Friday, February 24
Irvine, Calif.
11:15 AM
USC
vs
Loyola Marymount
Players Mentioned
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
Photo by: Katie Chin
No. 2 USC Women’s Water Polo Ready For Battle At Barbara Kalbus Invite
February 22, 2023 | Women's Water Polo
The undefeated Trojans head to Irvine for tournament action Feb. 24-26.
THIS WEEK
This week, No. 2 USC engages in action at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, which runs Feb. 24-26 at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatics Complex. The Trojans open up group play against No. 23 LMU at 11:15 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 24). A win there would put USC in a 10:30 a.m. Saturday (Feb. 25) clash against either No. 7 Arizona State or No. 11 Indiana to fight for a spot in that afternoon's 5:15 p.m. semifinal. On Sunday (Feb. 26), the tournament championship game is slated for 1 p.m., preceded by an 11:30 a.m. third-place game.
RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the nation to open 2023, mirroring the Trojans' 2022 finish. As of the latest round of national rankings (released Feb. 22), USC still sits at No. 2 in the land.
BKI BREAKDOWN
This year's Barbara Kalbus Invitational features 16 teams, including six of seven MPSF squads. In all, 14 of the teams in the tournament are currently ranked in the nation's top-20. Last year, USC finished third at the event, falling to Stanford 16-10 in the semifinals before posting an 11-8 win over Hawai'i in the third-place game.
LAST ACTION
After eight games on the road, USC posted a dominant 16-5 win in its home opener over visiting No. 6 UC Irvine. The clash was powered by hat tricks from Bayley Weber and Tilly Kearns and backed up by nine saves from Carolyne Stern and four from Jada Ward to help the Trojans improve to 9-0 on the season. The staunch Trojan defense turned a two-goal margin into a double-digit win by shutting out the Anteaters for over 15 minutes while piling on a nine-goal scoring surge. Kearns kicked off USC's offensive efforts with a laser on a 6-on-5 in the first two minutes, and a penalty shot from Weber helped close the quarter with a 4-1 Trojan lead. The Anteaters would get within one goal early in the second period, but USC never gave up its lead. Goals from five different Trojans, including a 6-on-5 slam from Julia Janov and a buzzer-beater from Alejandra Aznar, put USC back up to 9-5 at the half. In the second half, it was a USC shutout. Carolyne Stern picked up three saves and a steal in the third to maintain control while Aznar and Grace Tehaney took advantage of time early in the quarter with back-to-back strikes. Entering the fourth, USC was up 14-6, and freshman goalie Jada Ward subbed in and set a new career high with four saves in just over five minutes of work. The Trojans stayed firm with two more goals from Kearns and Fanni Muzsnay respectively to finish out the game with a 16-5 final scoreline.
BY THE NUMBERS
Eight games deep into 2023, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Bayley Weber with 21 goals, followed by Alejandra Aznar, Paige Hauschild and Tilly Kearns with 15 apiece. Grace Tehaney and Maggie Johnson are next in line with 13 and 12 goals, respectively. In all, 21 Trojans have scored at least one goal to date, including six with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into the 9-0 start, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 10.6 saves per game thanks in part to a career-high 16 saves made against Long Beach State on Jan. 28. USC's other three goalies — Laine Hourigan, Sofia Stein and Jada Ward — are in their first season of action as Trojans. Overall, the group averages 10.0 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 6.2 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 149-56 so far, while holding teams scoreless in eight different periods to date, including a powerful second-half shutout of No. 6 UC Irvine on Feb. 18.
ON THE RISE
Senior Paige Hauschild has climbed to rank No. 10 all-time in scoring at USC with 179 career goals to date. Several more veteran Trojans are also on the climb. Bayley Weber ranks No. 14 with 164 career goals, and Grace Tehaney sits at No. 20 with 136 to her name. Meanwhile, Tilly Kearns, who joined the 100-goal club at USC earlier this month, now holds 108 goals as a Trojan, and Mireia Guiral also is on the rise with 105 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Carolyne Stern ranks No. 9 all-time among USC goalies with her 262 career saves, and counting.
HATS OFF TO THE CAPTAINS
USC's 2023 captains are a decorated pair. Both 2020 Olympians, Paige Haushild and Tilly Kearns are the experienced backbone of the Trojan roster once again. Kearns finished the 2022 season at the top of the scoring leaderboard with 64 goals – 10th most scored in a single season in program history – and as a Peter J. Cutino Award finalist. The Aussie Olympian earned spots on the 2022 NCAA All-Tournament First Team, the MPSF All-Tournament Team and All-MPSF First Team for her work at two-meters. Olympic gold medalist Hauschild collected 47 goals of her own last season while applying pressure on both sides of the pool. Hauschild was a freshman when USC won the NCAA Championship in 2018, although both she and Kearns were away training with their respective Olympic teams when the Trojans last won it all in 2021. Hauschild and Kearns are two of seven returning All-Americans on the 2023 USC roster, alongside Alejandra Aznar, Mireia Guiral, Carolyne Stern, Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber.
MORE VETS
In all, USC returns 13 members of its 16-member roster from the 2022 NCAA Tournament. In addition to its seven All-Americans, experienced depth returns in the form of seniors Téa Poljak, Claire Haas, Brooklyn Aguilera and Christina Crum, along with junior Julia Janov and sophomores Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea and Isabel Zimmerman..
YOUNG GUNS
USC's newest additions come from an array of the best talent in the world, including U.S. pipeline members Morgan Netherton and Maggie Johnson. The Trojans also have added Fresno State transfer Fanni Muzsnay, who also has international experience as a member of the Hungarian National Team. Freshman Alex Bonaguidi is tabbed for duty at center, joined by redshirt sophomore Hannah Meyer, who sat out last season due to injury.
LAST SEASON
In 2022, USC posted a 20-4 overall record while making an 18th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans went a perfect 6-0 in MPSF competition before taking second in the MPSF Tournament and reaching a fourth consecutive NCAA final. USC had beaten Fresno State 15-9 in the quarterfinals and then topped Cal 9-7 in the semis to face Stanford in the title match, falling 10-7 to the Cardinal. At the close of the season, Tilly Kearns was selected as a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award and was a First Team All-American along with Paige Hauschild. They were joined by fellow All-Americans Bayley Weber (Second Team), Carolyne Stern (Third Team), Mireia Guiral (Honorable Mention) and Grace Tehaney (Honorable Mention). Head coach Marko Pintaric was named MPSF Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. •
This week, No. 2 USC engages in action at the Barbara Kalbus Invitational, which runs Feb. 24-26 at UC Irvine's Anteater Aquatics Complex. The Trojans open up group play against No. 23 LMU at 11:15 a.m. on Friday (Feb. 24). A win there would put USC in a 10:30 a.m. Saturday (Feb. 25) clash against either No. 7 Arizona State or No. 11 Indiana to fight for a spot in that afternoon's 5:15 p.m. semifinal. On Sunday (Feb. 26), the tournament championship game is slated for 1 p.m., preceded by an 11:30 a.m. third-place game.
RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the nation to open 2023, mirroring the Trojans' 2022 finish. As of the latest round of national rankings (released Feb. 22), USC still sits at No. 2 in the land.
BKI BREAKDOWN
This year's Barbara Kalbus Invitational features 16 teams, including six of seven MPSF squads. In all, 14 of the teams in the tournament are currently ranked in the nation's top-20. Last year, USC finished third at the event, falling to Stanford 16-10 in the semifinals before posting an 11-8 win over Hawai'i in the third-place game.
LAST ACTION
After eight games on the road, USC posted a dominant 16-5 win in its home opener over visiting No. 6 UC Irvine. The clash was powered by hat tricks from Bayley Weber and Tilly Kearns and backed up by nine saves from Carolyne Stern and four from Jada Ward to help the Trojans improve to 9-0 on the season. The staunch Trojan defense turned a two-goal margin into a double-digit win by shutting out the Anteaters for over 15 minutes while piling on a nine-goal scoring surge. Kearns kicked off USC's offensive efforts with a laser on a 6-on-5 in the first two minutes, and a penalty shot from Weber helped close the quarter with a 4-1 Trojan lead. The Anteaters would get within one goal early in the second period, but USC never gave up its lead. Goals from five different Trojans, including a 6-on-5 slam from Julia Janov and a buzzer-beater from Alejandra Aznar, put USC back up to 9-5 at the half. In the second half, it was a USC shutout. Carolyne Stern picked up three saves and a steal in the third to maintain control while Aznar and Grace Tehaney took advantage of time early in the quarter with back-to-back strikes. Entering the fourth, USC was up 14-6, and freshman goalie Jada Ward subbed in and set a new career high with four saves in just over five minutes of work. The Trojans stayed firm with two more goals from Kearns and Fanni Muzsnay respectively to finish out the game with a 16-5 final scoreline.
BY THE NUMBERS
Eight games deep into 2023, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Bayley Weber with 21 goals, followed by Alejandra Aznar, Paige Hauschild and Tilly Kearns with 15 apiece. Grace Tehaney and Maggie Johnson are next in line with 13 and 12 goals, respectively. In all, 21 Trojans have scored at least one goal to date, including six with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into the 9-0 start, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 10.6 saves per game thanks in part to a career-high 16 saves made against Long Beach State on Jan. 28. USC's other three goalies — Laine Hourigan, Sofia Stein and Jada Ward — are in their first season of action as Trojans. Overall, the group averages 10.0 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 6.2 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 149-56 so far, while holding teams scoreless in eight different periods to date, including a powerful second-half shutout of No. 6 UC Irvine on Feb. 18.
ON THE RISE
Senior Paige Hauschild has climbed to rank No. 10 all-time in scoring at USC with 179 career goals to date. Several more veteran Trojans are also on the climb. Bayley Weber ranks No. 14 with 164 career goals, and Grace Tehaney sits at No. 20 with 136 to her name. Meanwhile, Tilly Kearns, who joined the 100-goal club at USC earlier this month, now holds 108 goals as a Trojan, and Mireia Guiral also is on the rise with 105 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Carolyne Stern ranks No. 9 all-time among USC goalies with her 262 career saves, and counting.
HATS OFF TO THE CAPTAINS
USC's 2023 captains are a decorated pair. Both 2020 Olympians, Paige Haushild and Tilly Kearns are the experienced backbone of the Trojan roster once again. Kearns finished the 2022 season at the top of the scoring leaderboard with 64 goals – 10th most scored in a single season in program history – and as a Peter J. Cutino Award finalist. The Aussie Olympian earned spots on the 2022 NCAA All-Tournament First Team, the MPSF All-Tournament Team and All-MPSF First Team for her work at two-meters. Olympic gold medalist Hauschild collected 47 goals of her own last season while applying pressure on both sides of the pool. Hauschild was a freshman when USC won the NCAA Championship in 2018, although both she and Kearns were away training with their respective Olympic teams when the Trojans last won it all in 2021. Hauschild and Kearns are two of seven returning All-Americans on the 2023 USC roster, alongside Alejandra Aznar, Mireia Guiral, Carolyne Stern, Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber.
MORE VETS
In all, USC returns 13 members of its 16-member roster from the 2022 NCAA Tournament. In addition to its seven All-Americans, experienced depth returns in the form of seniors Téa Poljak, Claire Haas, Brooklyn Aguilera and Christina Crum, along with junior Julia Janov and sophomores Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea and Isabel Zimmerman..
YOUNG GUNS
USC's newest additions come from an array of the best talent in the world, including U.S. pipeline members Morgan Netherton and Maggie Johnson. The Trojans also have added Fresno State transfer Fanni Muzsnay, who also has international experience as a member of the Hungarian National Team. Freshman Alex Bonaguidi is tabbed for duty at center, joined by redshirt sophomore Hannah Meyer, who sat out last season due to injury.
LAST SEASON
In 2022, USC posted a 20-4 overall record while making an 18th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans went a perfect 6-0 in MPSF competition before taking second in the MPSF Tournament and reaching a fourth consecutive NCAA final. USC had beaten Fresno State 15-9 in the quarterfinals and then topped Cal 9-7 in the semis to face Stanford in the title match, falling 10-7 to the Cardinal. At the close of the season, Tilly Kearns was selected as a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award and was a First Team All-American along with Paige Hauschild. They were joined by fellow All-Americans Bayley Weber (Second Team), Carolyne Stern (Third Team), Mireia Guiral (Honorable Mention) and Grace Tehaney (Honorable Mention). Head coach Marko Pintaric was named MPSF Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season. •
USC Water Polo's Emily Ausmus | Trojans Live 3.24.25
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