USC
Stanford (Championship)
USC WINS 2013 NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP!
May 12, 2013 | Women's Water Polo
BOSTON, MASS. -- It took more than guts to get this glory. After 45 minutes and 47 seconds of water polo, USC freshman Anni Espar drilled the game-winner for the Trojans to beat Stanford 10-9 in the third sudden-death period of play, winning the 2013 NCAA Women's Water Polo Championship for the top-seeded Women of Troy in Boston, Mass. The match was not only the first women's water polo NCAA final to go to overtime, it pushed the record out through the two 3-minute overtime periods and two 3-minute sudden death periods before Espar's bar-in rocket put a stop to things with the winner during the third sudden-death frame. The stunning and exhausting victory is USC's fourth national championship.
USC finishes the season with a 27-1 overall record, having lost only to Stanford during the MPSF regular season. Today's epic battle in Boston saw the Women of Troy come back from a three-goal deficit, having trailed the entire game until Hannah Buckling hit the equalizer with 1:56 to go in the fourth period of play. Anni Espar would blast a go-ahead goal with under a minute to go in regulation, suggesting that maybe the Trojans would get the championship in their hands during regulation. Stanford got up on a 6-on-5 advantage with just 35 seconds to go, and USC goalie Flora Bolonyai came up with a huge save, ricocheting the ball over the cage as Stanford retained possession. Just 12 seconds shy from what would have been the final buzzer, Stanford struck, as Ashley Grossman got to a centering pass and tipped it in to equalize things at 9-9 and send the game into OT.
