Saturday, October 21
Los Angeles, CA
1:00 PM
USC
vs
UC Irvine
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UT
/ Men's Water Polo
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Photo by: John McGillen
Top-Ranked Trojans Line Up Against The No. 6 Anteaters Saturday
October 18, 2017 | Men's Water Polo, Features
USC hosts UC Irvine in a 1 p.m. matchup at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
THIS WEEK
The No. 1 Trojans are back in action this week, set up to host No. 6 UC Irvine in a nonconference clash. USC (18-1) will square off against the Anteaters (10-6) at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 21) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
RANKINGS
USC started its 2017 journey holding strong at No. 2 in the preseason national rankings. The Trojans wrapped 2016 at No. 2 in the land after reaching the NCAA final for the 12th consecutive season. After standing at No. 2 for the first five weeks of 2017 competition, USC climbed to No. 1 in the nation on Oct. 4. The Trojans were last ranked No. 1 last November entering the 2016 MPSF and NCAA tournaments. This week, USC remains the top-ranked team in the national poll.
SCOUTING UCI
The No. 6 Anteaters are 10-6 overall after a 18-8 loss to Cal last week. Lovre Milos leads UCI in scoring with 50 goals, while goalie Matej Matejevic has made 188 saves. USC is 78-23 all-time against UC Irvine with wins in the past 30 meetings, including a 10-9 come-from-behind win last month at the Mountain Pacific Invitational. Last year, USC defeated the Anteaters 14-3 at the Triton Invitational and won 20-4 in Irvine.
LAST ACTION
USC had a break from official competition last week as the Trojans hosted Alumni Day on Oct. 14 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The previous week, USC had tallied two key wins, fending off a stubborn Long Beach State to notch an 11-9 victory in USC's first overtime game of the year, then hitting the road to post a 6-3 win at UC Santa Barbara. Against the 49ers on Oct. 5, LBSU had erased a three-goal USC lead to equalize late in regulation and force overtime. There, the Trojans regrouped with clutch scores and big saves from goalie McQuin Baron — who collected 18 overall — to hold off the 49ers for the home win. That tally bumped the senior — already USC's record-holder for career saves — up to stand as the No. 2 all-time saves leader in MPSF history. USC never trailed in the game, but had to fight off three equalizers by Long Beach State in the first three periods. In the final minute of the third period, Grant Stein found Marin Dasic for a rocket and another USC advantage, up 6-5 entering the fourth frame. There, USC made it a three-goal surge in following up Dasic's second goal with a laser from Blake Edwards to cap off a power play, then a sweeping power move from Lachlan Edwards off a feed from Thomas Dunstan. That had USC looking to be in the driver's seat with an 8-5 lead with 4:19 left in regulation. But Long Beach State was far from done. Keegan Wicken delivered his fourth and fifth goals of the game for the 49ers during a three-goal rally. His fifth came on a skipper with 1:34 on the clock, snarling the match at 8-8. Neither team would break through in the final stretch, bringing up overtime for the first time for the Trojans this season. Baron hauled in a huge save against an early LBSU power play to kick off the first OT frame. At the other end, Vavic earned a 6-on-5 for the Trojans, with Matteo Morelli finding Maier for his second score of the day to make it a 9-8 USC lead with just four seconds left. To start up the second OT period, Blake Edwards nabbed a steal and Vavic wound up walking the ball in and unleashing a ripper to the low corner to take the Trojans ahead 10-8 with 1:22 on the clock. LBSU fired right back, scoring just seven seconds later to make it a one-goal margin, but USC's defense proved up to the task. Baron put up a stop that got USC the ball back with 26 ticks to go. As the clock wound down, Stein let fly one last shot before the buzzer to secure the win as an 11-9 final for the Trojans. Two days later in Santa Barbara, USC piled up the first four goals of the game and then leaned on some stubborn defense to pin up a 6-4 road win. All of USC's scoring came from the hands of Trojan seniors, while senior goalie McQuin Baron amassed 14 saves at the other end. The day's action opened with a sizzling backhand blast from Lachlan Edwards off a setup from Marko Vavic. Next, it was Matteo Morelli who rifled in the score to make it a 2-0 USC lead by the close of the first period. In the second, James Walters pumped up the USC lead to 3-0 before a nice passing series saw Thomas Dunstan hit Blake Edwards on the post to lift the Trojans to a 4-0 advantage. The Gauchos broke their silence with a 6-on-5 goal on their next possession, but Blake Edwards would punch up his second goal of the frame to tug the Trojans ahead 5-1. That margin would hold not only through to halftime, but through the next full period of play as teams entered a defensive stalemate in the third. McQuin Baron would loom large in the cage early in the fourth with a series of saves to squash a UCSB power play, and the USC converted one of its own with the advantage drawn by Mihajlo Milicevic and finished off by Lachlan Edwards for a 6-1 USC lead with 5:16 left to play. Will Rubshlager would check in to the cage with 2:23 to go, with UCSB managing a goal to make it 6-2. Baron would get called back in to face a Gaucho power play in the final minute, and UCSB was able to convert to wrap the game as a 6-3 USC victory.
RECORD-BREAKING BARON
On Sept. 16 in USC's first-ever meeting with MIT, senior goalie McQuin Baron broke USC's all-time career saves record with his fifth save of the game. That notched Baron's 856th save to edge out previous leader Joel Dennerley, who had set the USC record during his senior season on Sept. 18, 2011 — almost exactly six years earlier. Baron already held the USC record for single-season saves, set his freshman year with 288 saves collected in 2014. Now with 962 career saves to his name, Baron looks to bulk up his numbers further as the 2016 Cutino Award winner and Olympian continues to man the cage for the Trojans and keep his team in pursuit of a NCAA championship.Â
CLIMB ON
While McQuin Baron tops the saves leaderboard at USC with his 962 career stops, a set of All-American senior sharpshooters are charging up the scoring charts. Blake Edwards has climbed to No. 12 all-time with 143 career goals, closely followed by Grant Stein at No. 16 with 135. Just steps behind are Matteo Morelli at No. 19 with 131 goals and Lachlan Edwards at No. 20 in USC history with 130. Meanwhile, on the MPSF career charts, Baron is now locked into the No. 2 spot all-time, hot on the trail of Pacific's Alex Malkis, who holds the MPSF record with 1,057 career saves from 2010-13.
ALL-AMERICAN EDGE
With eight All-Americans back in the water for 2017, USC head coach Jovan Vavic has more All-American talent than he has room for in his starting lineup. In that core group of decorated All-Americans, seven are seniors. Two of them are repeat team captains — James Walters and returning top scorer Blake Edwards — both two-time All-Americans. One is Cutino Award winner McQuin Baron, who will soon be taking over as USC's all-time saves leader. Three more Trojan All-Americans — Matteo Morelli, Lachlan Edwards and Grant Stein — accumulated over 100 combined goals last year. The seventh — standing out as the brains of the group — is NCAA Elite 90 Award winner Mihajlo Milicevic, who stars as a stingy defender for the Trojan cause. The only first-time All-American in the crew is on his way in to his second season at USC, as sophomore Matt Maier returns to the pool as the 2016 MPSF Newcomer of the Year.Â
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 19 games deep into 2017, the Trojans have displayed widespread scoring ability. Twenty-one Trojans scored on USC's first day of action — a doubleheader at the UCLA Mini Invitational. Since then, senior Blake Edwards stands as the most prolific Trojan to date with 33 goals, followed by freshman Marko Vavic with 30 and senior Grant Stein with 25. Defensively, three goalies have capped up in the cage. McQuin Baron has appeared in 18 games, with double-digit saves eight games. He's averaging 10.2 saves and 5.2 goals-against per game. Will Rubschlager and Simon Wu have shared time in backup roles to Baron, combining for 44 saves. In all, USC has outscored opponents 296-103. As a team, USC ranks No. 1 in the MPSF in defense (5.42 gapg) and in offense (15.89 gpg).
DEPTH CHARGE
As valuable as USC's sizeable senior class is, Jovan Vavic has his eyes on a few other returners as linchpins in this season's efforts. Now sophomores, Olympian Thomas Dunstan, MPSF Newcomer of the Year Matt Maier and FINA Junior World Championship silver medalist Marin Dasic are even more prepared to be impact players for the Trojans. Junior Zach D'Sa and redshirt sophomore Daniel Leong both had breakout seasons last year and are primed for major playing time in 2017. Redshirt junior Tim Leong has also maneuvered his way into an increased role, while redshirt sophomore Sam Slobodien, too, made major strides last season and during the summer, lining himself up for extra duty at the two-meter mark along with fellow centers Maier, James Walters and Lachlan Edwards. In all, the Trojans return 90 percent of their scoring production from last season as well as their entire goalkeeping corps.Â
NEW CREW
Among the talented Trojan youth movement, Vavic taps redshirt freshmen Luke Wyatt, Chas Hornecker and Luka Karaman and true freshmen Marko Vavic and Christian Hockenbury as the brightest stars who are seeing the benefits of their hard work and skills developed in the run-up to this 2017 campaign. At 6-foot-6 and with U.S. National Team experience, Vavic stands to be a quick and powerful fit into his father's gameplan. Marko is the third of head coach Jovan Vavic's children to cap up at USC, following in the footsteps of older brother Nikola and sister Monica, who won a combined five NCAA Championships as Trojans.
OPENING DAY
Twenty-one Trojans got on the scoresheets in USC's season-opening action at the UCLA Mini Invitational. Fifteen Trojans logged goals in each game as USC posted a 27-3 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps followed by a 24-3 win over Pomona-Pitzer. Along the way, five Trojans — Marko Vavic, Troy Furniss, Christian Emerson, Christian Hockenbury and Chas Hornecker — registered their first career goals at USC. Â
TROJAN TRAVELS
In July, the Trojans took a trip through international waters, soaking up some sun while splashing down in seas, pools and rivers across France, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. The Trojans set up camp in Nice (France), Recco (Italy), Split (Croatia) and Herceg Novi (Montenegro) while scrimmaging local teams and training for the upcoming 2017 season back in the USA. That European adventure brought the entire USC squad together as a team, offering up invaluable opportunities to gel in the water and out. In fact, the last three USC teams to take a similar summer training trip to Europe came back to the USA and won the national championship that same year. It's a theme that bodes well for the 2017 Trojans, who boast a senior class that is 13 Trojans strong and who have 11 redshirt freshmen and newcomers lined up for their first official action this season.
AND NOW, THIS
Now in his 23rd year at the helm of the USC water polo program, Jovan Vavic has guided the Trojans to the NCAA title match every season for the past 12 years. He's captured seven championships during that stretch. Last season, USC manufactured a 24-2 overall record, losing just one road game during the regular season, winning the MPSF Championship and then falling in a frustrating NCAA final that went to overtime in its opponent's home pool. This year, the Trojans are lined up as host of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, set for Dec. 2-3 at USC's own Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The last time the Trojans hosted the national championship, they capped it off by hoisting the 2012 championship trophy. This year, USC aims to once again successfully defend the Trojans' home waters while adding a 10th NCAA trophy to the men's collection of championships.Â
MOUNTAIN PACIFIC INVITATIONAL RECAP
USC scored the first seven goals to keep the Trojans in the driver's seat in the first game of the day at the 2017 Mountain Pacific Invitational at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Twelve Trojans scored in the win, while three USC goalies logged time in the cage to help notch an 18-9 win over San José State. The next day, USC shrugged off a three-goal deficit in the quarterfinals and a two-goal hole in the semis to claim two tight comeback wins. The Trojans had to get down to business for a fourth-quarter comeback to beat No. 10 UC Irvine 10-9 in the morning's quarterfinals. That set up a rematch with No. 3 Stanford in the evening's semifinals, where USC showed it still had some fight left to make a late move to beat the Cardinal 11-10. The Anteaters were up 9-6 on the Trojans entering the final eight minutes of regulation. After McQuin Baron settled in a made a key power play save, Blake Edwards earned a 5-meter penalty shot that Matteo Morelli promptly deposited into the back of the net to make it 9-7 UC Irvine with 4:49 to go. Marko Vavic would force an Anteater turnover next, and Edwards took it back the other way for the finishing touch to get USC within one. Another Baron save keyed another USC attack. Morelli found Vavic for the searing strike that equalized the game for the first time since the 3:44 mark of the first period. After a Lachlan Edwards field block squashed UC Irvine's next offensive series, Matt Maier unleashed an incredible nearside score to lift USC ahead 10-9 with 2:30 to go. USC's defense would step up for the rest, and the Trojans averted a dire situation to claim the comeback victory and advance to the evening's semifinals. USC gripped a 3-1 lead in the first period of play, but would fall behind 8-7 entering the fourth. On a 6-on-5, Morelli found Thomas Dunstan for the rocket that leveled it at 8-8 early in the fourth. A takeaway from Dunstan later helped get USC back on the attack, and it was Lachlan Edwards who finally got his just reward for earning countless ejections from his 2-meter spot. On this 6-on-5, Vavic hit Edwards for a booming dunk at the post to nudge USC ahead 9-8 with 5:09 on the clock. Stanford was clearly not going away, however, and the Cardinal scored off the foul next to snarl up the score once more. Again, a convincing USC 6-on-5 did the trick for the Trojans, who had Morelli set up another teammate for the go-ahead blast. Blake Edwards delivered this one, netting his second goal of the game and a 10-9 USC lead with 3:05 to go. Stanford would fire off another equalizer not 20 seconds later, and although the next USC power play would be stopped by Stanford goalie Drew Holland, Morelli would take matters in his own hands in the final minute. The Italian let loose a laser that put USC on top 11-10 with 28 ticks to go. Baron would come up big with a late save, and USC was able to hang on for the crucial comeback victory. Down by three goals with 4:13 left in Sunday's title match vs. UCLA, USC dug deep to carve the deficit down to one with 1:47 on the clock. Dunstan earned a power play for his Trojans, and Morelli served up his seventh assist of the tournament in finding Stein for a ripper that made it 12-10 at 3:07. After turning away the Bruins, USC got back on the attack, with Blake Edwards finding the hot-handed Stein for a sizzling skip that cut it to 12-11. Edwards would come up with a steal next, and USC called timeout with 1:20 to go. The referee's whistle would turn the ball back to the Bruins soon after, however, but Vavic was able to come up with a steal with 37 seconds left. Lachlan Edwards let loose a brilliant backhand, but it slammed the post, and USC's next try to equalize was off the mark. That left the ball in UCLA's hands for the final possession, and the Bruins opted to pad its lead with a last-second strike that finished things as a 13-11 UCLA win for USC's first loss of 2017.
Â
The No. 1 Trojans are back in action this week, set up to host No. 6 UC Irvine in a nonconference clash. USC (18-1) will square off against the Anteaters (10-6) at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 21) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
RANKINGS
USC started its 2017 journey holding strong at No. 2 in the preseason national rankings. The Trojans wrapped 2016 at No. 2 in the land after reaching the NCAA final for the 12th consecutive season. After standing at No. 2 for the first five weeks of 2017 competition, USC climbed to No. 1 in the nation on Oct. 4. The Trojans were last ranked No. 1 last November entering the 2016 MPSF and NCAA tournaments. This week, USC remains the top-ranked team in the national poll.
SCOUTING UCI
The No. 6 Anteaters are 10-6 overall after a 18-8 loss to Cal last week. Lovre Milos leads UCI in scoring with 50 goals, while goalie Matej Matejevic has made 188 saves. USC is 78-23 all-time against UC Irvine with wins in the past 30 meetings, including a 10-9 come-from-behind win last month at the Mountain Pacific Invitational. Last year, USC defeated the Anteaters 14-3 at the Triton Invitational and won 20-4 in Irvine.
LAST ACTION
USC had a break from official competition last week as the Trojans hosted Alumni Day on Oct. 14 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The previous week, USC had tallied two key wins, fending off a stubborn Long Beach State to notch an 11-9 victory in USC's first overtime game of the year, then hitting the road to post a 6-3 win at UC Santa Barbara. Against the 49ers on Oct. 5, LBSU had erased a three-goal USC lead to equalize late in regulation and force overtime. There, the Trojans regrouped with clutch scores and big saves from goalie McQuin Baron — who collected 18 overall — to hold off the 49ers for the home win. That tally bumped the senior — already USC's record-holder for career saves — up to stand as the No. 2 all-time saves leader in MPSF history. USC never trailed in the game, but had to fight off three equalizers by Long Beach State in the first three periods. In the final minute of the third period, Grant Stein found Marin Dasic for a rocket and another USC advantage, up 6-5 entering the fourth frame. There, USC made it a three-goal surge in following up Dasic's second goal with a laser from Blake Edwards to cap off a power play, then a sweeping power move from Lachlan Edwards off a feed from Thomas Dunstan. That had USC looking to be in the driver's seat with an 8-5 lead with 4:19 left in regulation. But Long Beach State was far from done. Keegan Wicken delivered his fourth and fifth goals of the game for the 49ers during a three-goal rally. His fifth came on a skipper with 1:34 on the clock, snarling the match at 8-8. Neither team would break through in the final stretch, bringing up overtime for the first time for the Trojans this season. Baron hauled in a huge save against an early LBSU power play to kick off the first OT frame. At the other end, Vavic earned a 6-on-5 for the Trojans, with Matteo Morelli finding Maier for his second score of the day to make it a 9-8 USC lead with just four seconds left. To start up the second OT period, Blake Edwards nabbed a steal and Vavic wound up walking the ball in and unleashing a ripper to the low corner to take the Trojans ahead 10-8 with 1:22 on the clock. LBSU fired right back, scoring just seven seconds later to make it a one-goal margin, but USC's defense proved up to the task. Baron put up a stop that got USC the ball back with 26 ticks to go. As the clock wound down, Stein let fly one last shot before the buzzer to secure the win as an 11-9 final for the Trojans. Two days later in Santa Barbara, USC piled up the first four goals of the game and then leaned on some stubborn defense to pin up a 6-4 road win. All of USC's scoring came from the hands of Trojan seniors, while senior goalie McQuin Baron amassed 14 saves at the other end. The day's action opened with a sizzling backhand blast from Lachlan Edwards off a setup from Marko Vavic. Next, it was Matteo Morelli who rifled in the score to make it a 2-0 USC lead by the close of the first period. In the second, James Walters pumped up the USC lead to 3-0 before a nice passing series saw Thomas Dunstan hit Blake Edwards on the post to lift the Trojans to a 4-0 advantage. The Gauchos broke their silence with a 6-on-5 goal on their next possession, but Blake Edwards would punch up his second goal of the frame to tug the Trojans ahead 5-1. That margin would hold not only through to halftime, but through the next full period of play as teams entered a defensive stalemate in the third. McQuin Baron would loom large in the cage early in the fourth with a series of saves to squash a UCSB power play, and the USC converted one of its own with the advantage drawn by Mihajlo Milicevic and finished off by Lachlan Edwards for a 6-1 USC lead with 5:16 left to play. Will Rubshlager would check in to the cage with 2:23 to go, with UCSB managing a goal to make it 6-2. Baron would get called back in to face a Gaucho power play in the final minute, and UCSB was able to convert to wrap the game as a 6-3 USC victory.
RECORD-BREAKING BARON
On Sept. 16 in USC's first-ever meeting with MIT, senior goalie McQuin Baron broke USC's all-time career saves record with his fifth save of the game. That notched Baron's 856th save to edge out previous leader Joel Dennerley, who had set the USC record during his senior season on Sept. 18, 2011 — almost exactly six years earlier. Baron already held the USC record for single-season saves, set his freshman year with 288 saves collected in 2014. Now with 962 career saves to his name, Baron looks to bulk up his numbers further as the 2016 Cutino Award winner and Olympian continues to man the cage for the Trojans and keep his team in pursuit of a NCAA championship.Â
CLIMB ON
While McQuin Baron tops the saves leaderboard at USC with his 962 career stops, a set of All-American senior sharpshooters are charging up the scoring charts. Blake Edwards has climbed to No. 12 all-time with 143 career goals, closely followed by Grant Stein at No. 16 with 135. Just steps behind are Matteo Morelli at No. 19 with 131 goals and Lachlan Edwards at No. 20 in USC history with 130. Meanwhile, on the MPSF career charts, Baron is now locked into the No. 2 spot all-time, hot on the trail of Pacific's Alex Malkis, who holds the MPSF record with 1,057 career saves from 2010-13.
ALL-AMERICAN EDGE
With eight All-Americans back in the water for 2017, USC head coach Jovan Vavic has more All-American talent than he has room for in his starting lineup. In that core group of decorated All-Americans, seven are seniors. Two of them are repeat team captains — James Walters and returning top scorer Blake Edwards — both two-time All-Americans. One is Cutino Award winner McQuin Baron, who will soon be taking over as USC's all-time saves leader. Three more Trojan All-Americans — Matteo Morelli, Lachlan Edwards and Grant Stein — accumulated over 100 combined goals last year. The seventh — standing out as the brains of the group — is NCAA Elite 90 Award winner Mihajlo Milicevic, who stars as a stingy defender for the Trojan cause. The only first-time All-American in the crew is on his way in to his second season at USC, as sophomore Matt Maier returns to the pool as the 2016 MPSF Newcomer of the Year.Â
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 19 games deep into 2017, the Trojans have displayed widespread scoring ability. Twenty-one Trojans scored on USC's first day of action — a doubleheader at the UCLA Mini Invitational. Since then, senior Blake Edwards stands as the most prolific Trojan to date with 33 goals, followed by freshman Marko Vavic with 30 and senior Grant Stein with 25. Defensively, three goalies have capped up in the cage. McQuin Baron has appeared in 18 games, with double-digit saves eight games. He's averaging 10.2 saves and 5.2 goals-against per game. Will Rubschlager and Simon Wu have shared time in backup roles to Baron, combining for 44 saves. In all, USC has outscored opponents 296-103. As a team, USC ranks No. 1 in the MPSF in defense (5.42 gapg) and in offense (15.89 gpg).
DEPTH CHARGE
As valuable as USC's sizeable senior class is, Jovan Vavic has his eyes on a few other returners as linchpins in this season's efforts. Now sophomores, Olympian Thomas Dunstan, MPSF Newcomer of the Year Matt Maier and FINA Junior World Championship silver medalist Marin Dasic are even more prepared to be impact players for the Trojans. Junior Zach D'Sa and redshirt sophomore Daniel Leong both had breakout seasons last year and are primed for major playing time in 2017. Redshirt junior Tim Leong has also maneuvered his way into an increased role, while redshirt sophomore Sam Slobodien, too, made major strides last season and during the summer, lining himself up for extra duty at the two-meter mark along with fellow centers Maier, James Walters and Lachlan Edwards. In all, the Trojans return 90 percent of their scoring production from last season as well as their entire goalkeeping corps.Â
NEW CREW
Among the talented Trojan youth movement, Vavic taps redshirt freshmen Luke Wyatt, Chas Hornecker and Luka Karaman and true freshmen Marko Vavic and Christian Hockenbury as the brightest stars who are seeing the benefits of their hard work and skills developed in the run-up to this 2017 campaign. At 6-foot-6 and with U.S. National Team experience, Vavic stands to be a quick and powerful fit into his father's gameplan. Marko is the third of head coach Jovan Vavic's children to cap up at USC, following in the footsteps of older brother Nikola and sister Monica, who won a combined five NCAA Championships as Trojans.
OPENING DAY
Twenty-one Trojans got on the scoresheets in USC's season-opening action at the UCLA Mini Invitational. Fifteen Trojans logged goals in each game as USC posted a 27-3 win over Claremont-Mudd-Scripps followed by a 24-3 win over Pomona-Pitzer. Along the way, five Trojans — Marko Vavic, Troy Furniss, Christian Emerson, Christian Hockenbury and Chas Hornecker — registered their first career goals at USC. Â
TROJAN TRAVELS
In July, the Trojans took a trip through international waters, soaking up some sun while splashing down in seas, pools and rivers across France, Italy, Croatia and Montenegro. The Trojans set up camp in Nice (France), Recco (Italy), Split (Croatia) and Herceg Novi (Montenegro) while scrimmaging local teams and training for the upcoming 2017 season back in the USA. That European adventure brought the entire USC squad together as a team, offering up invaluable opportunities to gel in the water and out. In fact, the last three USC teams to take a similar summer training trip to Europe came back to the USA and won the national championship that same year. It's a theme that bodes well for the 2017 Trojans, who boast a senior class that is 13 Trojans strong and who have 11 redshirt freshmen and newcomers lined up for their first official action this season.
AND NOW, THIS
Now in his 23rd year at the helm of the USC water polo program, Jovan Vavic has guided the Trojans to the NCAA title match every season for the past 12 years. He's captured seven championships during that stretch. Last season, USC manufactured a 24-2 overall record, losing just one road game during the regular season, winning the MPSF Championship and then falling in a frustrating NCAA final that went to overtime in its opponent's home pool. This year, the Trojans are lined up as host of the 2017 NCAA Tournament, set for Dec. 2-3 at USC's own Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The last time the Trojans hosted the national championship, they capped it off by hoisting the 2012 championship trophy. This year, USC aims to once again successfully defend the Trojans' home waters while adding a 10th NCAA trophy to the men's collection of championships.Â
MOUNTAIN PACIFIC INVITATIONAL RECAP
USC scored the first seven goals to keep the Trojans in the driver's seat in the first game of the day at the 2017 Mountain Pacific Invitational at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Twelve Trojans scored in the win, while three USC goalies logged time in the cage to help notch an 18-9 win over San José State. The next day, USC shrugged off a three-goal deficit in the quarterfinals and a two-goal hole in the semis to claim two tight comeback wins. The Trojans had to get down to business for a fourth-quarter comeback to beat No. 10 UC Irvine 10-9 in the morning's quarterfinals. That set up a rematch with No. 3 Stanford in the evening's semifinals, where USC showed it still had some fight left to make a late move to beat the Cardinal 11-10. The Anteaters were up 9-6 on the Trojans entering the final eight minutes of regulation. After McQuin Baron settled in a made a key power play save, Blake Edwards earned a 5-meter penalty shot that Matteo Morelli promptly deposited into the back of the net to make it 9-7 UC Irvine with 4:49 to go. Marko Vavic would force an Anteater turnover next, and Edwards took it back the other way for the finishing touch to get USC within one. Another Baron save keyed another USC attack. Morelli found Vavic for the searing strike that equalized the game for the first time since the 3:44 mark of the first period. After a Lachlan Edwards field block squashed UC Irvine's next offensive series, Matt Maier unleashed an incredible nearside score to lift USC ahead 10-9 with 2:30 to go. USC's defense would step up for the rest, and the Trojans averted a dire situation to claim the comeback victory and advance to the evening's semifinals. USC gripped a 3-1 lead in the first period of play, but would fall behind 8-7 entering the fourth. On a 6-on-5, Morelli found Thomas Dunstan for the rocket that leveled it at 8-8 early in the fourth. A takeaway from Dunstan later helped get USC back on the attack, and it was Lachlan Edwards who finally got his just reward for earning countless ejections from his 2-meter spot. On this 6-on-5, Vavic hit Edwards for a booming dunk at the post to nudge USC ahead 9-8 with 5:09 on the clock. Stanford was clearly not going away, however, and the Cardinal scored off the foul next to snarl up the score once more. Again, a convincing USC 6-on-5 did the trick for the Trojans, who had Morelli set up another teammate for the go-ahead blast. Blake Edwards delivered this one, netting his second goal of the game and a 10-9 USC lead with 3:05 to go. Stanford would fire off another equalizer not 20 seconds later, and although the next USC power play would be stopped by Stanford goalie Drew Holland, Morelli would take matters in his own hands in the final minute. The Italian let loose a laser that put USC on top 11-10 with 28 ticks to go. Baron would come up big with a late save, and USC was able to hang on for the crucial comeback victory. Down by three goals with 4:13 left in Sunday's title match vs. UCLA, USC dug deep to carve the deficit down to one with 1:47 on the clock. Dunstan earned a power play for his Trojans, and Morelli served up his seventh assist of the tournament in finding Stein for a ripper that made it 12-10 at 3:07. After turning away the Bruins, USC got back on the attack, with Blake Edwards finding the hot-handed Stein for a sizzling skip that cut it to 12-11. Edwards would come up with a steal next, and USC called timeout with 1:20 to go. The referee's whistle would turn the ball back to the Bruins soon after, however, but Vavic was able to come up with a steal with 37 seconds left. Lachlan Edwards let loose a brilliant backhand, but it slammed the post, and USC's next try to equalize was off the mark. That left the ball in UCLA's hands for the final possession, and the Bruins opted to pad its lead with a last-second strike that finished things as a 13-11 UCLA win for USC's first loss of 2017.
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