Mikasa Player of the Week. Delgadillo's unquestioned standout performances at the Southern California Tournament pushed him ahead of the rest of the pack, and helped lift the Trojans to the tournament title. Delgadillo scored eight goals in the tourney, starting off with back-to-back three-goal games against Redlands and Long Beach State, and then putting a goal against Cal and then the game-winner against Stanford.
LEAPFROG: With nine goals at the Southern California Tournament, Juraj Zatovic launched himself past two former Trojans on the all-time scoring leaderboard. Now boasting 165 career goals, Zatovic has set himself up to pass up 2004 U.S. Olympic assistant coach Danny Leyson in the very near future.
CAGE FIGHTERS: The red-capped tandem of sophomore Adam Shilling and junior Don Ricci has proved a potent one-two punch for the Trojans. Together, they have 41 saves, and in Sunday's tournament title game the pair shared in the championship effort. When Shilling was ejected in the second quarter, Ricci was able to sub in and make the stop on the Cardinal 6-on-5 attack. Shilling stepped back in at the half, and anchored the Trojans the rest of the way to the win.
FIRST THINGS FIRST: At the SoCal Tournament, several Trojans notched their first collegiate goals for USC. Against Redlands, true freshmen Arjan Ligtenberg, Jovan Vranes and Matt Aksel all got to the back of the net for the first time. And against Long Beach State, redshirt freshmen Joe Cosentino and Grant Edgcomb got on the board as Trojans.
VAVIC ON DECK: Head coach Jovan Vavic, one of the top water polo coaches in the country, serves a dual role as the head coach of both the USC men's and women's teams and has led both to national championships twice in the same school year (the men in 1998 and 2003 and the women in 1999 and 2004). As he begins his 11th season at the helm of the men's program, Vavic has a 213-51 (.807) record on the men's side after leading the 2004 Trojan squad to a third-place finish in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation and a 22-5 overall mark. He also boasts a winning record against all opponents on the men's side of the game. Vavic pulled a coaching double sweep when he was named 2003 National Coach of the Year and MPSF Coach of the Year for the men and 2004 National Coach of the Year and MPSF Coach of the Year for the women. The 2004 women's team became the first team in NCAA Championship history to go undefeated (29-0) during the regular season.
HOME POOL ADVANTAGE: After battling through regular-season competition, USC will play host to the crucial MPSF tournament (Nov. 25-27), where conference teams will vie for the championship title and an automatic bid into the eight-team NCAA Tournament. All the action is set to go down at McDonald's Swim Stadium.
