No. 3 Women’s Water Polo Resumes MPSF Play Against No. 5 Arizona State

Saturday, March 14

Tempe, Ariz.

12:00 p.m.

USC

Arizona State

Photo by: Nicole Hourigan

No. 3 Women’s Water Polo Resumes MPSF Play Against No. 5 Arizona State

March 12, 2026 | Women's Water Polo

LOS ANGELES - After a 3-0 weekend at the Convergence Tournament, the Trojans carry a six game win streak to Tempe, Ariz. as they get ready to resume conference play. The USC women's water polo team is set for a top-five matchup where it will take on Arizona State to begin the spring break stretch.

Schedule
Saturday - No. 5 Arizona State - 1:00 p.m.

Last Time Out
USC turned in a dominant showing at the Convergence Tournament, earning three straight wins over No. 11 Michigan, Long Island University, and Villanova while continuing to showcase its offensive depth.

The Trojans opened the weekend with a 25-9 win over No. 11 Michigan. After the Wolverines scored the first two goals of the game, USC responded immediately with goals from Ashley Kwan and Alma Yaacobi before Rachel Gazzaniga put the Trojans ahead midway through the first quarter. USC gained control quickly with a nine-goal opening frame and continued to build its lead with strong offensive runs in both the second and third quarters. Emily Ausmus, Ava Stryker, and Yaacobi led the scoring surge as the Trojans pulled away, with USC sealing the win behind a balanced attack that produced goals across the lineup.

USC continued its offensive momentum in a 30-8 win over Long Island University the next day. The Trojans jumped ahead early with goals from Yaacobi and Ausmus and broke the game open with an eight-goal second quarter. EJ Hourigan played a key role in the offensive effort, contributing three goals and four assists as USC spread the scoring across the lineup.

The Trojans closed tournament play with an 18-5 win over Villanova to cap the weekend and extend their win streak. USC once again relied on balanced scoring and defensive pressure to control the pace of play. Yaacobi and Hourigan continued their strong play across the weekend as the Trojans generated goals across the roster to secure their third victory of the tournament.

History
USC holds a 35-2 advantage in the all-time series against Arizona State. The teams most recently met last season at Uytengsu Aquatics Center, when the Trojans earned an 18-13 victory over the then-ranked No. 11 Sun Devils.

Rankings
The Trojans are currently ranked No. 3 by the CWPA only behind MPSF foes Stanford and UCLA.

Automatic Ausmus
Emily Ausmus leads the Trojan scoring for the second consecutive season. The sophomore has 47 goals after playing in just 15 of USC's 18 contests thus far. Ausmus is firing at a .671 clip and has racked up 20 assists to give her 67 total points on the year. Just one season ago, the Riverside, Calif. Native became the fastest player in program history to reach 100 career goals and currently sits 16th with 161 total.

Cage Command
Anna Reed has been the starting keeper for the Women of Troy throughout the season. The redshirt-sophomore has tallied four double digit save performances so far this season. Reed has also held opponents to single digit scoring in 12 outings.

All Out Attack
USC's scoring has been on fire to start the 2026 campaign. Through the first six games, the Trojans tallied 20-plus goals in four contests. Emily Ausmus leads the way with 47 goals and 67 total points with Meghan McAninch and Ava Stryker each close behind with 38 and 36 goals respectively. 13 Women of Troy have surpassed the 10-goal mark this season.

Trojan Personnel
The 2026 squad will be led by two captains– sophomore attacker Emily Ausmus and senior attacker Maggie Johnson. Ausmus had a stellar start to her collegiate career, racking up a program single season record 114 goals. The Riverside, Calif. native had a team high 31 multiple-goal outings and was named a Cutino Award finalist along with a member of the All-America First Team, MPSF Newcomer of the Year, All-MPSF First Team, MPSF All-Tournament Team and MPSF All-Newcomer Team.

Johnson is in her third season as a captain for the USC women's water polo team. The senior out of La Jolla, Calif. scored 23 goals and recorded four multiple-goal outings. Johnson led the MPSF in assists with 58 to cap off a strong 2025 season.

All-American Returners
The Trojans return three All-Americans to the roster for the new year in Ausmus, Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker.

Gazzaniga was named to the All-America Third Team following a sophomore season in which she scored 46 goals. Gazzaniga posted 13 multiple-goal outings and tacked on 21 assists, 36 drawn exclusions and 34 steals.

Stryker recorded 72 goals, good for third on the team, in the 2025 season. An All-American Honorable Mention, Stryker had multiple goals in 23 games and tallied 41 steals.

Last Season
In 2025, Casey Moon's squad worked to a 29-5 record on its way to its 21st consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. The Trojans finished as national finalists at the tournament after defeating Harvard and UCLA to advance to the championship game against Stanford. USC improved to 5-1 in conference play to tie for first overall and went undefeated at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.

Offensive Onslaught
USC scored a program record 576 goals from 17 different scorers just a season ago. Although the Trojans are losing Tilly Kearns who graduated as part of the Class of 2025, the squad returns four of their five leading scorers– Ausmus (114), Stryker (72), Meghan McAninch (47) and Gazzaniga (46).

They are joined by three other Trojans who each scored 20 or more goals in the 2025 campaign in Alma Yaacobi (43), Morgan Netherton (33) and Johnson (23).

New Kids On The Deck
Six newcomers will join a stacked squad for the 2026 campaign. Natalia Blazevic out of Vancouver, B.C. is the lone international freshman. Blazevic boasts international experience, competing as part of the Canadian Junior National Team at the 2024 PanAm Games.

The five other members of the incoming class all hail from California including three from Newport Beach. Ashley Kwan, Kara Carver, Kate Sloman, Payton Netherton and EJ Hourigan round out the group that looks to make an immediate impact for the Trojans.

International Experience
Alma Yaacobi, Sinia Plotz and Jelena Sarac competed at the 2026 European Aquatics Women's Water Polo Championship. Yaacobi competed with Israel who finished seventh. Sarac was a member of Team Serbia who finished 10th. Plotz was on Team Germany who placed 11th.

Ausmus, a 2024 Olympian, and McAninch competed with Team USA at the U20 World Championships in Salvador, Brazil over the summer. The pair returned to campus with gold medals as they helped the U.S. to its first U20 championship since 2015. Ausmus was named the MVP of the tournament after leading the team with 21 goals across six wins. McAninch was named Player of the Match in group play and scored six goals to help the United States win the title.

Sinia Plotz was Germany's top scorer at the 2025 FISU World University Games. Plotz served as team captain and helped lead the host country to victory. The senior utility player scored 13 goals across the event held in Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, including a hat trick in the championship match.

Ausmus, Gazzaniga and Stryker all competed at the World Aquatics Championships in Singapore for Team USA where the Americans reached the semifinal round.