University Southern California Trojans
USC
UC Irvine (MPSF Championship)
USC Captures MPSF Crown And Automatic NCAA Berth
November 25, 2007 | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 25, 2007
BERKELEY, CALIF. - The top-ranked USC men's water polo team won their fifth MPSF Tournament championship and erased any doubts of a third straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament by topping No. 5 UC Irvine 10-6 in the MPSF title match on Sunday in Berkeley. The win secures the automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament for the Trojans. NCAA action is set to be held Dec. 1-2 in Palo Alto, Calif., at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. USC's overall record has now been boosted to 18-2 on the year.
For the third straight game in the tournament, sophomore Matt Sagehorn pumped in a team-high three goals to lead the Trojans. With nine goals in the MPSF Tournament, Sagehorn improved his season total to 35, having scored at least two goals in the past 10 games for USC. He served up a pair of goals in the first period for the Trojans, with J.W. Krumpholz and Jovan Vranes adding another as USC opened up a 4-1 lead on the Anteaters.
In the second, Arjan Ligtenberg and Drew Vyn helped USC spread its offensive attack further, getting the Trojans to a 6-2 advantage by halftime. In the third USC and UCI traded scores, with Tim Hutten notching his second of the match for the Anteaters before Shea Buckner got on the board for the Trojans to make it a 7-3 advantage going into the fourth frame. The teams matched each other in the last quarter, but USC's powerful start and strong defense - anchored by seven saves from goalie Adam Shilling - had put the Anteaters well out of reach. Sagehorn would strike again before the final buzzer, as would Krumpholz, and then Joe Cosentino served up an assist on USC's last goal by Vranes to cap off the winning weekend for the Trojans.
USC now holds a five-game winning streak as the Trojans turn to make their 22nd appearance in the NCAA Tournament. USC has won three national championships, last claiming the crown in 2005 before falling to Cal in the 2006 NCAA final.
#1 USC 10, #5 UC Irvine 6
USC 4 - 2 - 1 - 3 --- 10
UCI 1 - 1 - 1 - 3 --- 6
SCORING:
USC - Matt Sagehorn 3, Jovan Vranes 2, J.W. Krumpholz 2, Drew Vyn, Shea Buckner, Arjan Ligtenberg.
UCI - Tim Hutten 4, Brandon Johnson 2.
SAVES: Adam Shilling (USC) 7, Matt Garcia (UCI) 5.
