University Southern California Trojans
Friday, April 24
La Jolla, Calif.
6:00 p.m.
USC
23-3
10
vs
5
LMU
23-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final F |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Loyola Marymount | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 |
| Southern California | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 10 |
USC Women’s Water Polo Advances To Semifinals To Face UCLA
April 24, 2026 | Women's Water Polo
LA JOLLA, Calif. – The USC women's water polo team began their quest for its eighth national championship on Friday evening with a quarterfinal matchup against the LMU Lions.
The Trojans doubled up the tournament No. 6 seed and held the Lions to just five goals to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championship semifinal game.
[3] USC 10, [6] LMU 5
The two teams went back and forth throughout the opening quarter with Anna Reed making key stops to keep LMU off the board. With under three minutes in the first, the Lions scored a penalty shot. They then tacked on a second goal less than a minute later to make it a 2-0 lead in favor of the Lions.
USC looked to respond and did just that as Morgan Netherton fired a shot into the back of the cage off an assist from Maggie Johnson to open the scoring for the Trojans. Emily Ausmus then converted a penalty shot to knot the score at 2-2 going into the second quarter.
The Trojans racked up three goals to open the period and five straight to take control of the game. LMU scored just once in the quarter, but EJ Hourigan put the ball in on the counterattacked to double the lead over the Lions at the halftime break.
Alma Yaacobi began the third with a 6-on-5 goal and Rachel Gazzaniga scored her own powerplay tally with 2:53 on the clock.
Sofia Umeda scored back to back goals to close out the game as the Trojans took the quarterfinal matchup 10-5.
Notables
Saves: Anna Reed (9)
Up Next
USC will take on crosstown rival UCLA in the semifinal with a spot in the title game on the line with the contest set for 6:00 p.m..
The Trojans doubled up the tournament No. 6 seed and held the Lions to just five goals to punch their ticket to the NCAA Championship semifinal game.
[3] USC 10, [6] LMU 5
The two teams went back and forth throughout the opening quarter with Anna Reed making key stops to keep LMU off the board. With under three minutes in the first, the Lions scored a penalty shot. They then tacked on a second goal less than a minute later to make it a 2-0 lead in favor of the Lions.
USC looked to respond and did just that as Morgan Netherton fired a shot into the back of the cage off an assist from Maggie Johnson to open the scoring for the Trojans. Emily Ausmus then converted a penalty shot to knot the score at 2-2 going into the second quarter.
The Trojans racked up three goals to open the period and five straight to take control of the game. LMU scored just once in the quarter, but EJ Hourigan put the ball in on the counterattacked to double the lead over the Lions at the halftime break.
Alma Yaacobi began the third with a 6-on-5 goal and Rachel Gazzaniga scored her own powerplay tally with 2:53 on the clock.
Sofia Umeda scored back to back goals to close out the game as the Trojans took the quarterfinal matchup 10-5.
Notables
- Anna Reed and the Trojan defense held LMU to just five goals in the contest with only one per quarter in the final three frames.
- Maggie Johnson tallied three assists in the win.
- Rachel Gazzaniga racked up three points on two goals and an assist. On defense she added two steals and two field blocks.
Saves: Anna Reed (9)
Up Next
USC will take on crosstown rival UCLA in the semifinal with a spot in the title game on the line with the contest set for 6:00 p.m..
Team Stats
LMU
USC
Shots
28
33
Goals
5
10
Assists
4
8
Points
9
18
Exclusions
6
13
Steals
10
14
Sprints
1
3
1
Anna Tarantino
2:26
Anna Tarantino
1:34
Morgan Netherton
0:29
Emily Ausmus
0:14
2
Meghan McAninch
5:59
Morgan Netherton
5:02
Rachel Gazzaniga
3:24
Sophia DeMattia
3:05
EJ Hourigan
0:14
3
Alma Yaacobi
6:51
Rachel Gazzaniga
2:53
Sofia Umeda
1:04
Anna Tarantino
0:38
4
Sofia Umeda
6:58
Anna Tarantino
0:20
Game Leaders
Shots
5
Goals
1
Assists
0
Points
1
Shots
4
Goals
1
Assists
1
Points
2
Shots
4
Goals
1
Assists
0
Points
1
Shots
4
Goals
0
Assists
2
Points
2
Players Mentioned
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
C
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water PoloATT
/ Women's Water Polo
ATT
/ Women's Water Polo
UT
/ Women's Water PoloC
/ Women's Water PoloUSC 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)
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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
