University Southern California Trojans
Saturday, March 14
Los Angeles, Calif.
12:00 PM
USC
vs
California
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
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/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
D
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
Photo by: John McGillen
No. 1 USC Hosts No. 9 Cal In MPSF Action At Uytengsu On Saturday [UPDATE: GAME CANCELLED]
March 11, 2020 | Women's Water Polo, Features
The top-ranked Trojans face the Golden Bears at noon on Saturday; Sunday's game vs. Indiana has been cancelled.
#1 USC (12-1, 1-0) vs. #6 California (11-7, 0-2)
Saturday, March 14 | 12 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record: USC leads 43-18 (W20)
THIS WEEK
The top-ranked Trojans get back to work in home waters this week, hosting two MPSF matchups at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC (12-1, 1-0 MPSF) will first cap up against No. 6 Cal (11-7, 0-2) at 12 p.m. on Saturday (March 14). Then, the Trojans take on MPSF newcomer No. 14 Indiana (13-5, 0-0) at 12 p.m. on Sunday (March 15).
The top-ranked Trojans get back to work in home waters this week, hosting two MPSF matchups at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC (12-1, 1-0 MPSF) will first cap up against No. 6 Cal (11-7, 0-2) at 12 p.m. on Saturday (March 14). Then, the Trojans take on MPSF newcomer No. 14 Indiana (13-5, 0-0) at 12 p.m. on Sunday (March 15).
USC IN THE RANKINGS
USC opened 2020 ranked No. 1 in the national preseason poll, and the Trojans remained there until moving to No. 3 on Feb. 12. On Feb. 19, USC was listed at No. 4, but the Trojans fought back and took over the No. 1 spot again on Feb. 26. USC remains at No. 1 again this week (as of March 11).
SCOUTING CAL
The No. 6 Golden Bears are 11-7 overall and 0-2 in MPSF play after an 11-5 loss to UCLA and a 9-7 loss to UC Irvine last week. Brigit Mulder leads Cal in scoring with 30 goals to date, and goalie Cassidy Ball is averaging 8.1 saves and 8.1 goals-against per game in 17 appearances. In a series dating back to 1995, the Trojans are 43-18 all-time against Cal with wins in the past 20 meetings after three USC wins last season. In the most recent meeting, USC beat Cal 10-8 in overtime in the 2019 NCAA semifinals. The Trojans beat the Bears 8-3 in their MPSF matchup last year in Berkeley.
SCOUTING IU
The No. 14 Hoosiers enter the week 13-5 overall after beating Mercyhurst 15-5, Cal Lutheran 20-3 and McKendree 18-6 last week. Tina Doherty leads Indiana in scoring with 50 goals to date, and goalie Mary Askew is averaging 9.8 saves and 8.0 goals-against per game in 14 appearances. In a series dating back to 1997, the Trojans are 12-0 all-time against Indiana after three USC victories over the Hoosiers last year. In the most recent meeting, USC beat Indiana 19-3 in the first round of the 2019 MPSF Tournament. The Trojans beat the Hoosiers 19-1 in their MPSF matchup last year in Los Angeles.
CAPTAINS' CENTURY CLUB
Both USC's senior captains — Denise Mammolito and Kelsey McIntosh — are now officially members of the 100-goal club at USC. Mammolito hit her 100 at the close of 2019, while McIntosh rang up her 100th at the Barbara Kalbus Invite. She now holds 103 career goals, while Mammolito ranks No. 21 all-time with her 123 goals to date.
LAST ACTION
In its most recent action, USC hauled in an MPSF road win with a 15-1 victory at No. 13 San José State. Trojans Verica Bakoc, Kaylee Brownsberger and Bayley Weber each tallied hat tricks in the victory, helping improve USC to 12-1 overall and 1-0 in MPSF play. USC built out a comfortable lead early as Bakoc blazed in a pair of goals in the first frame with four other Trojans also striking to craft a 6-2 USC lead. The Trojans stayed steady in the second, with Brownsberger busting out back-to-back goals before Bakoc delivered her third to take USC ahead 10-5 by halftime. Weber got her scoring going with a steal and a finish in the third before Mireia Guiral sizzled in her second to net a 12-6 USC lead. Goalie Holly Parker would have the final word of the third. She snuffed a Spartan 5-meter penalty shot to notch her ninth save of the day and keep it 12-7 Trojans entering the fourth. Parker would give way to Erin Tharp in goal for the final frame, where Weber worked her way to that hat trick with back-to-back blasts en route to a final 15-11 USC road win.
BACK-TO-BACK BKI CHAMPS
USC was dominant in its run to the 2020 Barbara Kalbus Invitational championship — the Trojans' second straight title at the event. USC build such powerful leads in both the semifinal against No. 2 UCLA and the final against No. 1 Stanford that the Trojans didn't need to score a single goal in the final frame in order to claim victories. USC had opened up with a 20-8 win over LMU and a 10-7 win over host UC Irvine in group play to step into the semis against the Bruins. There, USC took control of things early against rival UCLA. After the Bruins had it even early at 1-1, the Trojans punched up four straight scores. Denise Mammolito lit the fuse, and McIntosh converted a 5-meter penalty shot earned by Bayley Weber next to make it 3-1. Kelsey ripped in her second of the frame with a skipper, and USC was up 4-1 to close the first, but far from done doing damage to the Bruins. Verica Bakoc opened the second with a 6-on-5 score, putting the Bruins back by four, down 5-1. UCLA would get a 5-meter penalty shot to go next, only to see Grace Tehaney lace in her second to net a 6-2 USC advantage by halftime. The Bruins would manage just one goal in the third while Elise Stein and McIntosh answered with strikes before Tehaney blasted a buzzer-beater to carry the Trojans to a 9-3 lead entering the fourth. UCLA would find a scoring touch in that frame, but had too much ground to make up on the Trojans, who held tight to their hard-fought victory ad capped it with one last block from Parker to make it a 9-7 USC win. In the title match, USC squashed No. 1 Stanford 10-5, churning out the first five goals of the game while silencing the Cardinal for the first 12 minutes of action in Irvine, Calif. Five different Trojans scored in that 5-0 buildup, while goalie Holly Parker stuffed a 5-meter penalty try by the Cardinal during the first frame. Stanford would get on the board with back-to-back goals in the second, only to see Grace Tehaney lace in her second goal of the day for a 6-2 lift by halftime. The Trojans opened the second half with a four-goal surge sparked by a beautiful backhand blast from Mireia Guiral. After another Stanford 5-meter attempt went awry, Kelsey McIntosh broke through for her first goal of the day. Bayley Weber made the turn and finish at set next, and the Elise Stein followed with a sizzler that tugged the Trojans ahead 10-2 before Stanford broke its second-half silence with a power-play goal before the end of the third. In the fourth, USC's hefty lead ensured victory. No more USC goals were even necessary as Stanford could only manage two scores in the last eight minutes as the Trojans emerged resoundingly victorious with the final 10-5 decision.
HOLLY HAULS IN MPSF HONORS
Redshirt junior goalie Holly Parker averaged 9.0 saves and 6.3 goals-against per game in three games in USC's winning run to a second straight Barbara Kalbus Invitational championship. For her powerful performance between the pipes, Parker picked up her first career honor as the MPSF Player of the Week on Feb. 25. In the championship match, Parker turned away two Stanford 5-meter penalty shots and allowed just five goals by the No. 1 Cardinal in USC's 10-5 championship victory. In the semifinals, Parker had a career-high 10 saves — including a 5-meter penalty stop — to help USC beat No. 2 UCLA 9-7. And in group play against host No. 6 UC Irvine, Parker had nine saves in a 10-7 win over the Anteaters.
MIREIA'S MPSF PICK
Sophomore Mireia Guiral doubled up on career firsts in this past week, hitting a career-high six goals in a 16-3 win over LMU and then earning her first career honor as the MPSF Player of the Week on Feb. 4. Against the No. 16 Lions, Guiral was a perfect 6-for-6 in the game, with four goals coming in the second half as she built out her new career best with a six-goal final effort. She has scored in six games so far for the Trojans and holds 13 goals total.
TAKEOVER AT THE TOP
Also the top preseason pick in the conference, USC opened the 2020 season ranked No. 1 in the nation. The Trojans left off 2019 at No. 2 after a loss in the NCAA Championship game, but USC is in prime position as it sets up to kick off this 2020 campaign under the direction of head coach Marko Pintaric. In the national preseason poll (released Jan. 15), the Trojans led defending champ Stanford and rival UCLA, which were tied at No. 2, and another MPSF foe in No. 4 California.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 13 games into 2020, USC has outscored opponents 184-78. Grace Tehaney leads the scoring front with 29 goals, followed by Denise Mammolito with 23, Bayley Weber with 21, Kelsey McIntosh with 19, and Mireia Guiral with 17. Tehaney is the only Trojan to have scored in every game this year. Meanwhile, three USC goalies have capped up so far, with redshirt junior Holly Parker making 10 appearances while averaging 8.63 saves and 6.32 goals-against per game. Redshirt freshman Erin Tharp has played eight total periods, with 18 saves and 12 goals allowed, while true freshman Carolyne Stern has made 23 saves and given up six in her six periods of work to date. Thanks in part to strong goalie play, the Trojan defense has shut out opponents in 10 periods this season so far. Overall, USC is averaging 14.2 goals per game on the offensive end and is allowing just 6.0 goals-against per game defensively.
OLYMPIC DREAMERS
This 2020 season will be a unique one in that it is an Olympic year, so several teams across the nation will have players taking the season off in order to train and compete with their national teams in preparation for the Games. USC has four Women of Troy slated to sit out the collegiate season to pursue Olympic dreams, with All-Americans Alejandra Aznar (Spain), Paige Hauschild (USA) and Maud Megens (Netherlands) as well as Tilly Kearns (Australia) taking 2020 off. But the Trojan roster remains powerful for 2020, as evidenced by USC's No. 1 pick out of the seven teams in the MPSF conference and No. 1 in the nation.
BACK FOR MORE
Head coach Marko Pintaric will have at his disposal two returning All-Americans in Denise Mammolito and Kelsey McIntosh along with returning All-MPSF honoree Bayley Weber. USC has a talented blend of youth and experience, as sophomores Weber, Mireia Guiral and Grace Tehaney all were members of USC's 2019 NCAA roster that reached the title match. And along with Mammolito and McIntosh, USC has a set of four solid seniors with Kaylee Brownsberger and Elise Stein back for more along with redshirt junior goalie Holly Parker. They'll lead a batch of eight players slated for their first competition as Trojans.
LAST SEASON
Under the direction of interim head coach Casey Moon, the USC women closed out a dramatic 2019 season by winning the MPSF Tournament championship and pushing on to reach the NCAA final, where the Trojans were edged out 9-8 by host Stanford in another intense battle between USC and the Cardinal. USC finished the year 28-2 overall and had six Trojans earn All-American honors. Senior goalie Amanda Longan locked up her third set of All-America First Team honors, while sophomore Paige Hauschild and junior Maud Megens were on the First Team honor roll for the second straight season. Coming in with All-America Honorable Mention this year were junior Denise Mammolito — now a two-time honoree — along with first-time All-Americans Alejandra Aznar and Kelsey McIntosh. •
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