Saturday, December 7
Stockton, Calif.
5:00 PM
USC
14
vs
15
Stanford
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water Polo
G
/ Men's Water Polo
2M
/ Men's Water Polo
DR
/ Men's Water PoloPhoto by: Catharyn Hayne
Stanford Strikes In Sudden Death To Stop USC’s NCAA Semifinal Comeback
December 07, 2019 | Men's Water Polo, Features
Trojans battle back from four goals down in 15th consecutive NCAA appearance.
STOCKTON, CALIF. — The USC men's water polo team dug out of a four-goal hole to force overtime in tonight's NCAA semifinal game. A rematch of the 2018 NCAA Championship game, the Trojans saw their valiant comeback effort come to a stunning stop when top-seeded Stanford scored a golden goal to win it 15-14. USC had stormed to an unprecedented 15th consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance with this year's run, and showed its mettle with a late five-goal surge to heap pressure on the Cardinal. After trading huge goals in overtime to bring up sudden death, it was Stanford that broke through first to get the win and move into tomorrow's title match. USC wraps the 2019 season with a 15-6 overall record.
With 5:25 on the clock, USC was staring at a four-goal deficit to the top-ranked Cardinal. The Trojans had gripped a slim one-goal lead in the second period, but a 5-0 Stanford rally eclipsed that. Jacob Mercep would delivers back-to-back blasts in the third, but it was still a three-goal hole for USC entering the fourth. At that 5:25 mark, Stanford converted on its 11th of 14 power plays of the game, going up 12-8. Senior captain Matt Maier blasted one out of 2-meter next, and after a big stop from USC goalie Nic Porter, Hannes Daube took the long pass from Daube and hammered home the counter to get it to a two-goal margin at 12-10 with 3:37 to go. Another Stanford 6-on-5 would go the Cardinal's way to get USC behind by three once again with 2:14 on the clock. The Trojans were far from done. Senior Marin Dasic found Mercep again, and that ripper made it 13-11 at 1:51. Mercep muscled in his fifth on USC's next opportunity, getting it to 13-12 in the final minute of regulation. Stanford nailed the bar next, and USC went the other direction and got another power play chance. Just before the buzzer, lefty Luke Wyatt zipped in a buzzer-beater for the Trojans, knotting the game up 13-13 to force overtime in a remarkable finish to regulation.
With two 3-minute overtime periods (at least) onto horizon, USC dug in. Stanford was awarded a 5-meter penalty shot early in the first OT, but USC goalie Nic Porter was up to the challenge. He'd make the crucial stop, and then Dasic went the other way and lasered in the go-ahead goal for the Trojans. USC would squash Stanford's next 6-on-5 chance to preserve a 14-13 lead entering the second OT. There, Porter made another big save to open things. The Trojan defense stymied Stanford on its next opportunities, but a bar-down score with 19 seconds left leveled things again at 14-14. USC was unable to get the winner in the remaining time, and sudden-death was next on the agenda. That's where Stanford was able to turn the tide, netting the game-winner with a strike out of two-meters to put a stop to things and steal the ticket to the NCAA title match.
USC's scoring effort was paced by Jacob Mercep with five goals. He and two other Trojans — Hannes Daube and Jake Ehrhardt — all picked up three exclusions in the game to get the Trojans short-handed downtime stretch. But still USC's depth shined. Marin Dasic finished up with two goals to go with a pair from Daube and freshman Marcus Longton. Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier and Luke Wyatt also tallied big goals for USC in its 15th consecutive NCAA Semifinal appearance. Dasic ends his USC career ranked No. 19 all-time in career scoring with 134 goals; Slobodien wraps up with 104 and Maier at 101 — giving USC three seniors with 100-plus career goals.
At the end of the tourney, USC had two Trojans on the NCAA All-Tournament honor roll, with Mercep and Porter both named to the First Team.
2019 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP
SEMIFINALS
Stanford 15, USC 14 (SD)
Dec. 7, 2019 | Chris Kjeldsen Pool (Stockton, Calif.)
USC 4 - 2 - 2 - 5 — 1 - 0 — 0 = 14
STAN 4 - 3 - 4 - 2 — 0 - 1 — 1 = 15
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 5, Marin Dasic 2, Hannes Daube 2, Marcus Longton 2, Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier, Luke Wyatt.
STAN — Quinn Woodhead 5, Tyler Abramson 4, Ben Hallock 4, Bennett Williams, Dylan Woodhead.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 15, Andrew Chun (STAN) 14.
With 5:25 on the clock, USC was staring at a four-goal deficit to the top-ranked Cardinal. The Trojans had gripped a slim one-goal lead in the second period, but a 5-0 Stanford rally eclipsed that. Jacob Mercep would delivers back-to-back blasts in the third, but it was still a three-goal hole for USC entering the fourth. At that 5:25 mark, Stanford converted on its 11th of 14 power plays of the game, going up 12-8. Senior captain Matt Maier blasted one out of 2-meter next, and after a big stop from USC goalie Nic Porter, Hannes Daube took the long pass from Daube and hammered home the counter to get it to a two-goal margin at 12-10 with 3:37 to go. Another Stanford 6-on-5 would go the Cardinal's way to get USC behind by three once again with 2:14 on the clock. The Trojans were far from done. Senior Marin Dasic found Mercep again, and that ripper made it 13-11 at 1:51. Mercep muscled in his fifth on USC's next opportunity, getting it to 13-12 in the final minute of regulation. Stanford nailed the bar next, and USC went the other direction and got another power play chance. Just before the buzzer, lefty Luke Wyatt zipped in a buzzer-beater for the Trojans, knotting the game up 13-13 to force overtime in a remarkable finish to regulation.
With two 3-minute overtime periods (at least) onto horizon, USC dug in. Stanford was awarded a 5-meter penalty shot early in the first OT, but USC goalie Nic Porter was up to the challenge. He'd make the crucial stop, and then Dasic went the other way and lasered in the go-ahead goal for the Trojans. USC would squash Stanford's next 6-on-5 chance to preserve a 14-13 lead entering the second OT. There, Porter made another big save to open things. The Trojan defense stymied Stanford on its next opportunities, but a bar-down score with 19 seconds left leveled things again at 14-14. USC was unable to get the winner in the remaining time, and sudden-death was next on the agenda. That's where Stanford was able to turn the tide, netting the game-winner with a strike out of two-meters to put a stop to things and steal the ticket to the NCAA title match.
USC's scoring effort was paced by Jacob Mercep with five goals. He and two other Trojans — Hannes Daube and Jake Ehrhardt — all picked up three exclusions in the game to get the Trojans short-handed downtime stretch. But still USC's depth shined. Marin Dasic finished up with two goals to go with a pair from Daube and freshman Marcus Longton. Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier and Luke Wyatt also tallied big goals for USC in its 15th consecutive NCAA Semifinal appearance. Dasic ends his USC career ranked No. 19 all-time in career scoring with 134 goals; Slobodien wraps up with 104 and Maier at 101 — giving USC three seniors with 100-plus career goals.
At the end of the tourney, USC had two Trojans on the NCAA All-Tournament honor roll, with Mercep and Porter both named to the First Team.
2019 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP
SEMIFINALS
Stanford 15, USC 14 (SD)
Dec. 7, 2019 | Chris Kjeldsen Pool (Stockton, Calif.)
USC 4 - 2 - 2 - 5 — 1 - 0 — 0 = 14
STAN 4 - 3 - 4 - 2 — 0 - 1 — 1 = 15
SCORING:
USC — Jacob Mercep 5, Marin Dasic 2, Hannes Daube 2, Marcus Longton 2, Sam Slobodien, Matt Maier, Luke Wyatt.
STAN — Quinn Woodhead 5, Tyler Abramson 4, Ben Hallock 4, Bennett Williams, Dylan Woodhead.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 15, Andrew Chun (STAN) 14.
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