No. 2 USC men's water polo was unable to extend its three-year Kap7 SoCal Invitational crown streak, falling to a familiar foe in the final on Sunday.
The Trojans started Saturday's group play with a dominant performance against San Jose State. The final score of 16-3 was just one goal shy of the score they put up six days earlier against the Spartans at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Junior driver Blake Edwards (pictured), redshirt freshman Chase Koplow, and redshirt sophomore driver Mitch Embrey each recorded hat-tricks to lift the team to victory.
USC then took care of business against No. 6 UC Santa Barbara, maintaining at least a two-point lead throughout to come out on top 10-8 and advance to the semifinals.
The Trojans also held the lead for the entirety of Sunday's semifinal game against No. 3 Stanford. Blake Edwards was once again an offensive force to be reckoned with, scoring a game-high four of the Trojans' nine goals. The Cardinal could only muster up six points, placing the Trojans in the final against none other than top-ranked, crosstown rival UCLA.
The match started off with three straight goals for the Trojans, but UCLA would fire back with a four-goal rally of its own. Though sophomore two-meter Lachlan Edwards would score an equalizer, it proved to be just a pause for the Bruins, who fired off another four points to take an 8-4 lead through the third period.
The Trojans did their best to stage a comeback, sending four balls into the net in the fourth frame. UCLA would manage to slip in another two, though, including a go-ahead goal to make it 10-9 with just 15 seconds left of play. The finish tacked a second loss onto the Trojans' previous 15-1 record.
USC returns to MPSF play next week and looks to uphold its undefeated conference record as it faces Pepperdine in a 12 p.m. home match-up on Saturday.
