No. 1 USC Women's Water Polo Swamps No. 4 ASU 16-8 With Second-Half Surge
TEMPE, ARIZ. — The No. 1 USC women's water polo team turned a tight first half into a blowout win as the Trojans held host No. 4 Arizona State to just a single goal in the second half in ringing up a 16-8 victory to kick off the ASU Invitational in Tempe, Ariz. USC's Maud Megens pumped out five goals for the Trojan cause while moving herself into USC's top-10 career scoring list, now at No. 9 all-time with 173 career goals.
Megens scored USC's first three goals of the day, and then fellow senior Kelsey McIntosh knocked in the next two for the Trojans, who led it 5-3 at the end of the first. After USC's Téa Poljak and Verica Bakoc joined the scoresheet in the second, the Sun Devils would rein in the Trojans with a 5-meter penalty shot and a converted power play, snarling it at 7-7 in the final minute of the first half. Grace Tehaney would have the final word for the Trojans, however, lacing in a 6-on-5 bar-in finish that nudge USC ahead 8-7 by halftime.
In the second half, USC was all-out overwhelming. Only a single ASU 5-meter penalty shot would crack the Trojan defense while the offense poured out six goals in the third period. Denise Mammolito issued back-to-back blasts to list USC ahead 11-7, while Bakoc, Megens, McIntosh and Tehaney all added another goal to their tallies to make it a 14-8 USC lead entering the fourth. Again, goalie Holly Parker and the USC defense stayed stingy, turning away all ASU attempts while Parker stockpiled her saves count to nine on the day. One of those stops fueled a counterattack that accounted for Megens' fifth goal of the game, and later it was Poljak topping off USC's offense with a ripper that left it as a 16-8 USC victory.
Tomorrow (Feb. 27) in Tempe, USC has two games on tap. The top-ranked Trojans will again face host No. 4 Arizona State in an 8:30 a.m. PT meeting before squaring off against No. 6 Michigan at 1 p.m. PT that afternoon. On Sunday (Feb. 28), USC wraps its action at the ASU Invitational with an 8 a.m. PT game against Michigan.
ASU INVITATIONAL (Tempe, Ariz.)
#1 USC 16, #4 Arizona State 8
Feb. 26, 2021 | Mona Plummer Aquatics Center (Tempe, Ariz.)
USC 5 - 3 - 6 - 2 = 16
ASU 3 - 4 - 1 - 0 = 8
SCORING:
USC — Maud Megens 5, Kelsey McIntosh 3, Téa Poljak 2, Grace Tehaney 2, Verica Bakoc 2, Denise Mammolito 2.
ASU — Borbala Kekesi 4, Luca Petrovary, Amira Van Buren, Bente Rogge, Ali Cameron.
SAVES: Holly Parker (USC) 9, Itzahiana Baca (ASU) 8.