Saturday, October 12
Stockton, Calif.
2:30 PM
USC
at
Pacific
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Photo by: Hali Helfgott
No. 4 Trojans Seek Revenge Again On The Road In Visit To No. 3 Pacific
October 09, 2019 | Men's Water Polo, Features
USC looks to avenge a tight loss to the Tigers with a trip to Stockton this weekend.
#4 USC (9-2) at #3 Pacific (10-2)
Saturday, Oct. 12 | 2:30 p.m. |Â Chris Kjeldsen Pool Complex (Stockton, Calif.)
Series Record:Â USC leads 53-10 (L1)
Last Meeting:Â Pacific 16, USC 15 (Sept. 28, 2019)
THIS WEEK
No. 4 USC (9-2) hits the road looking for revenge once again. After avenging their first loss of the year with a win last week in Santa Barbara, the Trojans can now even the score against the only other team to edge them out this weekend. On Saturday (Oct. 12), USC will pay a visit to No. 3 Pacific (10-2) at 2:30 p.m. for a shot at payback for last month's one-goal loss to the Tigers.
RANKINGS
The defending NCAA champs opened up 2019 ranked No. 1 in the nation. An early loss sent the Trojans to No. 5 in the land as of Sept. 18. USC has now climbed up to No. 4 in the latest rankings, released Oct. 9.
SCOUTING PACIFIC
The No. 3 Tigers are 10-2 overall after beating UC Davis 12-9 and losing to Stanford 11-8 last week. Luke Pavillard leads Pacific in scoring with 35 goals, and goalie Jon Barry is averaging 9.5 saves and 10.2 goals against per game in 12 appearances. USC is 53-10 all-time against the Tigers after taking a 16-15 loss to Pacific last month at the SoCal Invitational. Last year, USC beat Pacific 10-5 in their meeting at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Â
LAST WEEK
USC extended its win streak out to four in a row after two victories last week. The Trojans first nabbed a 16-10 home victory over visiting No. 13 UC Irvine before hitting the road and exacting vengeance over No. 4 UC Santa Barbara with a 10-9 win in a big game in Santa Barbara. Against the Anteaters, USC scored the first eight goals of the game en route to the home win. Junior goalie Vaios Vlahotasios had eight of his final career-best 15 saves during the first half, with the Trojan defense allowing just one goal in those first 16 minutes of play. By the end of the game, USC had nine Trojans on the scoresheet, led by four goals from Jacob Mercep. The next day in Santa Barbara, the Trojans and Gauchos fought through seven ties before USC got the late leg up on a blast from Jake Ehrhardt early in the fourth, which would stand as the winner as USC's 10th goal of the game. Defense would hold out the rest of the way as goalie Nic Porter collected a few more key saves to finish up with 10 stops on the day. The Trojans were trailing 8-7 midway through the third quarter before Sam Slobodien rocked in an equalizer to snarl it up 8-8 a minute away from the fourth. To kick off that final frame, Jacob Mercep whistled in his third goal of the game, and USC was up 9-8 before the eighth lockup of the game came with 7:11 to go. That's when Ehrhardt pounced on his opportunity during USC's next possession, inking his second goal of the day as the game-winner.
CENTURY CLUB
USC's newest card-carrying member of the 100-goal club is senior Marin Dasic. With his eighth of a final 10 goals scored out at the Inland Empire Classic, Dasic drummed up the 100th goal of his USC career. Dasic now boasts 114 career goals to date to rank No. 30 all-time in career scorers at USC. And he has two fellow seniors also closing in on the club, with Matt Maier and Jacob Mercep gripping 92 career goals each. Sam Slobodien is also on the prowl, having punched up 90 goals to date.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 11 games into the season, USC has outscored opponents 162-99. The Trojan offense is generating 14.731 goals per game while the defense has allowed 9.0 goals-against per game. Leading the offensive charge so far are junior Jacob Mercep and Marin Dasic with 30 and 22 goals, respectively. Sophomore Hannes Daube is next with 17, with senior Sam Slobodien gripping 15 goals and sophomore Jake Ehrhardt and holding 14. On the defensive end, USC has utilized three goalies. All-American sophomore Nic Porter has capped up in six games and averages 10.22 saves per game while giving up 9.11 goals per game. Junior Vaios Vlahotasios has appeared in seven games with a 9.67 saves-per-game effort and allowing 9.33 goals-against per game. Jere Ashby has also checked in for two periods of work, having collected nine saves and allowed just two goals in his appearances in the cage. In all, USC has had 16 different Trojans score to date, with five players tallying their first career goals. USC set a season high with 15 different scorers in USC's Sept. 15 win over Concordia.
SUMMER SUCCESS
Capped up for competition around the globe, several Trojans went big in international waters during the summer of 2019. Captain of the USA's World University Games squad, Jake Ehrhardt helped guide Team USA to a silver medal at the event in Italy. Soon after, Hannes Daube and Marko Vavic were on-hand for the United States' push to Olympic qualification. Those two Trojans grabbed gold medals at the Pan American Games in Peru to secure the USA men's spot at the 2020 Olympic Games. Daube and Vavic also competed with Team USA at the FINA World Championships in South Korea, where the United States men placed ninth. Freshman Chris Sturtevant also got in on international action over the summer as a member of Great Britain's World University Games squad in Italy.
PINTA'S PROGRAM
Marko Pintaric, who has been part of 14 NCAA championships during his 18 years on the USC coaching staff, was named head coach of the USC men's and women's water polo teams on August 29, replacing former head coach Jovan Vavic. An All-American and 1998 NCAA champion as a player at USC, Pintaric served as co-head coach for the USC men for the past three seasons (2016-18), most recently helping the Trojans to the 2018 NCAA Championship. His USC coaching career began as an assistant coach to both the USC men and women in 2001. Pintaric stayed in a dual coaching role until NCAA rules for coaching staff sizes changed in 2015-16, prompting a move to a scouting director role with the women while his assistant coaching role continued with the men for the next four years. Pintaric, who scored the game-winning goal in USC's first-ever national championship, finished his USC playing career before he had the chance to defend the Trojans' 1998 NCAA title. In 18 years since on the coaching staff, he has helped five USC men's water polo teams successfully defend their NCAA crowns. Now, as the head coach, Pintaric has the opportunity to set up defense of another NCAA trophy.
ALL-AMERICAN LEADERSHIP
Senior captains Marin Dasic, Matt Maier and Sam Slobodien are seasoned, savvy and certain leaders for a USC roster brimming with talent. They are three of eight returning All-Americans, including a power pack of four of 2018 newcomers who exploded onto the scene in their first seasons as Trojans. Sophomores Hannes Daube, Jake Ehrhardt and Nic Porter and junior Jacob Mercep made indelible marks on the stat sheets for USC last year, and they are in full stride for 2019. Daube, Ehrhardt and junior Marko Vavic also combine forces in training with the U.S. National Team, with Daube and Vavic on-hand over the summer to help Team USA qualify for the Olympic Games, while Ehrhart captained the USA's World University Games team to a silver medal. Aussie goalie Porter and Croatian product Mercep represent possibly one of the most daunting one-two punches out there, as Porter stops shots on the defensive end while Mercep scores them at the other.
SENIOR STRENGTH
While All-Americans Dasic, Maier and Slobodien are in their final seasons of competition, there are three other noteworthy Trojans entering their fourth years with the program. Redshirt juniors Troy Furniss, Luka Karaman and Luke Wyatt also play a hefty leadership role for the group. Their dedication and hard work, too, have lifted all of them into significant contribution roles in the water as well. A lefty, Wyatt punched up 23 goals for the Trojan cause last season, including one in the NCAA Championship game. Karaman and Furniss factored in for 12 goals apiece in 2018.
CAGE FIGHTERS In goal, returning All-American Nic Porter will be pushed once more by teammate Vaios Vlahotasios, who was also a newcomer to the USC cage in 2018 and who has proven himself a shot-stopping force to reckon with as well. Porter and Vlahotasios are a formidable goalie tandem for the Trojans, and are joined by freshman Garrett Allen and sophomore Jere Ashby as USC's talented goalkeeping corps for 2019.
THE NEW CREW
USC has 11 new Trojans set to see their first splashdowns in Cardinal and Gold in 2019. On the first weekend of competition, much of that group earned their stripes. Goalie Jere Ashby checked in for his first time in the cage, while fellow newcomers Matt Harrison, Marcus Longton, Grayden Reynolds and Chris Sturtevant all registered their first goals as Trojans.
LAST SEASON
The 2018 Trojans reached the NCAA final for the 14th consecutive season and emerged with the trophy for the 10th time in program history. A 14-12 win over host Stanford saw USC claim the national championship and finish out its first 30-win season. At the close of the winning campaign, USC had a program-record 10 Trojans earn All-America status, while newcomer Jacob Mercep scored NCAA Tournament MVP honors after a five-goal outburst in the title match. Mercep and freshman Hannes Daube both picked up All-America First Team honors to lead the pack of 10 honorees in USC's 30-3 season. •
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