Friday, November 17
Stanford, CA
10:00 AM
USC
17
vs
2
Penn State-Behrend
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
UT
/ Men's Water Polo
Photo by: Hali Helfgott
Trojans Take Down Top-Seeded Stanford To Reach MPSF Final
November 17, 2017 | Men's Water Polo, Features
USC beats the Cardinal 10-5 in a crucial game in Palo Alto.
PALO ALTO, CALIF. — The No. 4 seeded USC men's water polo team made a statement and a power move into the MPSF title match with two wins on day one of the MPSF Tournament in Palo Alto today, following up a 17-2 win over Penn State Behrend with a crucial 10-5 victory over top-seeded host Stanford. Now 24-3 overall on the year, the Trojans will turn to face No. 3 seed UCLA in a 1 p.m. championship bout on Sunday (Nov. 19) at Avery Aquatic Center in Palo Alto.
The Trojans kicked off their day's work with a dominant performance against No. 5 seed Penn State Behrend this morning, drumming up a 3-0 lead out of the gates before surrendering a goal to the Bears, which sparked a 14-goal scoring surge. Along the way, Sam Slobodien popped in four goals for the Trojan cause, while Marin Dasic, Bryce Hoerman and Lachlan Edwards plugged in a pair apiece as USC gripped a 17-1 lead entering the final frame. There, PSB got one last goal to go, wrapping things as a 17-2 USC final victory. USC goalies McQuin Baron and Will Rubschlager shared time in the cage, allowing a goal apiece while combining for nine total saves.
With that victory providing a confidence boost for the Trojans, USC would turn to square off against top-seeded host Stanford in a must-win game to keep hopes alive for an NCAA berth. Once again, USC opened up a 3-0 lead on its opponent, with Marko Vavic kicking off the game before Mihajlo Milicevic going back-to-back to bust open that 3-0 advantage for the Trojans. Stanford would strike before the end of the frame to make it 3-1, then started the second with a goal to cut USC's lead down to one. That's where Zach D'Sa would step in and pad it back to two, up 4-2 on the Cardinal. Again, Stanford fired back and had it a one-goal margin again at 4-3. Again, D'Sa did the dirty work and fired up another clutch score to make it 5-3 Trojans. Then Marin Dasic got in on the action, and the Trojans took a 6-3 lead late in the half.
That score would end up standing up at halftime, and USC would bust out of the break on a mission. Vavic delivered again, tugging the Trojans ahead 7-3 early in the third. Later, after some big stops from goalie McQuin Baron, it was Matteo Morelli who ripped in a big one for USC, taking his squad out to an 8-3 advantage by the close of the third.
In the fourth, Lachlan Edwards tore off a booming backhand to plunge USC ahead 9-3. Baron would put a stop to yet another Stanford attack, and then it was Slobodien who earned a power play for the Trojans. Lazar Pasuljevic would find Vavic for his third goal of the game, and USC was in solid position, up 10-3 on the Cardinal with just 3 minutes to go. Stanford managed two goals in the final stretch, but it wasn't near enough to throw the Trojans off course.
USC now gets its third look at UCLA this season, aiming to break the cycle and beat the Bruins in order to claim the Trojans' second straight MPSF Tournament title. The 1 p.m. championship bout on Sunday (Nov. 19) will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
2017 MPSF TOURNAMENT
[4] USC 17, [5] Penn State Behrend 2
Nov. 17, 2017 | Avery Aquatic Center (Palo Alto, Calif.)
USC 7 - 9 - 1 - 0 = 17
PSB 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 = 2
SCORING:
USC — Sam Slobodien 4, Marin Dasic 2, Bryce Hoerman 2, Lachlan Edwards 2, Marko Vavic, Zach D'Sa, Matt Maier, James Walters, Blake Edwards, Matteo Morelli, Lazar Pasuljevic.
PSB — Kinzler, Garcia.
SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 5 [1st half], Will Rubschlager (USC) 4 [2nd half], Olimski (PSB) 9.
[4] USC 10, [1] Stanford 5
Nov. 17, 2017 | Avery Aquatic Center (Palo Alto, Calif.)
USC 3 - 3 - 2 - 2 = 10
STAN 1 - 2 - 0 - 2 = 5
SCORING:
USC — Marko Vavic 3, Mihajlo Milicevic 2, Zach D'Sa 2, Marin Dasic, Matteo Morelli, Lachlan Edwards.
STAN — Cody Smith, Ben Hallock, Sam Pfeil, Connor Stapleton, Reid Chase.
SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 16, Drew Holland (STAN) 13.
The Trojans kicked off their day's work with a dominant performance against No. 5 seed Penn State Behrend this morning, drumming up a 3-0 lead out of the gates before surrendering a goal to the Bears, which sparked a 14-goal scoring surge. Along the way, Sam Slobodien popped in four goals for the Trojan cause, while Marin Dasic, Bryce Hoerman and Lachlan Edwards plugged in a pair apiece as USC gripped a 17-1 lead entering the final frame. There, PSB got one last goal to go, wrapping things as a 17-2 USC final victory. USC goalies McQuin Baron and Will Rubschlager shared time in the cage, allowing a goal apiece while combining for nine total saves.
With that victory providing a confidence boost for the Trojans, USC would turn to square off against top-seeded host Stanford in a must-win game to keep hopes alive for an NCAA berth. Once again, USC opened up a 3-0 lead on its opponent, with Marko Vavic kicking off the game before Mihajlo Milicevic going back-to-back to bust open that 3-0 advantage for the Trojans. Stanford would strike before the end of the frame to make it 3-1, then started the second with a goal to cut USC's lead down to one. That's where Zach D'Sa would step in and pad it back to two, up 4-2 on the Cardinal. Again, Stanford fired back and had it a one-goal margin again at 4-3. Again, D'Sa did the dirty work and fired up another clutch score to make it 5-3 Trojans. Then Marin Dasic got in on the action, and the Trojans took a 6-3 lead late in the half.
That score would end up standing up at halftime, and USC would bust out of the break on a mission. Vavic delivered again, tugging the Trojans ahead 7-3 early in the third. Later, after some big stops from goalie McQuin Baron, it was Matteo Morelli who ripped in a big one for USC, taking his squad out to an 8-3 advantage by the close of the third.
In the fourth, Lachlan Edwards tore off a booming backhand to plunge USC ahead 9-3. Baron would put a stop to yet another Stanford attack, and then it was Slobodien who earned a power play for the Trojans. Lazar Pasuljevic would find Vavic for his third goal of the game, and USC was in solid position, up 10-3 on the Cardinal with just 3 minutes to go. Stanford managed two goals in the final stretch, but it wasn't near enough to throw the Trojans off course.
USC now gets its third look at UCLA this season, aiming to break the cycle and beat the Bruins in order to claim the Trojans' second straight MPSF Tournament title. The 1 p.m. championship bout on Sunday (Nov. 19) will be televised on Pac-12 Networks.
2017 MPSF TOURNAMENT
[4] USC 17, [5] Penn State Behrend 2
Nov. 17, 2017 | Avery Aquatic Center (Palo Alto, Calif.)
USC 7 - 9 - 1 - 0 = 17
PSB 1 - 0 - 0 - 1 = 2
SCORING:
USC — Sam Slobodien 4, Marin Dasic 2, Bryce Hoerman 2, Lachlan Edwards 2, Marko Vavic, Zach D'Sa, Matt Maier, James Walters, Blake Edwards, Matteo Morelli, Lazar Pasuljevic.
PSB — Kinzler, Garcia.
SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 5 [1st half], Will Rubschlager (USC) 4 [2nd half], Olimski (PSB) 9.
[4] USC 10, [1] Stanford 5
Nov. 17, 2017 | Avery Aquatic Center (Palo Alto, Calif.)
USC 3 - 3 - 2 - 2 = 10
STAN 1 - 2 - 0 - 2 = 5
SCORING:
USC — Marko Vavic 3, Mihajlo Milicevic 2, Zach D'Sa 2, Marin Dasic, Matteo Morelli, Lachlan Edwards.
STAN — Cody Smith, Ben Hallock, Sam Pfeil, Connor Stapleton, Reid Chase.
SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 16, Drew Holland (STAN) 13.
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