Courtesy: USC Athletics
LONG BEACH, CALIF. — The No. 3 USC women’s water polo team pinned up two wins to open 2025 competition today at the Beach Invite. The Trojans topped Biola 21-6 and LMU 16-10 with a well-rounded day’s work that saw 10 Trojans score in the opener and eight vs. then Lions, while all four USC goalies had a hand in today’s wins. Olympians Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns led the offensive onslaught on the day with eight and seven goals, respectively.
USC’s season opener saw the Trojans peel out to an 11-0 lead over Biola as redshirt freshman goalie Anna Reed pitched a shutout in her first period of play as a Trojan. Meanwhile, USC newcomers Emily Ausmus and Sinia Plotz registered their first goals as Trojans in USC’s opening rally. By halftime, USC was up 13-1 and Ausmus had a hat trick in the books by the break. She’d wrap the game with a six-goal outburst, and was joined by fellow freshmen Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda on the scoresheet by the final buzzer. Knepper had a hat trick in her USC debut, while two-time Olympian Tilly Kearns enjoyed a hat trick of her own on her first day back in action for USC. In all, 10 Trojans scored in a final 21-6 USC victory, which also featured the debut of redshirt freshman goalie Lauren Schneider in the second half of play.
Hours later, USC splashed back down for game two on the day, taking on No. 10 LMU. That one opened as a 4-4 stalemate after eight minutes of action before USC settled in and led things 10-6 by halftime. Jada Ward had control of the cage in that first half, making four saves before giving way to Laine Hourigan in the second half. Hourigan made five blocks in the third period while Rachel Gazzaniga, Emma Lawson and Tilly Kearns struck on the other end to help USC to a 13-8 lead entering the fourth. While Hourigan got to a career-high seven saves in the game, Kearns notched two more goals and Morgan Netherton tallied one as USC topped off a 16-10 final win.
NEXT:
USC heads to the Lancer Joust next week for a Jan. 14 meeting with two teams in Riverside, Calif. The Trojans will face host California Baptist at 10:30 a.m. that day before squaring off against UC Irvine at 1:30 p.m. that day.
NOTABLE:
– RS FR goalies Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider made their USC debuts vs. Biola, recording six and three saves, respectively in shared time in the cage.
– Four USC newcomers scored their first goals as Trojans today vs. Biola: JR Sinia Plotz, FR Emily Ausmus, FR Ava Knepper and FR Sofia Umeda.
– Ausmus set her USC career high with six goals scored vs. Biola.
– RS JR goalie Laine Hourigan tied her career high with seven saves in her second-half stand vs. LMU.
– Ausmus was USC’s top scorer today with a combined eight goals, followed by fellow Olympian Tilly Kearns with seven on the day.
– Ausmus and fellow freshman Ava Knepper scored in both games for USC today.
– With seven goals scored today, Kearns now has 169 career goals — one away from the No. 14 all-time mark of 170 held by two other former Trojans.
BEACH INVITE
GAME ONE
#3 USC 21, Biola 6
Saturday, Jan. 18 | Long Beach, Calif.
USC 9 – 4 – 5 – 3 = 21
BU 0 – 1 – 0 – 5 = 6
SCORING:
USC — Emily Ausmus 6, Tilly Kearns 3, Ava Knepper 3, Ava Stryker 2, Rachel Gazzaniga 2, Isabel Zimmerman, Meghan McAninch, Sofia Umeda, Hannah Carver, Sinia Plotz.
BU — Stephanie Rodriguez 2, Veralie Naranjo, Annabella Rapp, Salma Orozco, Alicia Fregoso.
SAVES: Anna Reed (USC) 6 [1st half], Lauren Schneider (USC) 3 [2nd half], Alicia Fregoso (BU) 2, Damaris Kientz (BU) 0, Clara McKee (BU) 3.
GAME TWO
#3 USC 16, #10 LMU 10
Saturday, Jan. 18 | Long Beach, Calif.
USC 4 – 6 – 3 – 3 = 16
LMU 4 – 2 – 2 – 2 = 10
SCORING:
USC — Tilly Kearns 4, Morgan Netherton 2, Ava Stryker 2, Emily Ausmus 2, Ava Knepper 2, Rachel Gazzaniga 2, Emma Lawson, Maggie Johnson.
LMU — Carolina Magano 4, Kawehi Kauai 3, Ruth Arino Ruiz 2, Sophie Kadifa.
SAVES: Jada Ward (USC) 4 [1st half], Laine Hourigan (USC) 7 [2nd half], Alyssa Barnuevo (LMU) 7.
