The USC men's water polo team finally returned to the Uytengsu Aquatics Center after a trio of invitationals to begin its 2015 season, facing the No. 7 ranked Long Beach State 49ers. Courtesy of hat tricks from Nick Bell, Grant Stein, and Chase Koplow, the Trojans won 17-9 to start MPSF play undefeated and improve their overall record to 10-1. Koplow piqued the interest of the Trojan coaching staff early on after scoring nine goals in five games thus earning a position on the starting roster for Saturday's home opener against Long Beach. He took advantage of the opportunity by not only scoring three goals on three attempts in 14 minutes of play but also by committing zero turnovers and not sacrificing a goal on defense. This dominant breakout performance from the first-time starter earned him MPSF Player of the Week honors.
Next up, USC faces Stanford in a rematch after falling to the Cardinal 6-5 in the Kap7 Norcal Invitational semifinals. The Trojans will host their MPSF rival on Saturday at 10:30a.m. PT on the Pac-12 Network.
Here is Rachel Bennett's photo gallery from Saturday's home opener...
