Saturday, April 20
Los Angeles, CA
4:00 PM
USC
at
UCLA
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
D
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
D
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
D
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
Photo by: John McGillen
No. 2 USC Caps Regular Season By Battling No. 3 Bruins In Westwood
April 17, 2019 | Women's Water Polo, Features
Trojans take on UCLA at 4 p.m. on Saturday at Spieker Aquatics Center.
THIS WEEK
The Women of Troy are ready to wrap the regular season and eager to lock up the No. 2 seed in the coming MPSF Tournament as they prep for a trip to Westwood this weekend. No. 2 USC (22-1, 4-1 MPSF) takes aim at its second win of the year over rival UCLA when the Trojans take on the No. 3 Bruins (21-4, 4-1) at 4 p.m. on Saturday (April 20) at Spieker Aquatics Center.
Â
Â
USC IN THE RANKINGS
USC kicked off 2019 ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll and selected at No. 1 in the MPSF preseason poll. USC remained at No. 1 until a March 30 loss to Stanford snapped a 36-game win streak and pushed the Trojans to No. 2 in the nation the following week. As of this week's April 17 rankings release, USC remains at No. 2.
Â
Â
SCOUTING UCLA
The No. 3 Bruins are 21-4 overall and 4-1 in MPSF action after a 7-6 loss to Stanford and a 13-3 win over San José State in their most recent action. Maddie Musselmab leads UCLA in scoring with 49 goals to date. In goal, Carlee Kapana is averaging 9.8 saves and 6.5 goals-against per game. In a series dating back to 1995, USC is 31-50 all-time against the Bruins with wins in the last five meetings. The Trojans beat UCLA 10-3 earlier this season in the championship game at the Triton Invitational. Last year, USC beat UCLA four times — 6-4 in the 2018 Triton Invite final, 11-5 in the MPSF meeting at USC, 13-10 in the MPSF Tournament semis and 10-6 in the 2018 NCAA semis.
Â
Â
LAST ACTION
USC got right down to business with a decisive MPSF victory over No. 10 Arizona State last weekend. After celebrating their three graduating seniors — Brooke Presten and captains Courtney Fahey and Amanda Longan — the Trojans had six scorers strike in the first half as USC put the visiting well out of reach en route to a 17-3 win. Longan allowed just two goals during her final regular-season appearance in home waters while racking up 10 saves for the Trojan defense. Senior Fahey set the early tone for the Trojans, with her hard work at 2-meters earning the exclusion and setting up junior Kelsey McIntosh for her first of three goals on the day. Paige Hauschild zipped in a goal next, and USC was up 2-0 not two minutes into the game. The Sun Devils would convert on a 5-meter penalty shot next, but that one-goal margin ballooned to a four-goal advantage for the hosts by the end of the first as Maud Megens, Denise Mammolito and McIntosh each found the back of the net to make it a 5-1 USC lead at the end of the first. The Trojan defense held its ground in the next stretch, too. ASU would come up empty while Verica Bakoc and Bayley Weber joined the scoresheet and Megens ripped in her second. Up 8-1 at halftime, the Trojans' control of this Senior Day game was clear. In the third, ASU was only able to break through during a 6-on-4 advantage. The Trojans, meanwhile, piled on six more goals. McIntosh tallied her third on a 5-meter penalty shot, while Tilly Kearns scored a ripper out of set off a feed from fellow freshman Alejandra Aznar. Bakoc netted her second of the day, as did Mammolito and Weber, while Megens scored off a counter to help USC along to a 14-2 lead entering the fourth. Megens unleashed her fourth goal to open the final frame, and Longan would give way to Holly Parker in the cage for the final six minutes of action. Parker was a force between the pipes, surrendering just one ASU goal from 2-meters while making three big saves. Before ASU broke its 13 minutes of scoring silence, USC had poured on two more goals of its own, as Elise Stein and Sabrina Garabet busted out goals for the Trojan cause to help round out a final 17-3 USC victory.
Â
Â
BKI CHAMPS
USC stayed perfect on the year with a winning run to the 2019 Barbara Kalbus Invitational championship in late February. The Trojans opened up with a 13-5 win over San Diego State before wrapping group play with a 7-1 win over Arizona State. In the semifinals, USC had a tighter contest in a meeting with Cal, but the Trojans pulled out the 9-8 win to move into the title match. Up against Stanford in a rematch of last year's NCAA final, USC was again up to the test, making a late rally in the fourth and holding off the Cardinal for a 10-8 victory that kept the Trojans' win streak intact. After the winning run, USC locked up its second sweep of the MPSF's weekly honors as Maud Megens picked up her second MPSF Player of the Week award of the year and Bayley Weber had her first career selection as MPSF Newcomer of the Week on Feb. 26. Megens delivered six goals at the invite, with a hat trick in a 9-8 semifinal win over Cal and two goals in the 10-8 title match victory over Stanford. It was is Megens' second MPSF Player of the Week pick this year and fourth overall. Freshman Weber scored four goals, including two in the semifinal win over Cal and one in the championship victory over Stanford at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. A force on the defensive end as well, Weber got a key steal early against Cal and took it the other way for an early USC lead in the semis. It's Weber's first career award as a Trojan.
Â
Â
THREE SWEEPS WEEKS
(Say that 10 times fast!) To date, USC has compiled four MPSF Player of the Week selections and five MPSF Newcomer of the Week honors. Three times, the Trojans have swept the weekly awards. Junior Maud Megens has laid claim to three Player of the Week picks, while freshman Bayley Weber leads the conference with three Newcomer of the Week picks. Fellow freshman Alejandra Aznar has snagged the award twice. Meanwhile, senior goalie Amanda Longan has secured one MPSF Player of the Week award this year.
Â
Â
CLIMB ON
As the 2019 season chugs along, the Trojans already have players climbing the career charts. With her fifth goal at the UCSB Winter Invitational, junior Maud Megens tallied her 100th career goal as a Trojan on Jan. 18. Megens now ranks No. 11 all-time at USC in scoring with 153 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Amanda Longan entered her senior season ranked No. 3 all-time at USC in career saves. She'd haul in a career-high 19 saves in USC's season opener to tally the second most single-game saves by a Trojan. The next week, she collected her fourth career complete-game shutout, The senior now grips 772 career saves — still a bit of a stretch away from the No. 2 all-time tally of 838 held by Longan's fellow Cutino-winning goalie Bernice Orwig. Also on the rise in the career charts are Paige Hauschild and Denise Mammolito, who are both nearing the century mark with 99 and 97 goals, respectively, to date.
Â
Â
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 23 games into 2019, USC has outscored opponents 327-93. Maud Megens is the Trojans' top scorer to date with 58 goals. Behind her on the 2019 scoresheet sits Paige Hauschild with 31 goals and Alejandra Aznar with 30. They're followed by Kelsey McIntosh (28), Tilly Kearns (27), Bayley Weber (27) and Denise Mammolito (26), while freshman Mireia Guiral is also now in the 20-goal zone. On the defensive end, two goalies have checked into the cage to date. Senior Amanda Longan has logged minutes in 20 games, averaging 11.1 saves and 4.0 goals-against per game. She also boasts the second most single-game saves by a Trojan, having made a career-high 19 stops vs. Cal Baptist on Jan. 19. In all this year, Longan has recorded 10 outings with double-digit saves. Redshirt sophomore Holly Parker has stepped in in 11 games, averaging 8.3 saves and 4.0 goals-against per game to date while also claiming a career-high 10-save day. The Trojan defense has rendered opponents silent in at least one period of play in 19 games while accumulating a grand total of 38 shutout periods this season so far, including back-to-back complete-game shutouts. Overall, USC is averaging 14.2 goals per game on the offensive end and is allowing just 4.0 goals-against per game defensively. The Trojan defense leads the MPSF.
Â
Â
BACK-TO-BACK BATTLE
For almost a decade now, there's been a fierce title tug-of-war between two teams. The claim to the NCAA women's water polo championship has gone to either USC or Stanford for the past nine seasons. For every tug in the Trojan direction — there's been four titles won by USC in that stretch — the Cardinal have grabbed ahold the next year. At the end of the line this season is a chance for the USC women to do what they've never done before — to claim back-to-back national championships.Â
Â
Â
ON YOUR LEFT
A spring addition to the Trojan roster, Alejandra Aznar's presence bumps USC's set of left-handed shooters to four, with fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also wielding a deft left hand, while returning lefties Verica Bakoc and Sabrina Garabet are already proven sharpshooters. USC's lefties have combined for 65 goals — 20 percent of the Trojans' team total.
Â
Â
SET DEPTH
USC has also brought in reinforcements at 2-meters. The Trojans now have three true centers at the ready in newcomers Mireia Guiral and Tilly Kearns and sophomore Nina Ceklic. Courtney Fahey and Kaylee Brownsberger also were in the mix at set last year. Freshmen Guiral and Kearns have tag-teamed a 2-meter for a combined 47 goals to date.
Â
Â
PERIMETER POWER
A powerful presence at set can open up the perimeter, where USC's top guns are ready to strike. Paige Hauschild was USC's top scorer last year, followed by Denise Mammolito, who is now a junior. Fellow junior Maud Megens also is back, standing out as one of the most dangerous scorers in the world. That trio alone has combined for more than a third of USC's goal scoring to date.Â
Â
Â
GETTING DEFENSIVE
Cutino Award winner Amanda Longan looms large as arguably the best goalie in collegiate waters. She has two rising proteges alongside her in redshirt sophomore Holly Parker. That duo backs up what is becoming a strong defensive corps, where Paige Hauschild has already proven herself as a relentless defender. So, too, do freshmen Bayley Weber and Mireia Guiral stand to make a defensive impact alongside returning defensive-savvy Trojans Randi Reinhardt and Denise Mammolito.
Â
Â
SEASON OPENER
Against Cal Baptist in the Trojans' 2019 season opener, USC tacked up the first five goals of the game — all from the hands of newcomers. The first goal of the year came from Mireia Guiral, whose fellow Spaniard Alejandra Aznar drilled three goals in that 5-0 start. Fellow freshman Grace Tehaney also got to the back of the net in that surge before another freshman — Bayley Weber scored her first of a first-period hat trick to help USC along to a 10-2 lead after eight minutes of action. That 10th goal was also served up by a fresh face in Tilly Kearns, while the final two of the day came from new Trojans as well. Freshmen Sophia Lucas and Claire Haas would tally their first career USC goals in their first appearances in Cardinal and Gold to get in on the winning start to 2019. Aznar finished up with five goals to lead the pack, while junior Maud Megens plugged in four. Freshmen Tehaney and Weber had a hat trick apiece in that opening win over Cal Baptist.
Â
Â
2019 TROJANS AT A GLANCE
The 2019 Trojans opened the season picked No. 1 in the MPSF Preseason Poll and No. 1 in the nation. In USC's arsenal for 2019 are the MPSF Player and Newcomer of the Year in Amanda Longan and Paige Hauschild. Both Longan and Hauschild were First Team All-Americans, while Longan also reigned supreme as the Peter J. Cutino Award winner. USC also boasts two more All-Americans in juniors Denise Mammolito and Maud Megens, who further highlight a grand total of 11 returning Trojans who were on the NCAA Championship-winning roster in 2018. Gone are three All-Americans who took with them two NCAA championship rings in Brianna Daboub, Victória Chamorro and Hayley McKelvey. But USC has added three new international players, along with a set of talented California products who stand out in the Trojan freshman class. Australian import Tilly Kearns is joined by Spaniards Alejandra Aznar and Mireia Guiral as the newest Women of Troy. That trio along with U.S. Junior National Team members Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber add a fresh depth charge to the USC gameplan. The 2019 Women of Troy are captained by seniors Longan and Courtney Fahey, who have been members of USC's 2016 and 2018 NCAA Championship teams.
Â
Â
LAST SEASON
With USC's 16th straight win of 2018, the Trojans claimed the university's 105th NCAA team championship and the sixth for the USC women's water polo program on a 5-4 victory over Stanford in USC's home pool. It was the Trojans' second NCAA title in three years, and gave USC a final 26-1 overall record. It was head coach Jovan Vavic's 15th national championship as a head coach at USC, with six titles won by the USC women and nine by the USC men — all under Vavic's watch. USC had gone 5-0 in MPSF play and won the MPSF Tournament title along the way to get the top seed into the NCAA tourney. Junior goalie Amanda Longan and freshman Paige Hauschild were both named finalists for the Peter J. Cutino Award, with Longan emerging as the winner of the prestigious award to become the second USC goalie and the seventh Woman of Troy to win it. Both Longan and Hauschild earned First Team All-America honors, along with sophomore Maud Megens. Senior Brianna Daboub earned a spot on the All-America Second Team, with fellow senior Hayley McKelvey on the Third Team. Sophomore Denise Mammolito picked up All-America Honorable Mention. Longan was also the National Player of the Year, with Jovan Vavic named National Coach of the Year. •
USC Water Polo's Emily Ausmus | Trojans Live 3.24.25
Monday, March 24
Women's Water Polo - Stanford 8, USC 3: Highlights (5/10/24)
Friday, May 10
Julia Janov - 2024 NCAA Women's Water Polo Banquet speech
Thursday, May 09
Women's Water Polo - Stanford 12, USC 11: Highlights (4/28/24)
Sunday, April 28
