University Southern California Trojans
Trojans Defend Home Pool Against Long Beach State, LMU
October 05, 2011 | Men's Water Polo
Oct. 5, 2011
THIS WEEK
The No. 4 USC men's water polo team (9-2, 1-0 MPSF) delves back into home waters this week with two days of action at McDonald's Swim Stadium. Thursday (Oct. 6) will bring two teams to Troy, with an MPSF clash against No. 14 Long Beach State slated for 5 p.m. before the Trojans play an exhibition match against Long Beach City College. On Saturday (Oct. 8), USC will then play host to No. 12 LMU in a 1 p.m. battle.
RANKINGS
USC opened 2011 as the No. 1 team in the land -- deference to the Trojans' three straight NCAA titles and status as reigning MPSF Tournament champs -- and remained there for four weeks until taking their first losses last weekend. Now ranked No. 4 in the nation, USC goes up against No. 14 Long Beach State and No. 12 LMU this week as the Trojans look to gather up a new win streak.
SCOUTING LONG BEACH STATE
The No. 14 49ers are 11-3 overall on the way into their first MPSF match of the year after falling to Pepperdine and Princeton on the first day of the SoCal Tournament and finishing with wins over Pomona-Pitzer and Air Force last weekend. Aleksandar Petrovic leads the 49ers in scoring with 35 goals, and goalie Matt Kubek is averaging 6.9 saves and 6.6 goals-against per game. USC is 59-15 all-time against the 49ers, having won the past 20 matches including a 10-4 win over Long Beach State last season in MPSF play.
SCOUTING LMU
The No. 12 Lions are 8-5 overall after splits on both days of the SoCal Tournament last weekend. LMU lost to Pacific, beat Santa Clara, lost to UC San Diego and beat Princeton at the tourney. The Lions will first face Whittier on Thursday before coming to USC on Saturday. Edgaras Asajavicius leads LMU in scoring with 23 goals. USC is 18-0 all-time against the Lions, including a 10-5 win at LMU last year.
LAST WEEK
The streaking USC men's water polo team stumbled on the second day of action at the SoCal Tournament last weekend. The Trojans' undefeated start to 2011 and hopes of claiming a ninth straight SoCal title were both dashed by two losses in which USC uncharacteristically stalled out in the second half. The Trojans first fell 6-4 to No. 4 Stanford in Sunday morning's semifinals, and then got edged out by No. 2 UCLA in a 7-6 loss in the third-place game to leave the eight-time defending SoCal tourney champs with a fourth-place finish at the 2011 SoCal Tournament. The loss to Stanford snapped USC's 22-game win streak that had spanned from last season's run to the MPSF and NCAA Championships. The Trojans had a strong start to the tourney on opening day, picking up their eighth and ninth straight wins of the year with a 21-1 victory over Pomona-Pitzer and an 11-5 win over UC Irvine. Kostas Genidounias topped the scoring charts on the weekend with six goals, while Mace Rapsey put in five and Jeremy Davie, Nikola Vavic and Ivan Kustic had four each. Joel Dennerley made 26 saves in three games, and Ely Bonilla played five periods in the first two games with eight total saves.
SPREAD OFFENSE
In USC's first 11 games of 2011, 21 different Trojans have scored goal, including a set of six with at least 10 goals to date. Peter Kurzeka leads the pack with 19, followed by newcomer Kostas Genidounias with 14. USC set its highwater mark with a season-high 12 different scorers in a 21-1 win over Pomona-Pitzer on Oct. 1. So far, USC is outscoring opponents 135-51 and holds the top defensive mark in the conference with an average of just 4.6 goals-against per game.
ANOTHER NOTCH IN NORCAL
USC made an early-season statement in capturing its second straight NorCal Tournament title behind a history-making defensive stand from USC goalie Joel Dennerley and a five-goal frenzy from newcomer Kostas Genidounias in a 10-8 championship win over UCLA. The Trojan had made short work of Stanford in the semifinals, stacking up its biggest win over Stanford since 2008 with a powerful 12-5 victory. Stockton also was the site of the Trojans' last big win over Stanford, which USC beat 10-3 in the 2008 tourney semis. USC's championship run was set up by two wins on Saturday in group play. The Trojans moved past West Valley JC with a 20-3 decision that they followed with an 11-4 win over UC Irvine. Ten Trojans scored in the victory over the Anteaters. Leading the scoring front in the last three games of the tourney was Genidounias with eight goals, followed by four each from Brian Boswell and Michael Rosenthal. Goalie Dennerley amassed 37 saves in those three games including a career day of 19 saves vs. the Bruins. For his historic and impressive saves tally in the winning run, Dennerley also collected his seventh career selection as the MPSF Player of the Week.
AUSTRALIAN TAKEOVER
Senior Joel Dennerley became USC's all-time career saves leader while also helping the Trojans claim their second straight NorCal Tournament championship. After 12 saves in a dominating 12-5 semifinal win over Stanford, Dennerley needed just three saves in the title match against UCLA in order to take over as USC's all-time career saves leader. The senior went well over that mark in collecting a career-high 19 saves for the Trojans' defensive stand against the rival Bruins, anchoring a 10-8 win to net the tournament title for USC while chiseling himself in Trojan history by eclipsing a 24-year stand by Kevin Stringer as the USC saves leader. Dennerley now holds 728 career saves. He's averaging 8.7 saves per game now, with 4.6 goals against.
IN THE BOOKS
USC seniors Joel Dennerley and Peter Kurzeka have inked their names on the USC career charts with impressive numbers as they touch in on their final seasons at Troy. Dennerley became USC's all-time career saves leader with a career-high 19-save outing vs. UCLA in the NorCal Championship game on Sept. 18. Kurzeka, meanwhile, is climbing up the career goals ladder. His 100th career goal was the winner in USC's 2010 NCAA Championship game, and he now holds 119 to have taken over at No. 19 all-time.
INTERNATIONAL PREVIEW
Trojans Jeremy Davie and Kostas Genidounias joined forces as teammates for the first time after having squared off as opponents at the FINA Men's Junior World Championships. A returning All-American for the Trojans, Davie capped up for his Australian Junior National Team, while newcomer Genidounias was a hometown hero for his Greek Junior National Team for the competition that came to a close on Sept. 4 in Volos, Greece. Both Trojans were key contributors for their respective squads overseas, as Australia and Greece wound up clashing in the third-place game. Davie struck first for Australia in the game, but it was Greece that would prevail in a 7-5 decision that secured a bronze medal for Genidounias and his Greek teammates. Both Trojans have wasted no time making an impact for USC. Genidounias is USC's second leading scorer with 14 goals, and Davie isn't far behind that count with 10.
SENIOR CORE AIMS FOR FOUR
Trojan seniors Matt Burton, Joel Dennerley and Peter Kurzeka were freshmen when USC won the 2009 NCAA championship. As sophomores, they again held the trophy high at the end of that season. Last year, as juniors, they led a USC squad picked to finish fourth in the conference to the top yet again. Now, with the stiff breeze of three straight national championships pushing them into their senior season at Troy, the All-American trio aims to go out on top once again and, in doing so, become the first collegiate men's water polo team ever to win four consecutive national championships.
YOUNG GUNS RETURN
Offensively, USC's top 10 scorers from 2010 are back in the water. That group accounted for 81 percent of USC's goal count last season. USC's top scorer as a freshman and an All-American as well, Nikola Vavic returns. More young power is generated from All-American Jeremy Davie, and fellow sophomores Mace Rapsey and Connor Virjee, who helped claim that third straight title in their first seasons of action with the Trojans, along with Tobias Preuss and Stephen Siri. More veteran talent comes in the form of Brian Boswell and Michael Rosenthal, members of USC's last two NCAA championship rosters. New guns are also in line to make a further impact as the Trojan depth charge expands for 2011.
2010 RECAP
The 2010 Trojans were picked fourth in both the 2010 MPSF and national preseason polls before thundering through the season with a 26-2 overall record to add the 2010 NCAA crown to its 2008 and 2009 trophies. USC dropped two losses during the regular season, but went on a roll to close out the year by winning the MPSF Tournament title and then finishing off a 12-10 overtime win over host Cal in the NCAA Championship game. It was USC's 25th NCAA appearance and sixth national championship, and gave the Trojans their fourth title in the past six seasons. Jovan Vavic was named the National Coach of the Year, making him the only men's water polo coach to earn three consecutive selections. Five Trojans were named All-Americans at year's end as well. MPSF Player of the Year Joel Dennerley and Peter Kurzeka earned First Team honors, with Matt Burton, Nikola Vavic and Jeremy Davie also named All-Americans. Vavic was the team's top scorer with 49 goals, leading a set of 21 scorers on the year. As a team, USC was the best in the MPSF, averaging 12.7 goals per game offensively and allowing 6.1 goals per game defensively. USC outscored its opponents 382-183 in 2010.
