Men's Water Polo | November 18, 2018
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. — The USC men's water polo team suffered back-to-back losses for the first time this season after taking a 7-4 loss to UCLA in today's MPSF Tournament third-place game at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Now 28-3 overall, the top-ranked Trojans await the selections for the coming NCAA Tournament to learn if they will receive an at-large berth for the opportunity to fight for a 10th national championship.Â
A week removed from the Trojans' 12-11 win over the Bruins that wrapped the regular season, USC looked strong out of the gates in today's clash with crosstown rival UCLA. Both goalies were trading saves until USC broke through with a rocket from Jake Mercep after
Matt Maier popped the ball out to him from set. USC's 1-0 lead would hold three minutes, as UCLA found the top corner early in the second period to lock it up. The Bruins would take the lead with 5:43 on the clock after going crosscage for a 2-1 advantage, and UCLA would stay in front the rest of the way. Five Bruin goals were tacked up in the second frame while USC netted just one 6-on-5 strike from
Hannes Daube off a setup from Zach D'sa. At halftime, UCLA was up 5-2 on its host.
USC goalie
Nic Porter made a stellar stop against a UCLA try out of two-meters, and then Maier continued his heroic efforts at set in earning another power play for the Trojans.
Marko Vavic would find Daube for another laser, and USC was within two, down 5-3. A string of USC field blocks and takeaways stymied the Bruins for a stretch until UCLA broke through with just four seconds left in the third, going ahead 6-3 to enter the fourth. There, USC's efforts to make up ground got as far as a walk-in rip from D'Sa, making it 6-4 with 3:07 remaining. UCLA went near post 30 seconds later, and USC was in a three-goal hole with 2:24 to go. That margin stayed intact as USC misfired down the final stretch to wind up with a fourth-place finish at the MPSF Tournament with the 7-4 defeat.
If selected as an at-large team, USC will immediately begin preparation for competition at the 2018 NCAA Tournament, hosted by Stanford on Dec. 1-2.
2018 MPSF TOURNAMENT
THIRD-PLACE GAME
[4] UCLA 7, [2] USC 4
Nov. 18, 2018 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center (Los Angeles, Calif.)
USC Â 1 - 1 - 1 - 1 = 4
UCLA 0 - 5 - 1 - 1 = 7
SCORING:Â
USC —
Hannes Daube 2,
Jacob Mercep, Zack D'Sa.
UCLA — Chasen Travisano 2, Austin Rone 2, Quinten Osborne, Ashworth Molthen, Nicolas Saveljic.
SAVES:Â
Nic Porter (USC) 9, Alex Wolf (UCLA) 8.