No. 2 Women’s Water Polo Opens 2026 Campaign With Two Wins At The Joust

Friday, January 16

Riverside, Calif.

10:30 a.m.

USC

0-0,0-0

Azusa Pacific University

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Azusa Pacific

Southern California

Photo by: Nicole Hourigan

No. 2 Women’s Water Polo Opens 2026 Campaign With Two Wins At The Joust

January 16, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

Alma Yaacobi and Meghan McAninch combine for 11 goals in wins over Azusa Pacific and No. 18 UC Santa Barbara

RIVERSIDE, Calif.- Two offensive onslaughts from the Trojans led the way as the No. 2 USC women's water polo team swept the day at The Joust.

The Women of Troy picked up its first win of the season with a 17-8 victory over Azusa Pacific University. The squad then went on to defeat No. 18 UC Santa Barbara with another 17 goal performance.

#2 USC 17, Azusa Pacific 8
Alma Yaacobi found the back of the cage for the first goal of the 2026 season. The Cougars tied things up at one apiece. The Cougars then went on to score on the next two possessions.

Meghan McAninch stopped the attack with a goal to put USC within one. Morgan Netherton tied the game up at 4-4 in the second quarter. The two teams traded goals before the Trojans scored three unanswered goals to take a 7-5 lead heading into the halftime break.

APU worked to chip away at the lead, but the firepower from USC was too much to overcome. The Women of Troy outscored the Cougars 10-3 in the second half to claim its first victory of the season.

Notables

Morgan Netherton led the way with a hat trick as 11 different players scored for the Trojans in the win.
Ashley Kwan, Natalia Blazevic and EJ Hourigan all scored their first career goals in the contest.
Anna Reed matched her career high in steals with four

Scoring: Morgan Netherton (3), Yaacobi (2), McAninch (2), Sinia Plotz (1), Maggie Johnson (1), Kwan (1), Ava Knepper (1), Sofia Umeda (1), Hannah Carver (1), Blazevic (1), Hourigan (1)

Saves: Anna Reed (2), Lauren Schneider (1)

#2 USC 17, #18 UC Santa Barbara 5
In the second game of the day, Anna Reed was lights out for USC. The redshirt sophomore goalie made a career high 13 saves in the cage and held the No. 18 UC Santa Barbara Gauchos to just five goals in the win.

USC opened the game with three straight goals. The Gauchos scored to get on the board with just 17 seconds left in the first in a strong defensive quarter for the Trojans.

UC Santa Barbara found the back of the cage to begin the second frame, but the Women of Troy immediately responded. Yaacobi ignited the offensive spark as USC fired in six goals to go up 10-2.

USC carried the momentum into the second half with McAninch winning the sprint to put the Trojans on offense once again. Kwan scored off the assist from Sinia Plotz before serving up an assist of her own on a McAninch tally. Yaacobi scored to capitalize on a turnover by the Gauchos to register her first hat trick of the season.

Looking to end its scoring drought, UC Santa Barbara struck to record just its third goal of the game after being held scoreless for almost two full quarters of play.

The Trojans tacked on four goals in the fourth to complete the weekend sweep.

Notables

Yaacobi set a new career high in goals with four.
Payton Netherton scored her first career goal in the win.
Kwan racked up five points in the contest and converted all three of her shot attempts on the day.
Anna Reed's 13 saves marks the second double-digit save performance of her career.
Nine different players recorded a goal.

Scoring: Yaacobi (4), McAninch (3), Kwan (2), Carver (2), Maggie Johnson (2), Plotz (1), Morgan Netherton (1), Caitlin Cohen (1), Payton Netherton (1)

Saves: Anna Reed (13)