Friday, March 14
San Diego, Calif.
12:00 p.m.
USC
vs
Princeton
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
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ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
G
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
Photo by: Drake Lee
No. 2 USC Women’s Water Polo Heads To San Diego For Action At Aztec Invitational
March 12, 2025 | Women's Water Polo
Trojans face Princeton and Bucknell on Friday, Harvard and Michigan on Saturday at Aztec Aquaplex.
THIS WEEK
No. 2 USC sets up camp in San Diego later this week for competition at the Azten Invitational, where the Trojans (17-1) will face four opponents in two days. USC opens up on Friday (March 14) with a 12 p.m. faceoff against No. 12 Princeton, followed by a 5 p.m. clash with Bucknell. On Saturday (March 15), USC takes on No. 8 Harvard at 9:20 a.m. before a 1:20 p.m. meeting with No. 16 Michigan. Competition takes place at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex.
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2025 ranked No. 3 in the national rankings. On Feb. 5, the Trojans moved up to rank No. 1 in the nation, and stood tied in that spot for the next two weeks before moving to No. 2 in the nation on Feb. 26. USC remains at No. 2 in the latest set of national rankings (released March 12).
LAST ACTION
USC defeated visiting No. 15 Indiana 21-12 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center today to open MPSF conference play, moving to 17-1 on the season. The Trojans and Hoosiers opened the game trading goals back and forth until USC dominated in the second half to collect the win. Scores from Tilly Kearns and Rachel Gazzaniga from the field and an Emily Ausmus 5-meter penalty conversion put the Trojans up to a quick 3-0 lead to kick off the first. Indiana came back with a goal on the power play, which Alma Yaacobi answered with her own score on the next USC possession. The Hoosiers would collect two back-to-back goals to bring the gap to 4-3, only to see Kearns widen the USC lead with her second score of the day. Another Ausmus goal and two Indiana 5-meter penalty conversions would bring the score to 6-5 Trojans at the end of the first period. The goal-trading would continue through the first two minutes of the second period, with Meghan McAninch scoring on the first drive and two back-to-back Hoosier follow-ups. But once Ausmus collected her hat trick on the penalty with 6:13 left in the second, the Trojans shut out Indiana until almost four minutes into the fourth frame. USC goalie Jada Ward's steal and two blocks in the second, along with more offensive firepower from Kearns and Ausmus, would put USC up 11-7 at the half. The Trojans kept Indiana scoreless in the third, with Ausmus collecting her fifth goal of the game and Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Ava Knepper adding their names to the scoresheet. The fourth opened with Gazzaniga notching her own hat trick, and Kearns hitting a 5-meter penalty shot to bring her personal tally to five goals and the score to 17-7. Morgan Netherton then tallied back-to-back blasts, the second off an Anna Reed steal, before the Hoosiers would come back on a 6-on-5 conversion. But with an Emma Lawson slam and Yaacobi's second goal with five seconds left, Indiana could only bring the deficit to 21-12 before the end of regulation.
NOTABLE:
- With five goals, SR Tilly Kearns moves officially to No. 5 all-time in career scoring at USC with 220 career goals.
- Aith five goals, FR Emily Ausmus now has scored 63 goals this season — third most in USC history by a USC true freshman.
- Ausmus has now recorded multiple-goal games in 17 of USC's 18 games this season.
- With their goals, Ausmus and SO Ava Stryker have scored in all 18 games this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 18 games deep into 2025, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns with 63 and 58 goals, respectively. Next in line is Ava Stryker, with 45 to help lead a pack of six Trojans with 20 or more goals to date. In all, 17 Trojans have scored at least one goal in 2025, including six with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into USC's 16-1 start — all of whom have set career highs already this year. Junior Jada Ward has started 16 games for the Trojans, and she hauled in a career-high 13 saves in USC's win over Hawai'i earlier this season along with back-to-back 11-save outings at the BKI. Overall, the goalie group averages 7.7 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up 8.9 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 337-160 so far, while holding teams scoreless in eight different periods to date. Offensively, USC is averaging 18.7 goals per game.
CLIMB ON
Both Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns have broken the 50-goal barrier this season. It's the third time in her four seasons that Kearns has passed that mark, while Ausmus is one of just seven Trojans to have done it as a true freshman. Kearns' 58 goals so far have propelled the senior up the USC career ladder, now ranking No. 5 all-time in scoring at USC with 220 goals. Junior goalie Jada Ward also has joined elite company, now ranked No. 10 all-time in career saves at USC with 155 total stops to date.
ON REPEAT
In back-to-back weeks, USC claimed both MPSF awards, notching another sweep with Tilly Kearns' first MPSF Player of the Week award of the season and Emily Ausmus' second MPSF Newcomer of the Week selection on Feb. 10. The two Trojan Olympians were instrumental in top-ranked USC's 19-15 win over No. 6 UC Irvine, while also helping lift USC to a 24-7 win over Biola in the Trojans' home opener. Kearns scored five goals against the Anteaters after tallying two against the Eagles. Also against UCI, Kearns drew an exclusion and had a steal. In the win over Biola, she had three steals and an assist along with a drawn exclusion. Ausmus also scored five goals in USC's win over UC Irvine after hitting a career-high six goals vs. the Eagles. She also served up three assists and had three steals and a field block in the win over the Anteaters while going 5-of-6 shooting. Against Biola, she added two assists and two steals to her six goals on eight shots. Kearns and Ausmus have each scored in every game for USC this season, with Ausmus tallying multiple goals in all 10 games and Kearns doing so in all but one.
SWEEPS WEEK
USC landed a pair of Trojans on the MPSF's weekly honor roll for the first time this season following USC's run to the 2025 Triton Invitational championship. For their key roles in a powerful 4-0 run at the event that was topped with a title-winning victory over rival UCLA, Rachel Gazzaniga was named MPSF Player of the Week and Emily Ausmus the MPSF Newcomer of the Week. Gazzaniga scored a career-high four goals — including a run of three straight goals during the second half — to help USC beat No. 1 UCLA 14-11 in the championship game at the Triton Invitational. She finished with nine goals at the event, having scored in all four games for the Trojans as USC also beat CMS 30-8 and No. 21 UC Davis 17-9 in group play and No. 5 Hawai'i 17-9 in the semifinals. Gazzaniga scored twice and had an assist, steal and block vs. CMS. Against UC Davis, she also scored twice and added an assist and steal along with two drawn exclusions. In the win over the Rainbow Wahine she had a goal, assist and steal. Gazzaniga also had three drawn exclusions vs. the Bruins, helping USC stay undefeated on the season at 8-0 after winning the Trojans' second Triton Invite title in the last three years. A freshman, Ausmus scored 12 goals to help USC win the Triton Invitational championship. She scored twice and had three assists in the title game against UCLA. She opened the event with five goals in a 30-8 USC win over CMS, then had a hat trick in a 17-9 win over UC Davis to wrap group play. In the semifinal vs. Hawai'i, Ausmus scored twice and had four assists and a steal to help USC to a 17-9 win over the Rainbow Wahine. Ausmus has scored multiple goals in all eight games for USC this season. Gazzaniga and Ausmus are the first Trojans to earn weekly honors from the conference this season, and this is the first set of such honors for both.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Almost half of USC's scoring was generated by just five Trojan freshmen and sophomores last year, led by All-Americans Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. That dynamic duo gained extra experience as teammates with Team USA in a gold-medal run at the recent Pan American Games alongside incoming freshman and 2024 Olympian Emily Ausmus. Along with Ausmus, who deferred her enrollment in 2023-24 to compete with Team USA in Paris, USC welcomes a total of five newcomers to the pool for this 2025 campaign. Also boasting international experience are true freshman Alma Yaacobi (Israel) and junior transfer Sinia Plotz (Germany). Southern California products Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda are also tabbed as quick impact players for the Trojans in their first season ahead.
VETERAN VIPS
Two-time Olympian and 2024 silver medalist Tilly Kearns plunges back into action at USC, where she is one of a five-woman senior class setting up for their final season as Trojans. Laine Hourigan, Emma Lawson, Sally McCarthy and Isabel Zimmerman all bring veteran experience to the 2025 Trojan talent pool. Lawson and junior Maggie Johnson are USC's team captains this season, joined by Kearns, Zimmerman, junior Morgan Netherton and sophomore Gazzaniga on head coach Casey Moon's Leadership Council, which serves as a guiding force for the Trojans.
STAYING CENTERED
USC's center play is anchored by Tilly Kearns and Alma Yaacobi on the offensive end, and is balanced by the defensive savvy of Emily Ausmus and Rachel Gazzaniga as guards. Gazzaniga and Madison Haaland-Ford also add offensive options at the two-meter slot for the Trojans.
ATTACK MODE
USC's perimeter attack features a number of Trojan sharpshooters. Along with the more veteran talent of Morgan Netherton and Isabel Zimmerman, sophomores Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch have proven their worth on the perimeter, with further reinforcements coming in from newcomers Sinia Plotz, Ausmus and Kearns. Additional depth from the bench comes from Hannah Carver and Jelena Sarac, who scored their first goals as Trojans last season, along with another redshirt sophomore in Caitlin Cohen.
CAGE FIGHTERS
On the defensive end of the pool, USC also boasts a connected unit of goalies. Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward both have logged time in the cage the last two seasons. They're joined by two other Trojan goalies in redshirt freshmen Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider as USC's goalkeeping corps for 2025.
LAST SEASON
In 2024, USC went 18-9 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in Casey Moon's first season as full-time head coach for the Trojans. USC tied for second in MPSF regular-season play at 4-2 and finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament. At the NCAA tourney, the Trojans fell in the quarterfinals to Stanford. USC's 2024 team was led in scoring by freshmen Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. Both earned All-America honors along with seniors Alejandra Aznar and Julua Janov.
THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC's campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. •
No. 2 USC sets up camp in San Diego later this week for competition at the Azten Invitational, where the Trojans (17-1) will face four opponents in two days. USC opens up on Friday (March 14) with a 12 p.m. faceoff against No. 12 Princeton, followed by a 5 p.m. clash with Bucknell. On Saturday (March 15), USC takes on No. 8 Harvard at 9:20 a.m. before a 1:20 p.m. meeting with No. 16 Michigan. Competition takes place at San Diego State's Aztec Aquaplex.
RANKINGS
USC opened up 2025 ranked No. 3 in the national rankings. On Feb. 5, the Trojans moved up to rank No. 1 in the nation, and stood tied in that spot for the next two weeks before moving to No. 2 in the nation on Feb. 26. USC remains at No. 2 in the latest set of national rankings (released March 12).
LAST ACTION
USC defeated visiting No. 15 Indiana 21-12 at Uytengsu Aquatics Center today to open MPSF conference play, moving to 17-1 on the season. The Trojans and Hoosiers opened the game trading goals back and forth until USC dominated in the second half to collect the win. Scores from Tilly Kearns and Rachel Gazzaniga from the field and an Emily Ausmus 5-meter penalty conversion put the Trojans up to a quick 3-0 lead to kick off the first. Indiana came back with a goal on the power play, which Alma Yaacobi answered with her own score on the next USC possession. The Hoosiers would collect two back-to-back goals to bring the gap to 4-3, only to see Kearns widen the USC lead with her second score of the day. Another Ausmus goal and two Indiana 5-meter penalty conversions would bring the score to 6-5 Trojans at the end of the first period. The goal-trading would continue through the first two minutes of the second period, with Meghan McAninch scoring on the first drive and two back-to-back Hoosier follow-ups. But once Ausmus collected her hat trick on the penalty with 6:13 left in the second, the Trojans shut out Indiana until almost four minutes into the fourth frame. USC goalie Jada Ward's steal and two blocks in the second, along with more offensive firepower from Kearns and Ausmus, would put USC up 11-7 at the half. The Trojans kept Indiana scoreless in the third, with Ausmus collecting her fifth goal of the game and Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Ava Knepper adding their names to the scoresheet. The fourth opened with Gazzaniga notching her own hat trick, and Kearns hitting a 5-meter penalty shot to bring her personal tally to five goals and the score to 17-7. Morgan Netherton then tallied back-to-back blasts, the second off an Anna Reed steal, before the Hoosiers would come back on a 6-on-5 conversion. But with an Emma Lawson slam and Yaacobi's second goal with five seconds left, Indiana could only bring the deficit to 21-12 before the end of regulation.
NOTABLE:
- With five goals, SR Tilly Kearns moves officially to No. 5 all-time in career scoring at USC with 220 career goals.
- Aith five goals, FR Emily Ausmus now has scored 63 goals this season — third most in USC history by a USC true freshman.
- Ausmus has now recorded multiple-goal games in 17 of USC's 18 games this season.
- With their goals, Ausmus and SO Ava Stryker have scored in all 18 games this season.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 18 games deep into 2025, USC's balanced scoring charge is led by Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns with 63 and 58 goals, respectively. Next in line is Ava Stryker, with 45 to help lead a pack of six Trojans with 20 or more goals to date. In all, 17 Trojans have scored at least one goal in 2025, including six with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into USC's 16-1 start — all of whom have set career highs already this year. Junior Jada Ward has started 16 games for the Trojans, and she hauled in a career-high 13 saves in USC's win over Hawai'i earlier this season along with back-to-back 11-save outings at the BKI. Overall, the goalie group averages 7.7 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up 8.9 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 337-160 so far, while holding teams scoreless in eight different periods to date. Offensively, USC is averaging 18.7 goals per game.
CLIMB ON
Both Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns have broken the 50-goal barrier this season. It's the third time in her four seasons that Kearns has passed that mark, while Ausmus is one of just seven Trojans to have done it as a true freshman. Kearns' 58 goals so far have propelled the senior up the USC career ladder, now ranking No. 5 all-time in scoring at USC with 220 goals. Junior goalie Jada Ward also has joined elite company, now ranked No. 10 all-time in career saves at USC with 155 total stops to date.
ON REPEAT
In back-to-back weeks, USC claimed both MPSF awards, notching another sweep with Tilly Kearns' first MPSF Player of the Week award of the season and Emily Ausmus' second MPSF Newcomer of the Week selection on Feb. 10. The two Trojan Olympians were instrumental in top-ranked USC's 19-15 win over No. 6 UC Irvine, while also helping lift USC to a 24-7 win over Biola in the Trojans' home opener. Kearns scored five goals against the Anteaters after tallying two against the Eagles. Also against UCI, Kearns drew an exclusion and had a steal. In the win over Biola, she had three steals and an assist along with a drawn exclusion. Ausmus also scored five goals in USC's win over UC Irvine after hitting a career-high six goals vs. the Eagles. She also served up three assists and had three steals and a field block in the win over the Anteaters while going 5-of-6 shooting. Against Biola, she added two assists and two steals to her six goals on eight shots. Kearns and Ausmus have each scored in every game for USC this season, with Ausmus tallying multiple goals in all 10 games and Kearns doing so in all but one.
SWEEPS WEEK
USC landed a pair of Trojans on the MPSF's weekly honor roll for the first time this season following USC's run to the 2025 Triton Invitational championship. For their key roles in a powerful 4-0 run at the event that was topped with a title-winning victory over rival UCLA, Rachel Gazzaniga was named MPSF Player of the Week and Emily Ausmus the MPSF Newcomer of the Week. Gazzaniga scored a career-high four goals — including a run of three straight goals during the second half — to help USC beat No. 1 UCLA 14-11 in the championship game at the Triton Invitational. She finished with nine goals at the event, having scored in all four games for the Trojans as USC also beat CMS 30-8 and No. 21 UC Davis 17-9 in group play and No. 5 Hawai'i 17-9 in the semifinals. Gazzaniga scored twice and had an assist, steal and block vs. CMS. Against UC Davis, she also scored twice and added an assist and steal along with two drawn exclusions. In the win over the Rainbow Wahine she had a goal, assist and steal. Gazzaniga also had three drawn exclusions vs. the Bruins, helping USC stay undefeated on the season at 8-0 after winning the Trojans' second Triton Invite title in the last three years. A freshman, Ausmus scored 12 goals to help USC win the Triton Invitational championship. She scored twice and had three assists in the title game against UCLA. She opened the event with five goals in a 30-8 USC win over CMS, then had a hat trick in a 17-9 win over UC Davis to wrap group play. In the semifinal vs. Hawai'i, Ausmus scored twice and had four assists and a steal to help USC to a 17-9 win over the Rainbow Wahine. Ausmus has scored multiple goals in all eight games for USC this season. Gazzaniga and Ausmus are the first Trojans to earn weekly honors from the conference this season, and this is the first set of such honors for both.
YOUTH MOVEMENT
Almost half of USC's scoring was generated by just five Trojan freshmen and sophomores last year, led by All-Americans Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. That dynamic duo gained extra experience as teammates with Team USA in a gold-medal run at the recent Pan American Games alongside incoming freshman and 2024 Olympian Emily Ausmus. Along with Ausmus, who deferred her enrollment in 2023-24 to compete with Team USA in Paris, USC welcomes a total of five newcomers to the pool for this 2025 campaign. Also boasting international experience are true freshman Alma Yaacobi (Israel) and junior transfer Sinia Plotz (Germany). Southern California products Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda are also tabbed as quick impact players for the Trojans in their first season ahead.
VETERAN VIPS
Two-time Olympian and 2024 silver medalist Tilly Kearns plunges back into action at USC, where she is one of a five-woman senior class setting up for their final season as Trojans. Laine Hourigan, Emma Lawson, Sally McCarthy and Isabel Zimmerman all bring veteran experience to the 2025 Trojan talent pool. Lawson and junior Maggie Johnson are USC's team captains this season, joined by Kearns, Zimmerman, junior Morgan Netherton and sophomore Gazzaniga on head coach Casey Moon's Leadership Council, which serves as a guiding force for the Trojans.
STAYING CENTERED
USC's center play is anchored by Tilly Kearns and Alma Yaacobi on the offensive end, and is balanced by the defensive savvy of Emily Ausmus and Rachel Gazzaniga as guards. Gazzaniga and Madison Haaland-Ford also add offensive options at the two-meter slot for the Trojans.
ATTACK MODE
USC's perimeter attack features a number of Trojan sharpshooters. Along with the more veteran talent of Morgan Netherton and Isabel Zimmerman, sophomores Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch have proven their worth on the perimeter, with further reinforcements coming in from newcomers Sinia Plotz, Ausmus and Kearns. Additional depth from the bench comes from Hannah Carver and Jelena Sarac, who scored their first goals as Trojans last season, along with another redshirt sophomore in Caitlin Cohen.
CAGE FIGHTERS
On the defensive end of the pool, USC also boasts a connected unit of goalies. Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward both have logged time in the cage the last two seasons. They're joined by two other Trojan goalies in redshirt freshmen Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider as USC's goalkeeping corps for 2025.
LAST SEASON
In 2024, USC went 18-9 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in Casey Moon's first season as full-time head coach for the Trojans. USC tied for second in MPSF regular-season play at 4-2 and finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament. At the NCAA tourney, the Trojans fell in the quarterfinals to Stanford. USC's 2024 team was led in scoring by freshmen Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. Both earned All-America honors along with seniors Alejandra Aznar and Julua Janov.
THE PLACE TO BE.
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC's campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. •
USC Water Polo's Emily Ausmus | Trojans Live 3.24.25
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