Men's Water Polo | December 03, 2017

LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The USC men's water polo team had the game locked up even early in the fourth quarter, but it was UCLA that got the last word to claim the 2017 National Collegiate Men's Water Polo Championship on Sunday afternoon in Los Angeles. USC's senior-heavy roster was depleted by one key player for this one, as senior 2-meter man Lachlan Edwards was sidelined after being penalized for a brutality during USC's semifinal win over Cal. And yet still, the Trojans were able to make it a great game against their crosstown rivals today. A couple near misses in the final frame kept USC from finding the equalizer it needed to force overtime, and UCLA managed one last goal to finish out a 7-5 win over the Trojans at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC finishes the 2017 season with a 27-4 overall record after reaching the NCAA final for the 13th straight season.

USC wrapped the event with five Trojans on the All-Tournament Team. Seniors Blake Edwards and Matteo Morelli were joined by freshman Marko Vavic on the All-Tournament First Team, while seniors McQuin Baron and James Walters were named to the All-Tournament Second Team.

The Trojans got out of the gates in fine form, with Thomas Dunstan earning a power play, then setting up Matteo Morelli for the rifle shot to take USC ahead 1-0 early. Baron would shut down a 5-meter penalty shot awarded to the Bruins next, and minutes later it was sophomore Marin Dasic would faked and slotted a shot to the bottom corner to make it a 2-0 USC advantage. UCLA would score out of set on its next possession to break the Bruins' silence, and it would be a 2-1 score after eight minutes of play. After almost four minutes of defensive stops on both ends, Zach D'Sa delivered a dirty look-away rocket that for USC to a 3-1 lead midway through the second. The USC defense put up a wall with a series of field blocks next, but the Bruins broke through on a score with 21 ticks to go in the half, making it 3-2 Trojans at the break.

In the third, UCLA pulled even with another strike out of two-meters, but USC responded swiftly as Morelli hit James Walters for a sizzling blast that nudged USC back ahead 4-3. Again, UCLA locked it up, this one making it 4-4 with 1:56 on the clock. In the final minute of the third, UCLA took its first lead of the game on a 6-on-5 score to go up 5-4, leaving USC to work to play catchup in the final frame. USC would force the game into another tie on a slick 6-on-5 series earned by Vavic. Dunstan hit Morelli, who skipped the ball to Blake Edwards for a crosscage laser, and it was all evened up at 5-5 with 6:47 left to play. UCLA moved back ahead with a power play finish of its own less than a minute later, and USC was unable to come up with the equalizer in the final stretch. As the Trojans scrambled for a last-ditch steal, UCLA took advantage of an open cage and let fly one last goal to wrap the game as a 7-5 Bruin win to claim the 2017 National Championship.

2017 NATIONAL COLLEGIATE CHAMPIONSHIP (Uytengsu Aquatics Center | Los Angeles, Calif.)

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
UCLA 7, USC 5
Dec. 3, 2017 (Uytengsu Aquatics Center | Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC    2 - 1 - 1 - 1 = 5
UCLA  1 - 1 - 3 - 2 = 7

SCORING:
USC — Matteo Morelli, Marin Dasic, Zach D'Sa, James Walters, Blake Edwards.
UCLA — Alex Roelse 2, Matt Farmer 2, Quinton Osborne, Max Irving, Alex Wolf.

SAVES: McQuin Baron (USC) 7, Alex Wolf (UCLA) 10.