Saturday, March 11
Berkeley, Calif.
1:00 PM
USC
at
California
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
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
2MD
/ 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: John McGillen
No. 2 USC Women’s Water Polo Clashes With No. 3 Cal In MPSF Road Action
March 08, 2023 | Women's Water Polo
Trojans are off to Berkeley to face the Golden Bears at 1 p.m. on Saturday.
#2 USC (16-1, 0-0 MPSF) vs. #3 Cal (13-3, 1-0)
Saturday, March 11 | 1 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Complex
Series Record: USC leads 48-18 (W25)
Last Meeting: USC 9, Cal 7 (May 7, 2022)
TV: Pac-12 Bay Area (Announcer: Greg Mescall)
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
USC turns to its first MPSF matchup of the season this week when the No. 2 Trojans visit No. 3 Cal for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday (March 11) in Berkeley.
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 March 1), USC still sits at No. 2 in the land.
LAST WEEK
USC picked up four wins out at the Convergence Tournament last week, improving to 16-1 overall. The Trojans spread out their scoring attack among 20 different scorers, including the first career goals notched by Emma Lawson and CeCe Paine.
GAME 1: #2 USC 22, Iona 6
In the Trojans' first game of the day, USC came out hot, shutting out Iona in the first frame while pouring out six goals — half of which came from the hands of Bayley Weber. Weber's fourth of the game kicked off the second quarter to make it 7-0, with Paige Hauschild and Grace Tehaney adding blasts for a 9-0 USC lead before the Gaels broke their silence with a goal midway through the quarter. Emma Lawson's first career goal came next, and USC would wind up with an 11-1 lead at halftime. Goalie Carolyne Stern gave way to freshman Jada Ward for the second half, with Ward making a career effort with nine saves in that stretch. Fellow freshman Alex Bonaguidi went big on the offensive end in setting her career high with a hat trick in the fourth quarter to help USC round out a final 22-6 victory over Iona.
GAME 2: #2 USC 27, Whittier 3
Hours later against Whittier, Ward was in the cage for the first half and helped USC to another powerful opening in allowing just one goal by the Poet in those first 16 minutes. On the offensive end, Weber went big again and plugged in USC's first three goals of the game. Her fourth came in the second frame while USC shut out the Poets in that stretch to lead it 11-1 at halftime. Goalies Laine Hourigan and Sofia Stein split time in the second half and kept USC's tough defense in effect. Only two more Gael goals made it through on their watches, while the Trojan offense clicked off eight goals in each quarter to work toward USC's season-high 27 goals scored in the 27-3 final victory.
GAME 3: #2 USC 21, #24 Pomona-Pitzer 6
Eleven Trojans scored in USC's 21-6 win over the Sagehens. Tilly Kearns, Alejandra Aznar and Bayley Weber each tallied a pair of goals in the first frame to help USC hold a 7-3 lead after eight minutes of action. As newcomers Maggie Johnson and Fanni Muzsnay joined the scoresheet in the next stretch, USC would lead it 10-4 at halftime. The hosts managed two early goals to open the second half, but that's when the Trojans locked back in. USC rattled off 11 straight goals to close out the game while holding the Sagehens scoreless for the last 14 minutes. Goalie Carolyne Stern collected six saves to back up the Trojan defense as USC emerged with the 21-6 win on some well-balanced offense at the other end.
GAME 4: #2 USC 17, CMS 8
Fourteen different scorers contributed to a 17-8 win over the Athenas as the Trojans flexed their scoring muscle in the first half with 10 different Trojans accounting for USC's first 10 goals. Goalie Jada Ward was a force in the cage, turning away an early CMS 5-meter penalty shot while USC worked out to a 10-2 lead. Johnson's second goal of the game made it 11-2 on a 5-meter penalty shot drawn by Téa Poljak, and USC would hold a 12-3 advantage at halftime. The teams stayed in stride offensively in the second half, and CeCe Paine topped off the scoring for USC with her first career goal in becoming the 14th USC scorer in the Trojans' 17-8 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 17 games deep into 2023, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Bayley Weber with 40 goals, followed by Tilly Kearns with 34 and Alejandra Aznar and Paige Hauschild with 24 apiece. In all, 23 Trojans have scored at least one goal to date, including eight with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into the 16-1 start, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 10.0 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 10.3 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 6.5 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 293-111 so far, while holding teams scoreless in 13 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 188 career goals to date. Several more veteran Trojans are also on the climb. Bayley Weber ranks No. 11 with 183 career goals, and Grace Tehaney sits at No. 19 with 141 to her name. Meanwhile, Tilly Kearns, who joined the 100-goal club at USC earlier this season, now holds 127 goals as a Trojan, and Mireia Guiral also is on the rise with 112 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Carolyne Stern ranks No. 9 all-time among USC goalies with her 306 career saves — one stop away from the No. 8 slot.
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. •
Saturday, March 11 | 1 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Complex
Series Record: USC leads 48-18 (W25)
Last Meeting: USC 9, Cal 7 (May 7, 2022)
TV: Pac-12 Bay Area (Announcer: Greg Mescall)
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
USC turns to its first MPSF matchup of the season this week when the No. 2 Trojans visit No. 3 Cal for a 1 p.m. game on Saturday (March 11) in Berkeley.
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 March 1), USC still sits at No. 2 in the land.
LAST WEEK
USC picked up four wins out at the Convergence Tournament last week, improving to 16-1 overall. The Trojans spread out their scoring attack among 20 different scorers, including the first career goals notched by Emma Lawson and CeCe Paine.
GAME 1: #2 USC 22, Iona 6
In the Trojans' first game of the day, USC came out hot, shutting out Iona in the first frame while pouring out six goals — half of which came from the hands of Bayley Weber. Weber's fourth of the game kicked off the second quarter to make it 7-0, with Paige Hauschild and Grace Tehaney adding blasts for a 9-0 USC lead before the Gaels broke their silence with a goal midway through the quarter. Emma Lawson's first career goal came next, and USC would wind up with an 11-1 lead at halftime. Goalie Carolyne Stern gave way to freshman Jada Ward for the second half, with Ward making a career effort with nine saves in that stretch. Fellow freshman Alex Bonaguidi went big on the offensive end in setting her career high with a hat trick in the fourth quarter to help USC round out a final 22-6 victory over Iona.
GAME 2: #2 USC 27, Whittier 3
Hours later against Whittier, Ward was in the cage for the first half and helped USC to another powerful opening in allowing just one goal by the Poet in those first 16 minutes. On the offensive end, Weber went big again and plugged in USC's first three goals of the game. Her fourth came in the second frame while USC shut out the Poets in that stretch to lead it 11-1 at halftime. Goalies Laine Hourigan and Sofia Stein split time in the second half and kept USC's tough defense in effect. Only two more Gael goals made it through on their watches, while the Trojan offense clicked off eight goals in each quarter to work toward USC's season-high 27 goals scored in the 27-3 final victory.
GAME 3: #2 USC 21, #24 Pomona-Pitzer 6
Eleven Trojans scored in USC's 21-6 win over the Sagehens. Tilly Kearns, Alejandra Aznar and Bayley Weber each tallied a pair of goals in the first frame to help USC hold a 7-3 lead after eight minutes of action. As newcomers Maggie Johnson and Fanni Muzsnay joined the scoresheet in the next stretch, USC would lead it 10-4 at halftime. The hosts managed two early goals to open the second half, but that's when the Trojans locked back in. USC rattled off 11 straight goals to close out the game while holding the Sagehens scoreless for the last 14 minutes. Goalie Carolyne Stern collected six saves to back up the Trojan defense as USC emerged with the 21-6 win on some well-balanced offense at the other end.
GAME 4: #2 USC 17, CMS 8
Fourteen different scorers contributed to a 17-8 win over the Athenas as the Trojans flexed their scoring muscle in the first half with 10 different Trojans accounting for USC's first 10 goals. Goalie Jada Ward was a force in the cage, turning away an early CMS 5-meter penalty shot while USC worked out to a 10-2 lead. Johnson's second goal of the game made it 11-2 on a 5-meter penalty shot drawn by Téa Poljak, and USC would hold a 12-3 advantage at halftime. The teams stayed in stride offensively in the second half, and CeCe Paine topped off the scoring for USC with her first career goal in becoming the 14th USC scorer in the Trojans' 17-8 win.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 17 games deep into 2023, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Bayley Weber with 40 goals, followed by Tilly Kearns with 34 and Alejandra Aznar and Paige Hauschild with 24 apiece. In all, 23 Trojans have scored at least one goal to date, including eight with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into the 16-1 start, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 10.0 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 10.3 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 6.5 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 293-111 so far, while holding teams scoreless in 13 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 188 career goals to date. Several more veteran Trojans are also on the climb. Bayley Weber ranks No. 11 with 183 career goals, and Grace Tehaney sits at No. 19 with 141 to her name. Meanwhile, Tilly Kearns, who joined the 100-goal club at USC earlier this season, now holds 127 goals as a Trojan, and Mireia Guiral also is on the rise with 112 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Carolyne Stern ranks No. 9 all-time among USC goalies with her 306 career saves — one stop away from the No. 8 slot.
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
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
