Jake Ehrhardt, Hannes Daube Score 100th Goals; No. 1 USC Men’s Water Polo Beats No. 11 Spartans, 12-5

DAVIS, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC men's water polo team regrouped early and roared to a 12-5 victory over No. 11 San José State as the Trojans opened their action at the Aggie Roundup with a solid win in Davis, Calif.. With four and two goals, respectively, senior Jake Ehrhardt and redshirt junior Hannes Daube both broke the 100-goal mark, with both now gripping 101 career goals apiece as Trojans. The win over the Spartans improved USC to 5-0 on the season.

San José State struck first in this one, tallying a 6-on-5 score before the Trojans fired off three straight goals to steal into the lead. The go-ahead goal came courtesy of a fiery 5-meter penalty shot served up by Hannes Daube, registering the redshirt senior's 100th career goal. The Spartans would get one back before the end of the first, only to see USC rattle off another three-goal rally to open the second. Two goals from Ehrhardt in that surge made it a hat trick on the day for the senior, who notched his 100th career goal in taking USC ahead 6-2.

Up 6-3 at halftime, the USC defense would give up just two goals to the Spartans in the second half, as senior goalie Nic Porter worked his way to an eight-save outing. Meanwhile, in the third, Ehrhardt hammered home his fourth goal after Marcus Longton scored his second, with Wyatt Barker joining the scoresheet on his birthday and Carson Kranz claiming a goal as well to take the Trojans ahead 10-4 entering the fourth. There, Daube matched Ehrhardt with his 101st career goal, and Tom McGuire added the final word for USC in the 12-5 victory.

Next, USC has two games tomorrow (Sept. 17) at the Aggie Roundup. 

NOTABLES:
- RS JR Hannes Daube scored his 100th career goal on his first goal today, finishing with two goals to hold 101 career goals as a Trojan.
- SR Jake Ehrhardt scored his 100th career goal on his third goal today, finishing with four goals to hold 101 career goals as a Trojan.
- GS Wyatt Barker scored one goal today on his 22nd birthday.
- With two goals today, JR Marcus Longton stands as the only Trojan to score multiple goals in all five USC games to date.
- Now with 166 goals as a Trojan, RS SR Jacob Mercep is one goal away from moving up to No. 6 all-time in career goals at USC — a spot held by USC alum and current UC Davis head coach Daniel Leyson.

2021 AGGIE ROUNDUP (Schaal Aquatics Center | Davis, Calif.)
#1 USC 12, #11 San José State 5
Sept. 17, 2021 | Davis, Calif.
USC   3  - 3 - 4 - 2 =  12
SJSU 2 - 1 - 1 - 1 = 5
SCORING:
USC — Jake Ehrhardt 4, Hannes Daube 2, Marcus Longton 2, Jacob Mercep, Wyatt Barker, Carson Kranz, Tom McGuire.
SJSU — Mark Kis, Laszlo Szieben, Neil Arnett, Niels Hofmeijer, Itay Nemet.
SAVES: Nic Porter (USC) 8, Yahav Fire (SJSU) 13.

NEXT:
AGGIE ROUNDUP (Davis, Calif.)
Sat., Sept. 18 — vs. Santa Clara — 11:30 a.m.    LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM
Sat., Sept. 18 — at  UC Davis — 4 p.m.            LIVE STATS | LIVE STREAM