University Southern California Trojans
No. 2 USC Has LMU Rematch, Then Home Opener
September 10, 2008 | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 10, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THIS WEEK: The Trojans are lined up for their first home game of the year this weekend, but first USC will pay a visit across town. No. 2 USC (4-0) faces its second clash of the year against No. 6 Loyola Marymount (3-1), heading to play the Lions in Westchester for a 3 p.m. match on Friday (Sept. 12). The following day, USC returns to McDonald's Swim Stadium for the Trojans' home opener against No 8 Long Beach State in a 2:30 p.m. start on Saturday (Sept. 13). USC holds a 27-game win streak in the home waters of McDonald's Swim Stadium, having gone undefeated at home for the past three seasons.
RANKINGS: Although selected No. 1 in the MPSF Preseason Coaches Poll, the Trojans sit at No. 2 in the nation in the early goings of the 2008 season. LMU ranks No. 6 and Long Beach State is No. 8 in this week's national poll.
LAST WEEK: USC kicked off its 2008 campaign with an undefeated run through a busy weekend at UC San Diego. The Trojans opened the Triton Invitational by getting 17 different scorers in on a 28-2 win over Claremont, then kept that defensive pressure up against Pacific for a 10-2 victory that put USC in the semifinals. The next day, the Trojans came up against a tough LMU squad that came back from a 6-3 halftime deficit to force overtime and then a sudden-death frame. J.W. Krumpholz broke through with a score out of set to get USC a 10-9 win and push into the afternoon's championship game. There, USC faced Pepperdine, and another overtime situation emerged. This time, the Trojans got it done before sudden death, with Matt Sagehorn getting the go-ahead goal in the first overtime frame and the USC defense holding strong the rest of the way to claim the Triton Invitational championship. USC newcomer Joel Dennerley manned the cage for the entire second day, racking up 14 saves against LMU and then nine in the final against Pepperdine. For his efforts on the weekend -- which included three shutout periods against Pacific -- freshman goalie Dennerley was named the MPSF Co-Player of the Week.
2007 RECAP: The Trojans pushed through to their third straight appearance in the NCAA championship game after claiming the 2007 MPSF Championship title -- USC's fifth all-time MPSF crown. In the national championship game, USC came up short again of California in an 8-6 loss that left the Trojans with a 19-3 overall record. Six Trojans were named All-Americans at the close of the 2007 season: Tommy Corcoran, Adam Shilling, Matt Sagehorn, J.W. Krumpholz, Shea Buckner and Gabor Sarusi. Shilling also was named a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award.
LMU NOTES: No. 6 LMU holds a 3-1 record after taking third place at the Triton Invitational following a 10-9 sudden-death overtime loss to USC in the tournament semifinals. The Lions beat Long Beach State 12-8 in the third-place game. Tibor Forai led the Lions with 10 goals at the tournament. USC is 14-0 all-time against LMU, having held onto that undefeated run with last weekend's win in sudden death. USC beat the Lions 9-4 and 11-3 last season, and then won 8-4 in the semifinals of the 2007 NCAA Tournament.
