University Southern California Trojans
USC
Stanford (Stanford Invitational)
No. 1 USC Opens Stanford Invite With Two Wins
February 03, 2007 | Women's Water Polo
Feb. 3, 2007
PALO ALTO, CALIF. -- The top-ranked USC women's water polo team got out of the gates strong at the competitive Stanford Invitational, posting wins over No. 7 ASU and No. 3 Stanford to open bracket play with a pair of wins. USC now faces No. 10 San Jose State at 8 a.m. on Sunday (Feb. 4), where a win would put the Women of Troy in the championship game at 4:30 p.m. for a chance to defend the tournament title it claimed last year.
The Trojans kicked off the Stanford Invitational with a decisive 12-4 win over No. 7 Arizona State, with nine different players scoring for USC in the win. Next, the Women of Troy squared off against tourney host Stanford, grabbing an 8-6 win over the No. 3 Cardinal behind a second-half comeback effort. The wins improve USC to a 3-0 record on the year.
In the tournament opener for the Women of Troy on Saturday morning, USC squared off against No. 7 Arizona State and had a strong start against the Sun Devils. USC took a 5-1 lead in the first period and was up 8-3 at halftime. From there, USC's defense took control, allowing just a single ASU goal in the next two periods which punching in a pair of its own to grab a 12-4 win. Senior Brittany Hayes led USC in scoring with a hat trick, and Miranda Nichols tacked up a pair, with the Trojans' balanced scoring attack saw seven more Trojans get to the back of the net in the win.
Against No. 3 Stanford in the afternoon, USC fell behind in the second period and trailed 3-2 by halftime. The Trojans put forth a turnaround in the next two periods, however, tying it up 4-4 as the teams entered the final period of play. That's when USC's offense heated up, pumping in four fourth-period goals while the Cardinal managed just a pair to take and hold the lead and claim an important win to put USC one victory away from a shot at the title game. This time, USC's offensive charge came from the hands of six scorers, with Figge and Marina Mayer each scoring a pair, with Kami Craig, Cardenas, Hayes and Nichols each adding one.
No. 1 USC 12, No. 7 ASU 4
USC 5 - 3 - 2 - 2 --- 12
ASU 1 - 2 - 1 - 1 --- 4
SCORING:
USC - Brittany Hayes 3, Miranda Nichols 2, Erika Figge, Alexandra Kiss, Patty Cardenas, Jordan Anae, Veronika Bartunkova, Kally Lucas, Jana Wenger.
ASU - Bower 2, Stepp, Phelps.
SAVES: n/a
No. 1 USC 8, No. 3 Stanford 6
USC 1 - 1 - 2 - 4 --- 8
STAN 0 - 3 - 1 - 2 --- 6
SCORING:
USC - Erika Figge 2, Marina Mayer 2, Miranda Nichols, Patty Cardenas, Kami Craig, Brittany Hayes.
STAN - Hansen 4, Gregorka, Silver
SAVES: n/a
