Courtesy: USC Athletics
#1 USC (22-1) vs. #15 LMU (11-13)
Thursday, April 13 | 5 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record (since 1995): USC leads 32-0
Last Meeting: USC 18, LMU 7 (Feb. 24, 2023)
STREAM | STATS
#1 USC (22-1, 4-0) vs. #19 ASU (8-11, 0-4)
Saturday, April 15 | 1 p.m. | Uytengsu Aquatics Center
Series Record (since 2003): USC leads 39-2 (W18)
Last Meeting: USC 16, ASU 4 (Feb. 25, 2023)
TV: Pac-12 Arizona (Announcer: Greg Mescall)
STREAM | STATS
THIS WEEK
No. 1 USC (22-1, 4-0 MPSF)) has its final two home tilts on tap this week, starting with a Thursday (April 13) nonconference clash against No. 15 LMU (11-13) at 5 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center. On Saturday (April 15), USC will celebrate Senior Day ahead of an MPSF matchup against No. 19 Arizona State (8-11, 0-4 MPSF) at 1 p.m. USC will honor seven Trojans who are wrapping their careers this season: Christina Crum, Mireia Guiral, Claire Haas, Paige Hauschild, Téa Poljak, Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber.
FOLLOW ALONG
Thursday’s USC-LMU clash will be streamed live at pac-12.com/live/usc-3 with Carlo Jiménez and Eli Kleinmann on the call. On Saturday, the USC-ASU game will be televised on Pac-12 Arizona with Greg Mescall on the call. Live stats for both games can be found at scores.6-8sports.com.
RANKINGS
USC picked up the No. 2 ranking in the nation to open 2023, mirroring the Trojans’ 2022 finish. This week, after serving up a decisive upset win over Stanford, USC has taken over as the No. 1 team in the nation in the latest round of national rankings (released April 12).
LAST ACTION
USC broke open a back-and-forth battle with a power move in the fourth period of play, knocking out a 17-12 win over visiting No. 1 Stanford in the Trojans’ most powerful offensive output on record against the Cardinal. In a series dating back to 1996, USC and Stanford have had plenty of epic battles, but this decisive win by the Trojans marked the most goals scored by either team in a USC-Stanford matchup. The Trojans trailed for just 30 seconds during the second period and later turned the tide on the Cardinal by outscoring Stanford 5-1 in the fourth frame to tally the key MPSF win. The win avenged USC’s only loss of the year and snapped a three-game skid against Stanford, including a loss to the Cardinal in last year’s NCAA championship game. The Trojans were on point in this one, their focus on revenge unbroken even by Stanford being granted a grand total of six 5-meter penalty shots in the game. Five of the Cardinal’s 12 goals came on penalties, the fifth of which brought it to a one-goal margin at the end of the third period. Leading 12-11 entering the final eight minutes, USC kicked things into an even higher gear. With Tilly Kearns earning back-to-back power plays for her Trojans, USC maneuvered ahead 14-11 on fine finishes from Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber. The hits kept coming for the Trojans, whose defense got stuck in while the offense kicked in three more — a ripping backhand from Mireia Guiral, a slam at the post from Weber and a savvy strike from Julia Janov to make it a 5-0 scoring rally for USC and a 17-11 lead with 1:34 to go. The Trojans had opened the game similarly hot-handed, building an early 3-0 advantage on the Cardinal as Tehaney, Janov and Kearns struck on the offensive end while the USC defense stayed stingy. Stanford would pull even at 3-3 with help from two 5-meter penalty shots. The see-saw situation continued in the second period, and Stanford took its first — and only — lead with back-to-back goals to go up 5-4 with 3:04 on the clock. USC bit back and evened things on a Morgan Netherton rifle shot during a USC 6-on-5, and then a Guiral field block sparked a counterattack that saw Honnie Vandeweghe-O’Shea hit Hauschild for a blast that got USC on top 6-5. IN the final minute of the half, Stanford was set up with another 5-meter penalty shot, and it was all even at 6-6 for halftime. The third period was a wild one as both offenses heated up. USC was tagged for six exclusions in that frame — including two penalties — but the Trojans were unshaken and stuck to their guns. Five different Trojans accounted for USC’s six goals in the third. Stanford had things even at 7-7 before Netherton and Weber went back-to-back for the Trojan cause to craft a 9-7 USC lead. USC’s Kearns had answers for Stanford’s next penalty score and 6-on-5 finish as the Aussie worked her way into a hat trick and had USC on top 11-9 with 3:47 on the clock. Stanford benefitted from a 6-on-4 advantage next to get one back, only to see Guiral nab a steal soon after and Tehaney finish at the other end for a 12-10 lead. That was followed by Stanford’s fifth 5-meter penalty finish to get it to a one-goal game, setting up the Trojans fourth-period explosion that set their course to victory.
NOTABLE:
– USC’s 17 goals scored was the most the Trojans have ever scored against Stanford.
– The USC-Stanford series record now stands at 43-41 all-time in USC’s favor (series began in 1996).
– With four goals, Bayley Weber continues to lead the team in multiple-goal games, now with 18 this year; she also leads the team with goals in 21 games this season.
– Weber now ranks No. 9 all-time in scoring at USC, now with 204 career goals.
– With three goals today, Tilly Kearns cracked the all-time top-20 at USC, now ranked No. 20 with 138 career goals.
– Freshman Morgan Netherton tallied her second two-goal game of the season.
– Paige Hauschild had a game-high four assists.
– Julia Janov’s two goals marked her first multiple-goal game of the season.
BY THE NUMBERS
Now 23 games deep into 2023, USC’s balanced scoring charge is led by Bayley Weber with 61 goals, followed by Tilly Kearns with 45, Paige Hauschild and Grace Tehaney with 32 apiece and Alejandra Aznar with 28. In all, 23 Trojans have scored at least one goal to date, including eight with their first goals as Trojans. Defensively, all four USC goalies have factored into the 22-1 start, led by senior Carolyne Stern. Stern is averaging 9.5 saves per game thanks in part to a career-high 16 saves made against Long Beach State on Jan. 28 — one of five double-digit saves outings by Stern so far this season. USC’s other three goalies — Laine Hourigan, Sofia Stein and Jada Ward — are in their first season of action as Trojans. Overall, the group averages 10.0 saves per game to anchor a Trojan defense giving up just 6.9 goals per game. USC has outscored opponents 387-158 so far, while holding teams scoreless in 17 different periods to date, including a powerful second-half shutout of No. 6 UC Irvine on Feb. 18 and a first-half shutout of San José State on April 1.
ON THE RISE
Redshirt seniors Paige Hauschild and Bayley Weber have been largely neck-and-neck as they climb USC’s all-time scoring ladder. Weber recently moved into a tie with Katrin Deirolf at the No. 9 spot and now holds 204 career goals, just ahead of No. 11 Hauschild with 196 to date. Several more veteran Trojans are also on the climb. Grace Tehaney stands alone at No. 15 with 155 to her name. Meanwhile, Tilly Kearns, who joined the 100-goal club at USC earlier this season, now holds 138 goals as a Trojan to crack the top-20, now at No. 20. Mireia Guiral also is on the rise with 117 career goals. On the defensive end, senior goalie Carolyne Stern has taken over at No. 8 all-time among USC goalies and now holds 342 career saves.
GRACE GRABS MPSF HONORS
USC redshirt senior Grace Tehaney earned her first selection as MPSF Player of the Week after scoring five goals across two USC victories in Honolulu. Against No. 5 host Hawai’i, Tehaney tallied two goals and added an assist in USC’s 16-7 win over the Rainbow Wahine. Two days later, the lefty was 3-for-3 on the attack to record a hat trick while also nabbing two steals in a 16-7 win over San Diego State. She is the third Trojan to win the MPSF’s weekly award this season, following selections by Tilly Kearns and Bayley Weber.
HATS OFF TO THE CAPTAINS
USC’s 2023 captains are a decorated pair. Both 2020 Olympians, Paige Haushild and Tilly Kearns are the experienced backbone of the Trojan roster once again. Kearns finished the 2022 season at the top of the scoring leaderboard with 64 goals — 10th most scored in a single season in program history — and as a Peter J. Cutino Award finalist. The Aussie Olympian earned spots on the 2022 NCAA All-Tournament First Team, the MPSF All-Tournament Team and All-MPSF First Team for her work at two-meters. Olympic gold medalist Hauschild collected 47 goals of her own last season while applying pressure on both sides of the pool. Hauschild was a freshman when USC won the NCAA Championship in 2018, although both she and Kearns were away training with their respective Olympic teams when the Trojans last won it all in 2021. Hauschild and Kearns are two of seven returning All-Americans on the 2023 USC roster, alongside Alejandra Aznar, Mireia Guiral, Carolyne Stern, Grace Tehaney and Bayley Weber.
MORE VETS
In all, USC returns 13 members of its 16-member roster from the 2022 NCAA Tournament. In addition to its seven All-Americans, experienced depth returns in the form of seniors Téa Poljak, Claire Haas, Brooklyn Aguilera and Christina Crum, along with junior Julia Janov and sophomores Honnie Vandeweghe-O’Shea and Isabel Zimmerman..
YOUNG GUNS
USC’s newest additions come from an array of the best talent in the world, including U.S. pipeline members Morgan Netherton and Maggie Johnson. The Trojans also have added Fresno State transfer Fanni Muzsnay, who also has international experience as a member of the Hungarian National Team. Freshman Alex Bonaguidi is tabbed for duty at center, joined by redshirt sophomore Hannah Meyer, who sat out last season due to injury.
LAST SEASON
In 2022, USC posted a 20-4 overall record while making an 18th straight appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Trojans went a perfect 6-0 in MPSF competition before taking second in the MPSF Tournament and reaching a fourth consecutive NCAA final. USC had beaten Fresno State 15-9 in the quarterfinals and then topped Cal 9-7 in the semis to face Stanford in the title match, falling 10-7 to the Cardinal. At the close of the season, Tilly Kearns was selected as a finalist for the Peter J. Cutino Award and was a First Team All-American along with Paige Hauschild. They were joined by fellow All-Americans Bayley Weber (Second Team), Carolyne Stern (Third Team), Mireia Guiral (Honorable Mention) and Grace Tehaney (Honorable Mention). Head coach Marko Pintaric was named MPSF Coach of the Year for the second consecutive season.