Saturday, September 22
Los Angeles, CA
1:00 PM
USC
11
vs
8
Pacific
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 1 USC Defends Home Waters With 11-8 Comeback Win Over No. 6 Pacific
September 22, 2018 | Men's Water Polo, Features
Trojans score five straight to work back into the lead after trailing by three.
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC men's water polo team showed its resiliency today, rebounding from a three-goal deficit to soundly beat visiting No. 6 Pacific after a five-goal scoring surge got USC on pace toward an 11-8 Trojan victory at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. While freshman goalie Nic Porter set an early career mark for himself with 14 saves in the cage, seven Trojans rattled the back of the net to help lift USC to the comeback win and improve to 12-0 overall on the year.
Pacific pounced early and scored first on a 5-meter penalty shot. Senior Zach D'Sa would level it with a blast less than a minute later, but the Tigers were undeterred. Pacific promptly punched in three straight goals to craft a 4-1 lead on its hosts, and that's where the first period would end. In the second, however, the Trojans got back to business. Jake Ehrhardt opened things with a steal, and soon after it was Matt Maier who hit Sawyer Rhodes for a score that marked the sophomore's first career goal as a Trojan. It also lit the fuse on USC's comeback efforts. Porter made a sweet save at the near post next, and then Marin Dasic set up Maier for a rocket out of set to get USC within one. Another Porter save shut down a Pacific power play, and then Maier sailed a long pass to a countering Jacob Mercep. Mercep fired, and the Trojans and Tigers were even at 4-4 with 3:12 on the clock. Less than a minute later, D'Sa zipped in a laser that was too strong for the Pacific goalie to handle, and that was the go-ahead for the Trojans. But USC wasn't done. After a Rhodes steal, USC got up on a 6-on-5, and Dasic delivered USC's fifth straight goal to make it a 6-4 USC advantage in the final minute of the half. Pacific had a follow-up, converting a 6-on-5 of its own before the buzzer, but USC's lead was in effect with a 6-5 Trojan halftime advantage.
In the third, USC ballooned its lead to a four-goal margin with three straight scores — a ripper from Sam Slobodien and then back-to-back bullets from Mercep and Marko Vavic — to stake a 9-5 lead by the midway point of the frame. Pacific would convert a power play late in the third, and then get another nice 6-on-5 finish to open the fourth to make it a two-goal game at 9-7. Again, USC fired back, as Maier netted his second of the day before Mercep made it a hat trick for himself to answer a Pacific score, wrapping the day as an 11-8 USC victory in home waters.
Next up for the Trojans is a journey to Riverside for four games at the Lancer Joust next weekend, Sept. 28 and 29.
#1 USC 11, #6 Pacific 8
Sept. 22, 2018 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 1 - 5 - 3 - 2 = 11
PAC 4 - 1 - 1 - 2 = 8
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 3, Zach D'Sa 2, Matt Maier 2, Sawyer Rhodes, Marin Dasic, Sam Slobodien, Marko Vavic.
PAC — Luke Pavillard 2, Eli Lule 2, Andrea de Nardi 2, Bogdan Djerkovic.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 14, Alen Osmanovic (PAC) 12.
Pacific pounced early and scored first on a 5-meter penalty shot. Senior Zach D'Sa would level it with a blast less than a minute later, but the Tigers were undeterred. Pacific promptly punched in three straight goals to craft a 4-1 lead on its hosts, and that's where the first period would end. In the second, however, the Trojans got back to business. Jake Ehrhardt opened things with a steal, and soon after it was Matt Maier who hit Sawyer Rhodes for a score that marked the sophomore's first career goal as a Trojan. It also lit the fuse on USC's comeback efforts. Porter made a sweet save at the near post next, and then Marin Dasic set up Maier for a rocket out of set to get USC within one. Another Porter save shut down a Pacific power play, and then Maier sailed a long pass to a countering Jacob Mercep. Mercep fired, and the Trojans and Tigers were even at 4-4 with 3:12 on the clock. Less than a minute later, D'Sa zipped in a laser that was too strong for the Pacific goalie to handle, and that was the go-ahead for the Trojans. But USC wasn't done. After a Rhodes steal, USC got up on a 6-on-5, and Dasic delivered USC's fifth straight goal to make it a 6-4 USC advantage in the final minute of the half. Pacific had a follow-up, converting a 6-on-5 of its own before the buzzer, but USC's lead was in effect with a 6-5 Trojan halftime advantage.
In the third, USC ballooned its lead to a four-goal margin with three straight scores — a ripper from Sam Slobodien and then back-to-back bullets from Mercep and Marko Vavic — to stake a 9-5 lead by the midway point of the frame. Pacific would convert a power play late in the third, and then get another nice 6-on-5 finish to open the fourth to make it a two-goal game at 9-7. Again, USC fired back, as Maier netted his second of the day before Mercep made it a hat trick for himself to answer a Pacific score, wrapping the day as an 11-8 USC victory in home waters.
Next up for the Trojans is a journey to Riverside for four games at the Lancer Joust next weekend, Sept. 28 and 29.
#1 USC 11, #6 Pacific 8
Sept. 22, 2018 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC 1 - 5 - 3 - 2 = 11
PAC 4 - 1 - 1 - 2 = 8
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 3, Zach D'Sa 2, Matt Maier 2, Sawyer Rhodes, Marin Dasic, Sam Slobodien, Marko Vavic.
PAC — Luke Pavillard 2, Eli Lule 2, Andrea de Nardi 2, Bogdan Djerkovic.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 14, Alen Osmanovic (PAC) 12.
Carson Kranz: Trojans Live 11.25.24
Monday, November 25
Stefan Brankovic | Trojans Live 09.23.24
Monday, September 23
Men's Water Polo - USC 13, UCLA 9: Highlights (11/18/23)
Saturday, November 18
Men’s Water Polo - USC 20, Augustana 4 : Highlights (11/17/23)
Friday, November 17
