Sunday, May 14
Stockton, Calif.
7:00 PM
USC
9
vs
11
Stanford
Players Mentioned
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
2M
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
DR
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water PoloPhoto by: Katie Chin
USC Women’s Water Polo Fights Back But Falls 11-9 To Stanford In NCAA Championship Game
May 14, 2023 | Women's Water Polo
Trojans made a late rally before the Cardinal emerged victorious in Stockton.
STOCKTON, CALIF. — The USC women's water polo team made a fierce push to make it a one-goal game late in the fourth period, but top-seeded Stanford was able to get the goal it needed to pull out an 11-9 win in today's NCAA Championship game in Stockton. In a game of shifting momentum and riddled with exclusions, the Trojans had erased a three-goal deficit to tie it up at halftime. When Stanford moved ahead 10-6 on a series of 6-on-5 opportunities in the fourth, USC fought back with a three-goal run that had the Trojans within one with 1:11 to go in regulation before Stanford found an opportunistic goal to pad its lead to two in the final minute. USC wraps the 2023 season with an impressive 29-3 overall record, having lost only to the Cardinal this year.
Playing in their final games as Trojans, USC seniors Paige Hauschild, Grace Tehaney, Bayley Weber and Mireia Guiral all tallied key goals tonight. They combined for five of USC's nine goals, with Tilly Kearns and Alejandra Aznar adding two apiece on the offensive end. Weber, Hauschild and Tehaney finish out their careers ranked in USC's all-time top-15 for career scoring, with Weber at No. 6 with 214 career goals, Hauschild at No. 10 with 208 and Tehaney tied at No. 14 with 170. It was USC's fifth straight trip to the NCAA final.
The 2023 title match presented the eighth time that USC and Stanford had faced off in an NCAA final. Every NCAA trophy since 2010 had been claimed by either the Trojans or the Cardinal, so it was certain that tonight's clash would be a battle.
Stanford struck first, and after Grace Tehaney pumped in the equalizer for the Trojans, the Cardinal was able to build out a 4-1 lead thanks in part to some stingy goalkeeping. In the second period, though, USC turned the tide, shutting out Stanford in those eight minutes while knocking in three goals to pull even by halftime. Hauschild hit Kearns for a savvy 6-on-5 finish to spark the run, which was fueled by some huge saves from goalie Carolyne Stern. After one of those Stern stops, Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea found Hauschild for a rocket that got USC one back. Again, Stern made a big save, and Hauschild would convert on the other end to knot the game up at 4-4 for halftime.
Tough Trojan defense continued for the opening stretch of the second half before Stanford picked up back-to-back power plays and converted to go up 6-4. USC would earn one of its own next, with Spaniards Aznar and Guiral working in tandem as Guiral ripped in a score to make it 6-5. The Cardinal made it 3-for-3 on its power plays in the period to take a 7-5 lead soon after, and then finished off a counterattack to carry an 8-5 advantage into the fourth. Aznar zipped in a 6-on-5 score off a pass from Hauschild to open the frame, getting it to 8-6, but a series of Stanford 6-on-5 chances saw the Cardinal creep ahead 10-6 with 4:49 to go. With the pressure on, USC stepped up again. Kearns hammered home a big one at 3:32, and after a Tehaney takeaway on the defensive end, Aznar struck again to get it to 10-8 with 3:16 on the clock. Weber came through in the clutch with a wild finish in front of the cage to make it a one-goal game with 1:11 remaining, giving USC a chance to force overtime. But the defensive stop the Trojans needed went awry, and Stanford scored at the post to go up 11-9 with 50 seconds left. The Cardinal would hold on, relegating the Trojans to a heartbreaking finish to the season.
At the end of the tournament, Paige Hauschild and Tilly Kearns were named to the NCAA All-Tournament First team, and Carolyne Stern and Bayley Weber were named to the All-Tournament Second Team.
NOTABLE:
- With two goals tonight, Bayley Weber finishes her career ranked No. 6 all-time in scoring at USC with 214 career goals.
- Weber scored 71 goals this season — seventh most by a Trojan — making her one of just nine Trojans to score 70 or more goals in a single season.
- With two goals tonight, Paige Hauschild finishes her USC career ranked No. 10 all-time in scoring at USC with 208 career goals.
- With one goal tonight, Grace Tehaney finishes her USC career ranked No. 14 all-time in scoring at USC with 170 career goals.
- With one goal tonight, Mireia Guiral finishes her USC career ranked No. 26 all-time in scoring at USC with 124 career goals.
- With two goals tonight, Tilly Kearns finished the year with 69 goals to better her 2022 season total of 64.
- Weber and Kearns each scored in a team-high 26 games and recorded a team-best 21 multiple-goal games this season.
- Carolyne Stern's 199 saves this season bettered last year's total of 193.
- In holding Stanford scoreless in the second period, USC tallied its 20th defensive shutout of an opponent in a regulation period this year.
- USC is now 41-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- USC faced Stanford in the final for the eighth time, with the Trojans and Cardinal now split at 4-4 in NCAA finals.
- This was USC's 13th all-time NCAA final, with six NCAA Championships won (USC won its first national championship in 1999, before it became an NCAA event).
- USC's 29 wins are the most in a season since 2017.
- USC head coach Marko Pintaric now holds an 82-9 overall record in his four seasons at the helm of the USC women, with one NCAA championship won (2021) in four straight finals reached.
2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT (Stockton, Calif.)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Stanford 11, USC 9
May 14, 2023 | Chris Kjeldsen Pool (Stockton, Calif.)
USC 1 - 3 - 1 - 4 = 9
STAN 4 - 0 - 4 - 3 = 11
SCORING:
USC — Tilly Kearns 2, Paige Hauschild 2, Alejandra Aznar 2, Grace Tehaney, Mireia Guiral, Bayley Weber.
STAN — Ryann Neushul 3, Jewel Roemer 2, Celeste Wijnbelt 2, Sophie Wallace 2, Christina Hicks, Ella Woodhead.
SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 6, Maya Avital (STAN) 12.
Playing in their final games as Trojans, USC seniors Paige Hauschild, Grace Tehaney, Bayley Weber and Mireia Guiral all tallied key goals tonight. They combined for five of USC's nine goals, with Tilly Kearns and Alejandra Aznar adding two apiece on the offensive end. Weber, Hauschild and Tehaney finish out their careers ranked in USC's all-time top-15 for career scoring, with Weber at No. 6 with 214 career goals, Hauschild at No. 10 with 208 and Tehaney tied at No. 14 with 170. It was USC's fifth straight trip to the NCAA final.
The 2023 title match presented the eighth time that USC and Stanford had faced off in an NCAA final. Every NCAA trophy since 2010 had been claimed by either the Trojans or the Cardinal, so it was certain that tonight's clash would be a battle.
Stanford struck first, and after Grace Tehaney pumped in the equalizer for the Trojans, the Cardinal was able to build out a 4-1 lead thanks in part to some stingy goalkeeping. In the second period, though, USC turned the tide, shutting out Stanford in those eight minutes while knocking in three goals to pull even by halftime. Hauschild hit Kearns for a savvy 6-on-5 finish to spark the run, which was fueled by some huge saves from goalie Carolyne Stern. After one of those Stern stops, Honnie Vandeweghe-O'Shea found Hauschild for a rocket that got USC one back. Again, Stern made a big save, and Hauschild would convert on the other end to knot the game up at 4-4 for halftime.
Tough Trojan defense continued for the opening stretch of the second half before Stanford picked up back-to-back power plays and converted to go up 6-4. USC would earn one of its own next, with Spaniards Aznar and Guiral working in tandem as Guiral ripped in a score to make it 6-5. The Cardinal made it 3-for-3 on its power plays in the period to take a 7-5 lead soon after, and then finished off a counterattack to carry an 8-5 advantage into the fourth. Aznar zipped in a 6-on-5 score off a pass from Hauschild to open the frame, getting it to 8-6, but a series of Stanford 6-on-5 chances saw the Cardinal creep ahead 10-6 with 4:49 to go. With the pressure on, USC stepped up again. Kearns hammered home a big one at 3:32, and after a Tehaney takeaway on the defensive end, Aznar struck again to get it to 10-8 with 3:16 on the clock. Weber came through in the clutch with a wild finish in front of the cage to make it a one-goal game with 1:11 remaining, giving USC a chance to force overtime. But the defensive stop the Trojans needed went awry, and Stanford scored at the post to go up 11-9 with 50 seconds left. The Cardinal would hold on, relegating the Trojans to a heartbreaking finish to the season.
At the end of the tournament, Paige Hauschild and Tilly Kearns were named to the NCAA All-Tournament First team, and Carolyne Stern and Bayley Weber were named to the All-Tournament Second Team.
NOTABLE:
- With two goals tonight, Bayley Weber finishes her career ranked No. 6 all-time in scoring at USC with 214 career goals.
- Weber scored 71 goals this season — seventh most by a Trojan — making her one of just nine Trojans to score 70 or more goals in a single season.
- With two goals tonight, Paige Hauschild finishes her USC career ranked No. 10 all-time in scoring at USC with 208 career goals.
- With one goal tonight, Grace Tehaney finishes her USC career ranked No. 14 all-time in scoring at USC with 170 career goals.
- With one goal tonight, Mireia Guiral finishes her USC career ranked No. 26 all-time in scoring at USC with 124 career goals.
- With two goals tonight, Tilly Kearns finished the year with 69 goals to better her 2022 season total of 64.
- Weber and Kearns each scored in a team-high 26 games and recorded a team-best 21 multiple-goal games this season.
- Carolyne Stern's 199 saves this season bettered last year's total of 193.
- In holding Stanford scoreless in the second period, USC tallied its 20th defensive shutout of an opponent in a regulation period this year.
- USC is now 41-13 all-time in the NCAA Tournament.
- USC faced Stanford in the final for the eighth time, with the Trojans and Cardinal now split at 4-4 in NCAA finals.
- This was USC's 13th all-time NCAA final, with six NCAA Championships won (USC won its first national championship in 1999, before it became an NCAA event).
- USC's 29 wins are the most in a season since 2017.
- USC head coach Marko Pintaric now holds an 82-9 overall record in his four seasons at the helm of the USC women, with one NCAA championship won (2021) in four straight finals reached.
2023 NCAA TOURNAMENT (Stockton, Calif.)
CHAMPIONSHIP
Stanford 11, USC 9
May 14, 2023 | Chris Kjeldsen Pool (Stockton, Calif.)
USC 1 - 3 - 1 - 4 = 9
STAN 4 - 0 - 4 - 3 = 11
SCORING:
USC — Tilly Kearns 2, Paige Hauschild 2, Alejandra Aznar 2, Grace Tehaney, Mireia Guiral, Bayley Weber.
STAN — Ryann Neushul 3, Jewel Roemer 2, Celeste Wijnbelt 2, Sophie Wallace 2, Christina Hicks, Ella Woodhead.
SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 6, Maya Avital (STAN) 12.
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