University Southern California Trojans
Saturday, April 22
Los Angeles, Calif.
12:00 PM
USC
at
UCLA
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/USC Athletics
No. 1 USC Women’s Water Polo Wraps Regular Season At Crosstown Rival UCLA
April 19, 2023 | Women's Water Polo
Trojans aim for an undefeated MPSF mark when they visit the No. 3 Bruins at 12 p.m. on Saturday.
#1 USC (24-1, 5-0) at #3 UCLA (19-4, 4-1)
Saturday, April 22 | 12 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Center (Westwood, Calif.)
Series Record (since 1995): USC trails 39-53 (W3)
Last Meeting: USC 13, UCLA 10 (Feb. 25, 2023)
TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles (Announcer: Jim Watson)
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 1 USC wraps the regular season this week with a chance to secure an undefeated MPSF run when the Trojans pay a visit to crosstown rival UCLA. USC (24-1, 5-0 MPSF) takes on the No. 3 Bruins (19-4, 4-1) at 12 p.m. on Saturday (April 22) in a televised game at Spieker Aquatics Center.
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's USC-UCLA game will be televised on Pac-12 Los Angeles with Jim Watson on the call. Live stats can be found at scores.6-8sports.com.
RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the nation to open 2023, mirroring the Trojans' 2022 finish. This week, after serving up a decisive upset win over Stanford, USC took over as the No. 1 team in the nation on April 12. In the latest round of national rankings (released April 19), USC remains ranked No. 1.
LAST ACTION
USC wrapped up a perfect season at home in celebrating Senior Day with a 15-11 win over visiting No. 19 Arizona State at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC celebrated its seven departing seniors before the game, honoring the standout careers of National Champions Christina Crum, Mireia Guiral, Claire Haas, Paige Hauschild, Téa Poljak, Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber. With its 6-0 mark at home this season, USC is now 24-1 overall and leads the MPSF with a 5-0 record in conference play. USC senior Téa Poljak made her mark early, knocking in back-to-back goals to set her Trojans on course in their final home game of the year. Tilly Kearns struck next, sticking her first of four goals on the day to take the Trojans ahead 3-0. In the second period, Trojan seniors Grace Tehaney and Mireia Guiral hammered home goals that helped USC tally six in that frame and take a 9-3 lead by halftime. USC's hefty first-half lead carried the Trojans through as the Sun Devils picked up their scoring pace in the second half. ASU was effective in finishing many of its numerous power play chances in that stretch, but the Trojans stayed the course. In the fourth quarter, senior Christina Crum sizzled in USC's 12th goal of the day, and Tehaney stepped up again to keep the senior train rolling. She went low corner off a feed from fellow senior Paige Hauschild — who served up three assists in the win — and USC was well on its way to victory. A steal and finish from Maggie Johnson marked USC's 15th goal, and the Trojans emerged with a final 15-11 win to notch their 12th consecutive win of the year.
NOTABLE:
- USC seniors combined for 10 assists — Hauschild (3), Tehaney (2), Guiral (2), Weber (2) and Poljak (1).
- Going 4-for-4 shooting, Tilly Kearns moved up to rank No. 17 all-time at USC with 143 career goals.
- With her four goals, Kearns now has scored an even 50 goals this season.
- With two goals, Grace Tehaney extended her scoring streak to eight straight games.
- USC is now 40-2 all-time against Arizona State, now with 19 straight wins over the Sun Devils.
STOPPING STANFORD
USC broke open a back-and-forth battle with a power move in the fourth period of play, knocking out a 17-12 win over visiting No. 1 Stanford in the Trojans' most powerful offensive output on record against the Cardinal. In a series dating back to 1996, USC and Stanford have had plenty of epic battles, but this decisive win by the Trojans marked the most goals scored by either team in a USC-Stanford matchup. The Trojans trailed for just 30 seconds during the second period and later turned the tide on the Cardinal by outscoring Stanford 5-1 in the fourth frame to tally the key MPSF win. The win avenged USC's only loss of the year and snapped a three-game skid against Stanford, including a loss to the Cardinal in last year's NCAA championship game. The Trojans were on point in this one, their focus on revenge unbroken even by Stanford being granted a grand total of six 5-meter penalty shots in the game. Five of the Cardinal's 12 goals came on penalties, the fifth of which brought it to a one-goal margin at the end of the third period. Leading 12-11 entering the final eight minutes, USC kicked things into an even higher gear. With Tilly Kearns earning back-to-back power plays for her Trojans, USC maneuvered ahead 14-11 on fine finishes from Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber. The hits kept coming for the Trojans, whose defense got stuck in while the offense kicked in three more — a ripping backhand from Mireia Guiral, a slam at the post from Weber and a savvy strike from Julia Janov to make it a 5-0 scoring rally for USC and a 17-11 lead with 1:34 to go.
NOTABLE:
- USC's 17 goals scored was the most the Trojans have ever scored against Stanford.
- The USC-Stanford series record now stands at 43-41 all-time in USC's favor (series began in 1996).
- With four goals, Bayley Weber moved up to rank No. 9 all-time in scoring at USC, now with 204 career goals.
- With three goals, Tilly Kearns cracked the all-time top-20 at USC, now ranked No. 20 with 138 career goals.
- Freshman Morgan Netherton tallied her second two-goal game of the season.
- Paige Hauschild had a game-high four assists.
- Julia Janov's two goals marked her first multiple-goal game of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
With just one week of regular-season action remaining, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Bayley Weber with 64 goals, followed by Tilly Kearns with 50, Grace Tehaney with 37 and Paige Hauschild and Alejandra Aznar with 32 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 24-1 record to date, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 9.5 saves per game thanks in part to a career-high 16 saves made against Long Beach State on Jan. 28 — one of five double-digit saves outings by Stern so far this season. 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 9.8 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 6.9 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 422-173 so far, while holding teams scoreless in 18 different periods to date, including a powerful second-half shutout of No. 6 UC Irvine on Feb. 18 and a first-half shutout of San José State on April 1.
ON THE RISE
Redshirt seniors Paige Hauschild and Bayley Weber have been steadily climbing USC's all-time scoring ladder this season. Weber recently took over the No. 9 spot and holds 207 career goals — two away from moving up to No. 8. Hauschild, meanwhile, sits at No. 11 all-time with 196 goals to date. Several more veteran Trojans are also on the rise. Grace Tehaney stands alone at No. 15 with 160 goals to her name. Meanwhile, Tilly Kearns, who joined the 100-goal club at USC earlier this season, now holds 143 as a Trojan to stand at No. 16. Mireia Guiral also moving on up with 119 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Carolyne Stern has taken over at No. 8 all-time among USC goalies and now holds 354 career saves.
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, April 22 | 12 p.m. | Spieker Aquatics Center (Westwood, Calif.)
Series Record (since 1995): USC trails 39-53 (W3)
Last Meeting: USC 13, UCLA 10 (Feb. 25, 2023)
TV: Pac-12 Los Angeles (Announcer: Jim Watson)
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 1 USC wraps the regular season this week with a chance to secure an undefeated MPSF run when the Trojans pay a visit to crosstown rival UCLA. USC (24-1, 5-0 MPSF) takes on the No. 3 Bruins (19-4, 4-1) at 12 p.m. on Saturday (April 22) in a televised game at Spieker Aquatics Center.
FOLLOW ALONG
Saturday's USC-UCLA game will be televised on Pac-12 Los Angeles with Jim Watson on the call. Live stats can be found at scores.6-8sports.com.
RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the nation to open 2023, mirroring the Trojans' 2022 finish. This week, after serving up a decisive upset win over Stanford, USC took over as the No. 1 team in the nation on April 12. In the latest round of national rankings (released April 19), USC remains ranked No. 1.
LAST ACTION
USC wrapped up a perfect season at home in celebrating Senior Day with a 15-11 win over visiting No. 19 Arizona State at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC celebrated its seven departing seniors before the game, honoring the standout careers of National Champions Christina Crum, Mireia Guiral, Claire Haas, Paige Hauschild, Téa Poljak, Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber. With its 6-0 mark at home this season, USC is now 24-1 overall and leads the MPSF with a 5-0 record in conference play. USC senior Téa Poljak made her mark early, knocking in back-to-back goals to set her Trojans on course in their final home game of the year. Tilly Kearns struck next, sticking her first of four goals on the day to take the Trojans ahead 3-0. In the second period, Trojan seniors Grace Tehaney and Mireia Guiral hammered home goals that helped USC tally six in that frame and take a 9-3 lead by halftime. USC's hefty first-half lead carried the Trojans through as the Sun Devils picked up their scoring pace in the second half. ASU was effective in finishing many of its numerous power play chances in that stretch, but the Trojans stayed the course. In the fourth quarter, senior Christina Crum sizzled in USC's 12th goal of the day, and Tehaney stepped up again to keep the senior train rolling. She went low corner off a feed from fellow senior Paige Hauschild — who served up three assists in the win — and USC was well on its way to victory. A steal and finish from Maggie Johnson marked USC's 15th goal, and the Trojans emerged with a final 15-11 win to notch their 12th consecutive win of the year.
NOTABLE:
- USC seniors combined for 10 assists — Hauschild (3), Tehaney (2), Guiral (2), Weber (2) and Poljak (1).
- Going 4-for-4 shooting, Tilly Kearns moved up to rank No. 17 all-time at USC with 143 career goals.
- With her four goals, Kearns now has scored an even 50 goals this season.
- With two goals, Grace Tehaney extended her scoring streak to eight straight games.
- USC is now 40-2 all-time against Arizona State, now with 19 straight wins over the Sun Devils.
STOPPING STANFORD
USC broke open a back-and-forth battle with a power move in the fourth period of play, knocking out a 17-12 win over visiting No. 1 Stanford in the Trojans' most powerful offensive output on record against the Cardinal. In a series dating back to 1996, USC and Stanford have had plenty of epic battles, but this decisive win by the Trojans marked the most goals scored by either team in a USC-Stanford matchup. The Trojans trailed for just 30 seconds during the second period and later turned the tide on the Cardinal by outscoring Stanford 5-1 in the fourth frame to tally the key MPSF win. The win avenged USC's only loss of the year and snapped a three-game skid against Stanford, including a loss to the Cardinal in last year's NCAA championship game. The Trojans were on point in this one, their focus on revenge unbroken even by Stanford being granted a grand total of six 5-meter penalty shots in the game. Five of the Cardinal's 12 goals came on penalties, the fifth of which brought it to a one-goal margin at the end of the third period. Leading 12-11 entering the final eight minutes, USC kicked things into an even higher gear. With Tilly Kearns earning back-to-back power plays for her Trojans, USC maneuvered ahead 14-11 on fine finishes from Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber. The hits kept coming for the Trojans, whose defense got stuck in while the offense kicked in three more — a ripping backhand from Mireia Guiral, a slam at the post from Weber and a savvy strike from Julia Janov to make it a 5-0 scoring rally for USC and a 17-11 lead with 1:34 to go.
NOTABLE:
- USC's 17 goals scored was the most the Trojans have ever scored against Stanford.
- The USC-Stanford series record now stands at 43-41 all-time in USC's favor (series began in 1996).
- With four goals, Bayley Weber moved up to rank No. 9 all-time in scoring at USC, now with 204 career goals.
- With three goals, Tilly Kearns cracked the all-time top-20 at USC, now ranked No. 20 with 138 career goals.
- Freshman Morgan Netherton tallied her second two-goal game of the season.
- Paige Hauschild had a game-high four assists.
- Julia Janov's two goals marked her first multiple-goal game of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
With just one week of regular-season action remaining, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Bayley Weber with 64 goals, followed by Tilly Kearns with 50, Grace Tehaney with 37 and Paige Hauschild and Alejandra Aznar with 32 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 24-1 record to date, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 9.5 saves per game thanks in part to a career-high 16 saves made against Long Beach State on Jan. 28 — one of five double-digit saves outings by Stern so far this season. 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 9.8 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 6.9 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 422-173 so far, while holding teams scoreless in 18 different periods to date, including a powerful second-half shutout of No. 6 UC Irvine on Feb. 18 and a first-half shutout of San José State on April 1.
ON THE RISE
Redshirt seniors Paige Hauschild and Bayley Weber have been steadily climbing USC's all-time scoring ladder this season. Weber recently took over the No. 9 spot and holds 207 career goals — two away from moving up to No. 8. Hauschild, meanwhile, sits at No. 11 all-time with 196 goals to date. Several more veteran Trojans are also on the rise. Grace Tehaney stands alone at No. 15 with 160 goals to her name. Meanwhile, Tilly Kearns, who joined the 100-goal club at USC earlier this season, now holds 143 as a Trojan to stand at No. 16. Mireia Guiral also moving on up with 119 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Carolyne Stern has taken over at No. 8 all-time among USC goalies and now holds 354 career saves.
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
