Saturday, April 21
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Photo by: Tamar Martinez
No. 1 USC Takes Top Spot, Sets Up To Host No. 4 UCLA On Saturday
April 18, 2018 | Women's Water Polo, Features
Trojans clash with the Bruins on USC's Senior Day at Uytengsu Aquatics Center for a televised MPSF matchup to wrap the regular season.
#1 USCÂ (20-1, 4-0)Â vs. #4 UCLAÂ (21-4, 2-2)
Saturday, April 21 | 7 p.m. Â | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record: USC trails 27-50 (W1)
TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles (PbP: Kevin Danna | Analyst: Adam Krikorian)
THIS WEEK
USC rides a 10-game win streak back into home waters this week as the top-ranked Trojans take on crosstown rival UCLA in their regular-season finale. No. 1 USC (20-1, 4-0 MPSF) will host the No. 4 Bruins (21-4, 2-2) in  7 p.m. clash on Saturday (April 21) at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The rivalry match will be televised live on Pac-12 Los Angeles with Kevin Danna and Adam Krikorian on the call.
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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 bounced between No. 2 and No. 3 as the season progressed, and this week (as of April 18) the Trojans have taken over as the No. 1 team in the nation.
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TROJANS TOPS FOR MPSF TOURNEY
USC's 4-0 record in MPSF regular-season action — which includes wins over Stanford and Cal — has secured the Trojans as the top seed for the coming MPSF Tournament. USC will have a bye for the first round and will await its opponent for a 12:45 p.m. semifinal on April 28. The championship game is set for 12:45 p.m. on April 29, preceded by an 11 a.m. third-place game. No. 2 seed Cal is the host of this year's tourney, running April 27-28 at Spieker Aquatics Complex in Berkeley.
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SCOUTING UCLA
The No. 4 Bruins are 21-4 overall and 2-2 in MPSF play after an 8-5 loss to Stanford in their most recent competition. Maddie Musselman leads UCLA in scoring with 45 goals, while goalie Carlee Kapana is averaging 9.83 saves and 5.24 goals-against per game. In a series dating back to 1995, USC is 27-50 all-time against the Bruins after posting a 6-4 win over UCLA earlier this season in the third-place game of the Barbara Kalbus Invitational in Irvine. Last season, USC and UCLA split games, with the Trojans claiming a 10-9 win in the semifinals of the 2017 Barbara Kalbus Invite and UCLA winning 11-7 in the MPSF regular-season game in Westwood.
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LAST WEEK
USC locked up the top seed for the coming MPSF Tournament with a victorious road trip last week. The Trojans turned heads in avenging their only loss of the year with a decisive 8-5 win at No. 1 Stanford. That got USC a leg up in the MPSF standings, and then a 12-1 win over No. 21 San José State ensured that the Trojans would take the No. 1 seed into the MPSF tourney. In the crucial contest against the Cardinal, the Trojans stormed to an early lead and would stave off Stanford, who cut it to a one-goal game in the third before USC delivered three straight goals to surge back into control. Senior Hayley McKelvey and freshman Paige Hauschild would lead the scoring charge with three goals apiece for the Trojan cause, while junior goalie Amanda Longan locked up a whopping 16 saves to help preserve the key MPSF win. Stanford had plenty of opportunities to chip away at USC's early 3-0 lead — built on goals from Hauschild, McKelvey and Denise Mammolito. The Cardinal got up on 10 power play advantages in the game, but the Trojans turned away eight of those, while Stanford also missed a 5-meter penalty opportunity in the fourth quarter. USC was already up 8-4 by the time Stanford had that penalty chance, which had followed back-to-back Stanford 6-on-5s that USC was able to squash. Against the No. 21 Spartans in Saratoga, Calif., the next day, senior Hayley McKelvey's 100th career goal lit the fuse on that one, as the Trojans shut out SJSU through the first three periods of play en route to the victory. Senior Brianna Daboub would deliver a hat trick to lead USC, while senior goalie Victória Chamorro allowed just one goal while racking up nine saves in the cage. For their efforts in the winning road trip, Longan would be named MPSF Player of the Week and Hauschild was selected MPSF Newcomer of the Week.
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HEY HEY IT'S SENIOR DAY
This Saturday, USC will honor its 2018 senior class, which includes four members of the Trojans' 2016 NCAA Championship team. Olympian and goalie Victória Chamorro, captain Brianna Daboub, Annika Jensen and Canadian National Teamer Hayley McKelvey have each put in four years of work for the Trojans, who are now ranked No. 1 in the nation for the fourth season with that foursome in the mix. Senior goalie Nicola Gonzales has seen her first action as a Trojan this year, rounding out a seasoned core of senior leaders. At Saturday's pregame Senior Day ceremony, USC also will recognize its three hard-working members of the Trojan roster — Emma Cornwell, Kaitlin Leimbach and Caitlin Stuewe — who have not seen game action as Trojans but who have been devoted members of the program for four years now.Â
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NCAA ACTION COMES TO TROY
The National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championships splash down at USC's Uytengsu Aquatics Center this year as the Trojans look to make their 15th consecutive NCAA appearance. The 10-team field, which includes seven automatic qualifiers from conference championships and three at-large berths, will be announced on April 30. Six teams qualify directly to the championship, and the remaining four teams will compete in Opening Round games on May 5 or 8 to decide the last two championship berths. The final eight-team field will compete at USC, with quarterfinal games set for May 11, semifinals on May 12 and the NCAA Championship game set for 3 p.m. on May 13. For more information and for all-session tickets for the May 11-13 action, visit the NCAA Tournament Central page.
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PAIGE STICKS SEVEN
USC freshman Paige Hauschild claimed her seventh MPSF Newcomer of the Week award on April 16 following another week of powerful play for the Trojan cause. Hauschild matches the conference record with her seven Newcomer selections, thanks to an MPSF-record four consecutive picks from March 13-April 3. USC's top scorer this season with 55 goals to date, Hauschild has scored in all but one game in her first year as a Trojan, recording 16 multiple-goal games after her career-high seven goals scored last week. That makes Hauschild the sixth USC true freshman to score at least 50 goals in her first season as a Trojan and gives her the fifth most single-season goals by a USC true freshman. Additionally, her 2.62 goals per game is the best in the MPSF.
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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 122 to rank No. 19 all-time in scoring at USC. Fellow senior Hayley McKelvey is also on the climb, having cracked the 100-goal barrier last weekend to now hold 101. On the defensive end, two USC goalies are on the rise on the all-time saves ladder. Junior Amanda Longan is now just 14 saves away from locking up with Olympian and NCAA champ Tumua Anae at the No. 3 spot as Longan currently sits at No. 4 with 524 career saves. Not far behind is senior Victória Chamorro, who ranks No. 5 all-time with 448 career saves.
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BY THE NUMBERS
Now 21 games in to 2018, USC has outscored opponents 267-89. Freshman Paige Hauschild is the Trojans' top scorer to date with 55 goals, giving her an MPSF-best 2.62 goals per game average. Behind her on the 2018 scoresheet sits sophomore Denise Mammolito with 33 goals to date, followed by senior Brianna Daboub with 31 and sophomore Maud Megens with 28. Sophomore Kelsey McIntosh is next with 23, while seniors Hayley McKelvey and Annika Jensen have 21 each. Jensen's count marks a new single-season best for the senior. On the defensive end, three goalies have checked into the cage to date. Junior Amanda Longan has logged minutes in 16 games, averaging 11.29 saves and 4.79 goals-against per game. She also boasts back-to-back complete-game shutouts in the cage. Senior goalie Victória Chamorro has appeared in 10 games and averages 9.48 saves and 2.52 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 16 different games while accumulating a grand total of 32 shutout periods this season so far. Overall, USC is averaging 12.71 goals per game on the offensive end and is allowing just 4.24 goals-against per game defensively. Those marks are also best in the MPSF to date.
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EVEN BETTER WITH AGE
With a full season under their belts, USC's sophomore class is stepping up big in their second year of action as Trojans. Denise Mammolito has already eclipsed her true-freshman scoring total of 28 goals, standing as USC's second leading scorer this season with 33 goals to date. Kelsey McIntosh also has beaten out her freshman year total of 20 goals, gripping 23 this season to date. Fellow sophomore Maud Megens, meanwhile, is back to her scoring savvy after missing 10 games with injury. She was USC's second leading scorer with 58 goals as a true freshman, and she's pumped in 28 goals in just 11 appearances so far this year, highlighted by a career-high seven goals vs. Pacific. Mammolito, McIntosh and Megens have combined for 84 goals to date — almost a third of USC's total offensive output.
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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. Ranked No. 2 in the land as the 2018 season got underway, USC has trained 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 has been a full-time 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.
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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 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 would 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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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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