Wednesday, March 7
Los Angeles, CA
5:00 PM
USC
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UC Irvine
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Photo by: John McGillen
No. 3 USC Has Home Openers On Tap This Week At Uytengsu
March 06, 2018 | Women's Water Polo, Features
Trojans host No. 7 UC Irvine on Wednesday and No. 5 Hawai'i on Thursday in USC's first official action in home waters.
THIS WEEK
USC finally hits home waters this week, with back-to-back games set for Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans' home opener has No. 3 USC (10-1) taking on No. 7 UC Irvine (4-9) at 5 p.m. on Wednesday (March 7). The very next day, the Trojans will square off against No. 5 Hawai'i (12-2) at 5 p.m. on Thursday (March 8).
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USC IN THE RANKINGS
USC kicked off 2018 ranked No. 2 in the national preseason poll and tied for third in the MPSF preseason poll. USC has bounced between No. 2 and No. 3 in recent weeks, and is currently ranked No. 3 the nation in the latest national poll (released March 7).
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LAST ACTION
USC's last competition had the Trojans in Irvine looking to defend its 2017 title at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. USC opened up with a solid 17-1 win over San José State in its first game of group play. The next morning, USC pulled out a tight 8-6 win by making a late move to break a 5-5 tie and lean back on its defense to claim the victory over No. 6 ASU and secure a semifinal spot. Up against No. 2 Cal in the semis, USC's defense reigned supreme again. Goalie Amanda Longan locked in a career-high 18 saves, while Annika Jensen delivered her second hat trick of the day to get the Trojans back to the title match. On Sunday, USC's competitive Saturday competition caught up with the Trojans, and No. 1 Stanford was able to build a lead and stymie USC in the title match with a final 9-3 victory over the defending champs as the Trojans took their first loss of the year.
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SCOUTING UCI
The No. 7Â Anteaters are 4-9 overall after a 12-6 loss to Hawai'i last week. Tara Prentice and Natalie Seidemann are UCI's top scorers with 18 and 17 goals, respectively. Goalies Jenna Phreaner and Morgan Jones have shared time in the cage, backing up a UCI defense that averages 9.7 goals-against per game. USC is 28-3 all-time against the Anteaters after a 7-5 win last month in the semifinals at the Triton Invitational. USC has won the past 28 meetings against UC Irvine.
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SCOUTING HAWAI'I
The No. 5 Rainbow Wahine are 12-2 overall after a 12-6 win over UC Irvine last week. Irene Gonzalez is Hawaii's top scorer with 36 goals to date, while goalie Ymane Hage is averaging 6.7 saves and 5.5 goals-against per game. USC is 43-3 all-time against the Wahine after getting three wins last season. Last year, USC beat Hawai'i 13-8 in Santa Barbara, 12-5 in Irvine and 9-8 in Honolulu. USC has won the past 21 meetings against the Wahine.
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FIVE-TIME TRITON TITLISTS
USC claimed its fifth straight championship at the Triton Invitational by capping off the event with a 6-4 win over rival UCLA in the title match. The Trojans never once trailed during the tournament, opening with a 13-1 win over Sonoma State and a 14-2 win over San Diego State in group play. In the semifinals, USC played a tighter match against UC Irvine, pulling away for a 7-5 win that sent the Trojans to the title match. During that semifinal win, senior captain Brianna Daboub notched her 100th career goal. Up against UCLA in the final, Paige Hauschild opened the scoring for the Trojans on a 6-on-5 finish. UCLA equalized, but junior goalie Amanda Longan made the stop on the Bruins' next try and then Daboub delivered for a 2-1 USC lead. That would do it for the first frame, but USC struck first again in the second. Kelsey McIntosh took the Trojans to a 3-1 lead before Longan roared to back-to-back blocks and then slammed away a UCLA 5-meter penalty try for a huge boost to the Trojan cause. UCLA moved it to a 3-2 margin by the end of the half, then equalized early in the third, only to see Daboub earn a 5-meter penalty that Denise Mammolito hammered home for a 4-3 USC advantage. In the fourth, Daboub zipped in her second of the game to go up 5-3. Next, Hauschild took a feed from Hayley McKelvey to pad out USC's lead to 6-3. The USC defense would shut down the next few UCLA offensive series, although the Bruins would convert with 3:05 to go, making it 6-4. The stalwart Trojan defense did the rest, as USC closed out the game as a 6-4 win that locked up the Trojans' fifth straight Triton Invitational crown. USC's staunch defense was anchored by goalies Victória Chamorro and Amanda Longan. Chamorro had 14 saves vs. Sonoma State and 13 in tehwin over UC Irvine, while Longan made 12 vs. SDSU before adding her 11 vs. the Bruins. Amanda Longan would lock up her first career selection as MPSF Player of the Week for her efforts, while Paige Hauschild claimed her second MPSF Newcomer of the Week award after emerging as USC's top scorer with 12 goals at the Triton Invitational.
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SEASON OPENER
USC stormed out of the gates of the 2018 season in churning out an 18-0 shutout of No. 22 LMU in the first official action of the season at the UCLA Mini Invite. Behind seven saves from junior goalie Amanda Longan, the USC defense turned away 10 Lion power play opportunities to help lock up the shutout win and make it a 1-0 start to the year. Senior Hayley McKelvey drummed up four goals in the first period of play — all 6-on-5 finishes — to set the tone for the Trojan offensive onslaught. Freshman Paige Hauschild should tally her first goal as a Trojan during the first frame, while Kelsey McIntosh delivered her first of two goals on the day and Maud Megens started off on her path to an eventual game-high five goals for the Trojan cause. Up 7-0 after eight minutes of action, USC received two goals from senior captain Brianna Daboub, two more from Megens and the first career goal as a Trojan for freshman Verica Bakoc to lead it 12-0 by halftime. By the final buzzer, sophomore Denise Mammolito had joined the scoresheet, while Hauschild completed her debut hat trick and Megens round out her five-goal outing. After the impressive showing, Megens was named the MPSF Player of the Week, and Hauschild was selected MPSF Newcomer of the Week.Â
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CLIMB ON
As the  2018 season rolls on, two seniors are making moves on the USC career scoring ladder. On Feb. 11, Brianna Daboub broke into the century club, scoring her 100th career goal. Since then, she's upped her career count to 104. Fellow senior Hayley McKelvey is also on the climb, holding 87 career goals to her name with an eye on hitting that century mark at Troy. On the defensive end, two USC goalies are on the rise on the all-time saves ladder. Junior Amanda Longan jumped into the No. 4 all-time slot as she now holds 443 career saves, just ahead of senior Victória Chamorro, who ranks No. 5 all-time with 421 career saves.
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BY THE NUMBERS
Through the first 11 games of 2018, USC has outscored opponents 133-6. Freshman Paige Hauschild is the Trojans' top scorer to date with 27 goals, giving her an MPSF-best 2.45 goals per game average. Behind her on the 2017 scoresheet sits sophomore Denise Mammolito with 17 goals to date, followed by sophomore Kelsey McIntosh at 14 and seniors Brianna Daboub and Annika Jensen gripping 13 apiece. On the defensive end, three goalies have checked into the cage to date. Junior Amanda Longan has logged minutes in seven games, averaging 11.0 saves and 3.71 goals-against per game. She also boasts back-to-back complete-game shutouts in the cage. Senior goalie Victória Chamorro has appeared in four games and averages 9.87 saves and 2.13 goals-against per game. Senior Nicola Gonzales made her first career appearance on Jan. 27, making two saves in one period of work in that USC victory. The Trojan defense has rendered opponents silent in at least one period of play in nine different games while accumulating a grand total of 23 shutout periods this season so far.
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2018 TROJANS AT A GLANCE
Five All-Americans and seven NCAA champions strong, the 2018 USC women's water polo roster has the experience and the skill to lock up another national championship. This year's arsenal of Trojans boasts a daunting blend of veterans and youth — all armed with the talent and savvy to propel USC to the top. Already ranked No. 2 in the land as the 2018 season gets underway, USC trains its focus on that NCAA trophy, which the Trojans last captured in 2016 in an undefeated run through that season. Back in the captains' roles for 2018 are two members of that title-winning team in All-Americans Brianna Daboub and Amanda Longan, who are leading a group of very hungry Women of Troy. Headlining this freshman class is U.S. National Team member Paige Hauschild, who is tabbed as a starter for the Trojans. A set of sophomores — Denise Mammolito, Maud Megens and Kelsey McIntosh are also in that mix, along with savvy seniors Daboub and Hayley McKelvey.Â
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CAGE FIGHTERS
USC boasts a fearsome tagteam in the cage in All-American tandem Victória Chamorro and Amanda Longan. Both compete for their respective national teams — Chamorro as a 2016 Olympian with Brazil and Longan as a gold-medalist with Team USA at the recent 2017 FINA World Championships. The Trojan defense allowed just 4.59 goals per game last season, with both Chamorro and Longan averaging over 10 saves per game in the cage. This year, Longan made some Trojan history in anchoring back-to-back shutout wins over LMU and Cal Baptist. Longan is the only USC goalie to record back-to-back complete-game shutouts.
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BACK ON THE ATTACK
A year's experience for last season's freshmen — Maud Megens, Kelsey McIntosh, Denise Mammolito, Elise Stein and Kaylee Brownsberger —  along with the leadership of 2016 NCAA champion seniors Victória Chamorro, Brianna Daboub, Hayley McKelvey and Annika Jensen and juniors Amanda Longan, Courtney Fahey and Brooke Presten will raise the bar again for the Trojans. As a true freshman, Megens was USC's second leading scorer with 58 goals. Daboub, McKelvey and Mammolito combined for an even 100 goals. Add to that the depth charge that U.S. National Team member Paige Hauschild and her fellow true freshmen bring for 2018, and USC's attack becomes well-rounded and dangerous. USC also has three new internationals in the water to diversify that attack. Canadians Verica Bakoc and Nina Ceklic are in the mix, along with New Zealand product Nadia Pavlovich. U.S. product Randi Reinhardt also stands out as a key addition to USC's rotation for 2018.
LAST SEASON
LAST SEASON
In 2017, the Trojans finished up 29-4 overall with a run to the 2017 NCAA semifinals in USC's 14th consecutive trip to the tourney. USC posted a 4-2 record in MPSF action and went on to claim third in the 2017 MPSF Tournament. The Trojans received a No. 3 seed into the NCAA Tournament, where USC was looking to win back-to-back national championships for the first time in program history. USC would go up against top-seeded Stanford in the semis, coming up just short of a trip to the final with an 11-10 loss. Stephania Haralabidis was USC's top scorer in 2017 with 84 goals. She'd be named a First Team All-American to close out her USC career. Freshman Maud Megens earned Second Team honors, while senior Brigitta Games and sophomore Amanda Longan were Third Team picks, and junior captain Brianna Daboub earned All-America Honorable Mention.•
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