Courtesy: UCLA Athletics
SAN DIEGO — No. 3 UCLA (15-0) used a strong third period and some late game-winning heroics to upset No. 1 USC (7-1), 11-10, on Sunday night to win the Triton Invitational. The Bruins improved to 53-36 all-time against the Trojans. UCLA now has the longest active winning streak in the nation at 15 games. California is second with 12, dating back to last year.
The Bruins were led by hat tricks from redshirt senior Maddie Musselman and junior Abbi Hill. It marked the first hat trick of the season for Hill, who also added one assist to pace the Bruins’ offense with four points. Senior Val Ayala also contributed four points (two goals and two assists). Musselman’s shot from two meters with 0:23 to go and the game tied at 10-10, proved to be the game-winning goal.
Redshirt junior goalkeeper Georgia Phillips got the start in the cage and went the distance, registering 12 saves while allowing 10 goals.
Tilly Kearns and Bayley Weber each scored hat tricks to lead the Trojans.
PERIOD ONE
> UCLA outscored USC 4-3 in the opening period.
> The Bruins started out strong at set, netting goals from two meters from senior Ava Johnson (7:03), senior Katrina Drake (3:08), and Hill (1:44).
> Musselman scored her first of the contest from the front court (0:48) to put the Bruins up 4-2.
> Grace Tehaney scored a power play goal for the Trojans (0:11) to end the scoring in the first.
PERIOD TWO
> USC won the second period, 3-1.
> After the Trojans fourth-straight goal gave USC a 6-4 lead, Hill struck the back of the net from the front court for her second goal to end scoring in the second period (0:34).
> UCLA trailed 6-5 at the break.
PERIOD THREE
> The Bruins turned the tables on the Trojans, winning the third period, 3-1.
> Ayala’s first goal came on a power play (5:35) to tie the game at 6-6 and then Musselman’s power play goal gave the Bruins the lead (1:05).
> After the Trojans tied it at 7-7 (0:32), UCLA called timeout and pulled its goalkeeper for a 7-on-6 advantage. The Bruins executed the play perfectly and sophomore Malia Allen scored just before the buzzer to end the scoring in the period with UCLA leading 8-7 heading into the fourth.
PERIOD FOUR
> Both teams battled to a 3-3 tie in the fourth quarter to provide the 11-10 final score.
> Hill completed her hat trick with a goal from two meters to open the scoring in the fourth (6:43) to push the lead to two at 9-7.
> Kearns scored back-to-back goals for USC (6:18 and 3:29) to tie it at 9-9.
> Ayala then converted a penalty shot drawn by Johnson (1:47) to put the Bruins back in front at 10-9.
> USC answered with a penalty goal of its own (1:23) to tie it up at 10-10.
> Musselman then completed her hat trick on a drive when she corralled a pass and scored the game-winner (0:23) on a cross-cage lob shot. The Bruins got the final stop from Phillips and ran out the last seven seconds to seal the win.
UP NEXT
The Bruins have a week off and will return to action on Friday, Feb. 25 at the Kalbus Cup at UC Irvine. Seedings and game times to be announced at a later date.
No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 1 USC (Triton Invitational – Finals)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| No. 3 UCLA | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 11 |
| No. 1 USC | 3 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 10 |
6×5 – UCLA – 2/7 – USC – 2/8
Penalties – UCLA – 1/1 – USC – 1/1
UCLA Goals: Maddie Musselman 3, Abbi Hill 3, Val Ayala 2, Ava Johnson 1, Malia Allen 1, Katrina Drake 1
UCLA Saves: Georgia Phillips 12
USC Goals: Tilly Kearns 3, Bayley Weber 3, Grace Tehaney 2, Paige Hauschild 1, Honnie Vandeweghe-O’Shea 1
USC Saves: Carolyne Stern 7
Courtesy: USC Athletics
LA JOLLA, CALIF. — The No. 1 USC women’s water polo team made a strong stand at the Triton Invitational in working its way to the title match once again. After Grace Tehaney’s five-goal explosion helped USC to a 9-7 win over No. 6 Hawai’i in the semifinals, the Trojans squared off against UCLA in the final. There, the Bruins benefited from a late power play to break open a tight game with an 11-10 final decision in UCLA’s favor. USC is now 7-1 overall after taking its first loss of the year today.
As the Trojans turned to face the Bruins in the title match it was UCLA that had the early advantage, with USC working to tie it up at 1-1 and 2-2 on goals from Grace Tehaney and Honnie Vandeweghe-O’Shea. UCLA would work back ahead with back-to-back goals before Tehaney struck again, and USC was down 4-3 after eight minutes of action. The Trojans made a power move in the second when Tilly Kearns leveled it to spark a three-goal run that saw Bayley Weber bury two goals before UCLA got on the board to make it 6-5 Trojans by halftime. In the third, however, UCLA benefited from a couple USC exclusions to work back on top 7-6. Paige Hauschild equalized with a sweet shot, but the Bruins got another one to go and it was 8-7 UCLA entering the fourth. Down by two early in the fourth, USC battled back again with back-to-back goals from Kearns. UCLA would be awarded a 5-meter penalty shoot soon after, though, converting to go back ahead with 1:47 to go. Kearns earned one at the other end for the Trojans, and Weber buried it to snarl things up once more at 10-10 with 1:23 remaining. The Bruins would get another power play advantage in the final minute, finishing it off to edge ahead 11-10 with 23 ticks to go, and UCLA would hang on to win it with that scoreline.
In the semifinal bout against the Gauchos, USC took the early upper hand on back-to-back goals from Grace Tehaney. Tehaney’s deft left hand would stay hot throughout, as she laced in five goals for the Trojan cause to tie her career high. UC Santa Barbara would tie things up on a 5-meter penalty shot early in the third period, but Bayley Weber and Tehaney punched up goals next for USC to lift the Trojans ahead 7-5 entering the fourth. That pairing would help USC lead it 9-6, and only one more Gaucho goal would get through as the Trojan emerged victorious 9-7. Goalie Carolyne Stern had the final word in that one, knocking down her 10th save of the game to cap off the semifinal win and set a new career high for herself with that 10-save effort.
TRITON INVITATIONAL
SEMIFINALS
#1 USC 9, #6 Hawai’i 7
Feb. 13, 2022 | Canvyonview Aquatic Center (La Jolla, Calif.)
USC 3 – 2 – 2 – 2 = 9
UH 2 – 2 – 1 – 2 = 7
SCORING:
USC — Grace Tehaney 5, Bayley Weber 2, Tilly Kearns, Alejandra Aznar.
UH — Elyse Lemay-Lavoie 3, Libby Gault 2, Jordan Wedderburn, Lucia Gomez De La Puente.
SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 10, Hawai’i n/a.
CHAMPIONSHIP
#3 UCLA 11, #1 USC 10
Feb. 13, 2022 | Canvyonview Aquatic Center (La Jolla, Calif.)
USC 3 – 3 – 1 – 3 = 10
UCLA 4 – 1 – 3 – 3 = 11
SCORING:
USC — Tilly Kearns 3, Bayley Weber 3, Grace Tehaney 2, Honnie Vandeweghe-O’Shea, Paige Hauschild.
UCLA —Abbi Hill 3, Maddie Musselman 3, Val Ayala 2, Ava Johnson, Katrina Drake, Malia Allen.
SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 7, Georgia Phillips (UCLA) 12.
NOTABLE:
– Grace Tehaney matched her career high with five goals scored vs. UC Santa Barbara.
– With her goal vs. UCLA today, Paige Hauschild moved up to rank No. 19 all-time at USC with 132 career goals.
– Carolyne Stern set a new career high with 10 saves vs. UC Santa Barbara today.
NEXT:
USC now turns to its first MPSF match of the season, hosting No. 2 California at 1 p.m. on Saturday (Feb. 19) in a televised game at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.