Courtesy: USC Athletics
LOS ANGELES – The No. 2 USC women’s water polo team avenged its only loss of the season to No. 1 Stanford in a chippy 12-11 win today at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. The Trojans shrugged off a three-goal deficit and punched up eight goals in the fourth period to net the hard-fought victory. Powered by six goals from Tilly Kearns, Trojans move to 24-1 on the season and 3-0 in MPSF play.
The Trojan offense would be slow to warm up in the first, with Stanford quickly gaining a 3-0 lead. USC’s first scratch of the game would come from Kearns on a 6-on-5 with 20 seconds left in the quarter. Kearns opened up scoring in the second to bring the deficit to 2-3, but Stanford converted on two man-up opportunities to go up by three. With one minute left in the second, a Morgan Netherton steal would be the spark for two back-to-back Trojan scores from Emily Ausmus and Meghan McAninch, and it was once again a one-goal deficit heading into the second half.
That deficit quickly grew back to three, as the Cardinal kept USC scoreless in the third frame. But the fourth was all USC, with eight total goals in the quarter. Ava Stryker, with two early steals, was the catalyst that facilitated two back-to-back USC goals on the fast break, including Netherton’s first and Kearns’s third of the game. Ausmus would find Kearns again, who found the back of the net, to knot the game up at 7-7. From there, each team would go up by one just to see the score tied once again. Stanford responded to Kearns with a 6-on-5 conversion, but Alma Yaacobi was there on the next drive to add her name to the scoresheet. Ausmus collected her second goal of the game to lift USC to its first lead of the afternoon, only to have Stanford capitalize on another Trojan exclusion.
In the last two minutes, it was a race to score on every remaining drive. Kearns scored twice in that time frame to bring USC up 11-10—the second of those on a critical exclusion earned by Yaacobi. The Cardinal tied everything up once more with 48 seconds remaining, but it was Netherton who found Yaacobi for an outside slam that sealed the offensive effort. The last possession belonged to Stanford, but a huge Ausmus field block left the Cardinal unable to catch up and the score 12-11 at the final buzzer.
NEXT:
USC’s next action comes on April 12 and 13 in the Trojans’ final home stand of the season at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. USC will host Arizona State at 1 p.m. on April 12, and then face San José State at 1 p.m. on April 13. The Trojans also will celebrate Senior Day on April 13.
NOTABLE:
– FR Emily Ausmus has now scored 86 goals this season, ranking third all-time in single-season goals by a Trojan.
– Ausmus has now scored in all 25 games this season, and has recorded multiple-goal games in 24 of USC’s 25 games this season.
– With six goals today, SR Tilly Kearns has now scored 82 goals this season — fifth most single-season goals by a Trojan.
– Six goals is the most Kearns has ever scored against Stanford.
#2 USC 12, #1 Stanford 11
Saturday, March 29 | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
USC 1 – 3 – 0 – 8 – 12
STAN 3 – 2 – 2 – 4 = 11
SCORING:
USC — Tilly Kearns 6, Emily Ausmus 2, Alma Yaacobi 2, Morgan Netherton, Meghan McAninch.
STAN — Jewel Roemer 3, Jenna Flynn 3, Ryann Neushul 3, Quinn Healy, Ella Woodhead.
SAVES: Jada Ward (USC) 4, Christine Carpenter (STAN) 8.
