Stanford, California. — USC’s third-ranked women’s water polo team made a strong move in the second period, beating No. 1 hosts Stanford on their way to a 10-8 victory over the Cardinals at the Avery Aquatic Center today. The win avenged an earlier loss, but more importantly, it put USC one step ahead in the MPSF standings, currently 14-2 overall and 3-0 in MPSF.
This is the first time the three Trojans have returned to Stanford’s pool — Alexandra Aznar, Page Hausschild and Tilly Carnes — Since Stanford knocked the Trojans out of that year’s national championship game in 2019. Afterwards, all three took time off to train with the national team, and all three took full advantage of their return to Palo Alto today. Hausschild scored two big goals in the first half, while Aznall scored two in the second, including a clutch strike in the final minute to give USC a two-goal advantage . Meanwhile, Kearns was ruled out four times and had two outfield blocks.
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USC 10, Stanford 8#FightOn 🏆 pic.twitter.com/DNGgQaRNta
— USC Water Polo (@USCWaterPolo) April 3, 2022
At the start of the game, Stanford took the lead with a score of 6 to 5.USC responds with its own next power game as Hausschild bats Bailey Weber For early equalizers.The trend continues, and Stanford will once again move on with another powerful blow, only to see the Trojans tie the game again on Hausschild’s rockets Grace Tehani Just 14 seconds later, it was tied at 2-2 at the end of the first.Trojans will lead the game for the first time Mirea Girard Close the settings channel Julia Yanoff 4:59 USC leads 3-2.goalkeeper Caroline Stern It wasn’t long before he killed Stanford’s chances before Kearns gave USC the lead 6-5. The Tehaney-Hauschild connection proved fruitful again, with Hauschild hitting her shot over the top to give USC a 4-2 lead. Stanford pulled back in another power game, but USC was undeterred. Kearns immediately went back to work and won another 6-on-5 for her Trojans — this time seeing Hauschild and Tehaney switch roles as Tehaney hit 90-plus with a 5-3 USC lead. Guiral next came up with an interception, then Janov found Sofia Lucas For a crafty cross-cage lob that gave USC a 6-3 lead at halftime.
In the third quarter, Stanford couldn’t get any closer than two Trojans. Aznar’s shot was too hot for Stanford’s goalie to handle, making it 7-4, then Aznar found her Spaniard Guiral for a nice 6-on-5 series that set up 8 for USC -5 lead. The Cardinals cut the lead to 1 with 3:13 in the fourth quarter, but USC remained focused. Yanoff hit another of Tihani’s Rippers with 1:58 left to make it 9-7. With 57 seconds left, Stanford sneaked to 9-8, prompting the Trojans to dig deep. Tehani found Aznar, who turned and finished the job with a left-handed lob. Leading 10-8, USC’s defense remains strong, and the Trojans have a major MPSF road win over No. 1 Stanford on the books.
The next step for the Trojans is to head to San Jose State tomorrow (April 3) at 12pm. The competition will be held at the West Valley College Aquatic Center.
#3 USC 10, #1 Stanford 8
April 2, 2022 | Avery Aquatic Center (Stanford, CA)
USC 2 – 4 – 2 – 2 = 10
Stan 2 – 1 – 3 – 2 = 8
score:
University of Southern California– Page Hausschild 2, Mirea Girard 2, Grace Tehani 2, Alexandra Aznar 2, Bailey Weber, Sofia Lucas.
Stan – Makenzie Fischer 3, Ryann Neushul 3, Aria Fischer, Katie Lyons.
