USC
UCLA (Championship)
Trojans Turn Heads With NorCal Tournament Title
September 19, 2010 | Men's Water Polo
Sept. 19, 2010
BERKELEY, CALIF. - The No. 3 USC men's water polo team served up a pair of upset wins on the second day of competition at the NorCal Tournament, kicking off the day with a win over top-seeded host Cal before taking down UCLA in the title match. That effort keeps the Trojans undefeated on the year with an 8-0 mark. Peter Kurzeka led USC's scoring charge in both matches and provided the game-winning goals in both one-goal decisions.
The Trojans served up a semifinal surprise to the tournament host by upending top-seeded California 12-11 to start the day. Up 2-1 in the first period, the Trojans rocked the Bears with six goals in the second frame to jump ahead 8-4 at halftime. Cal would shake things up by roaring back with an equally big third period to close the gap, pushing the game to a 10-10 lockup entering the fourth period. With the game up in the air in the fourth, USC got ahead 11-10 when Nikola Vavic converted on a 5-meter penalty shot. With 5:52 to go, Peter Kurzeka notched his fourth goal of the game to punch the Trojans ahead 12-10. Cal would score to make it a one-goal game with 1:31 to go, and had a shot at equalizing late in the match, only to have USC goalie Joel Dennerley make the stop with six seconds left and lock down the win for USC.
Peter Kurzeka blasted four goals for the Trojans to lead all scorers in the win over the Bears, joined by a pair of goals from Nikola Vavic and Tobias Preuss while Joel Dennerley gathered in nine saves in the cage for USC.
Up against rival UCLA in the afternoon's championship game - a rematch of the 2009 NCAA championships - the Trojans again built up a healthy lead on their opponents. USC allowed just two Bruin goals in the first half while taking a 5-2 lead by halftime. Entering the final frame, USC was up 8-4, but UCLA forced its way back into the game in the fourth period. The Bruins managed six goals in the period as the teams were locked 10-10 with time draining. With four second to go, however, Kurzeka struck again, rounding out a hat trick for himself in the game and punching USC ahead 11-10 to shut things down on the NorCal Tournament championship for the Trojans. Once again, Dennerley delivered in the cage to keep the Trojans a step ahead, as the junior goalie tallied 12 saves for the Trojans in the win over the Bruins.
Next weekend, USC will compete at a tournament at Cal Baptist on Saturday (Sept. 24) before opening MPSF competition with a trip to Pepperdine for a 12 p.m. match on Sunday (Sept. 25).
2010 NORCAL TOURNAMENT (Berkeley, Calif.)
CHAMPIONSHIP - Sept. 19
#3 USC 11, #2 UCLA 10
USC 3 - 2 - 3 - 3 = 11
UCLA 1 - 1 - 2 - 6 = 10
SCORING:
USC - Peter Kurzeka 3, Jeremy Davie 2, Nikola Vavic 2, Matthew Burton 2, Forest Monroe, Brian Boswell.
UCLA - Cullen Hennessy 3, Josh Samuels 3, Ben Hohl 2, Jacob Murphy, Cristiano Mirarchi.
SAVES: Joel Dennerley (USC) 12, Andrew Mesesan (UCLA) 5.
SEMIFINAL - Sept. 19
#3 USC 12, #1 California 11
USC 2 - 6 - 2 - 2 = 12
CAL 1 - 3 - 6 - 1 = 11
SCORING:
USC - Peter Kurzeka 4, Nikola Vavic 2, Tobias Preuss 2, Jeremy Davie, Matthew Burton, Cem Carak, Brian Boswell.
CAL - Luka Saponjic 2, Ivan Rackov 2, Perry Short 2, Cory Nasoff, Brian Dudley, Charlie Steffens, Matt Golden, Max Bergeson.
SAVES: Joel Dennerley (USC) 9, Justin Parsons (CAL) 4 [first half], Wil Toppen (CAL) 8 [second half].
Players Mentioned
