Courtesy: USC Athletics
BLOOMINGTON, IND. — The No. 5 USC women’s water polo team finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament after taking a tight 12-11 loss to No. 4 Stanford in today’s third-place game in Bloomington, Ind. Now 18-8 overall, the Trojans await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket, taking place tomorrow (April 29).
USC had a powerful start to the game, controlling things on both ends of the pool and rattling off four straight goals. Rachel Gazzaniga lit the fuse with a bar-in blast to net a 2-1 lead for the Trojans, and then fellow freshman Ava Stryker faked and fired for a 3-1 lead that held through the end of the first. Stryker kept things clicking for the Trojans with her third goal of the day, and then Abigail Hendrix sailed in a sweet one to get USC ahead 5-1. Stanford managed a couple close-range goals around two 6-on-5 strikes from Hannah Meyer and Julia Janov, and it was a 7-3 USC lead at halftime.
The Cardinal capitalized with a nearside goal to open the second half, only to see Alejandra Aznar blaze in a no-look backhand and then finish off a counterattack to take the Trojans ahead 9-4. Stanford would hit its stride soon after, however, scoring three straight to get within two. Stryker interrupted things with a rebound and savvy finish to make it 10-7, and then Stanford scored another three in a row to level things 10-10 entering the fourth. Gazzaniga got USC up on a 6-on-5 a couple minutes in, and Aznar found Stryker for her fifth goal of the day to nudge the Trojans back on top with an 11-10 advantage. Stanford would equalize again at 5:44, and later got a fortunate goal to go in on a power play to lead it 12-11 with 2:57 remaining. Try as they may, the Trojans were unable to bring things even to force an overtime opportunity.
NEXT:
USC now awaits the announcement of the 2024 NCAA Tournament field, which will be released Monday (April 29) at 5 p.m. on ncaa.com
NOTABLE:
– With a game-high five goals today, FR Ava Stryker tied her career high.
– With her two goals today, SR Alejandra Aznar now has 143 career goals to rank No. 18 all-time at USC in scoring.
– With her goal today, SR Julia Janov continues to lead the team with goals scored in 23 different games this season.
MPSF TOURNAMENT
THIRD-PLACE GAME
[3] Stanford 12, [4] USC 11
Friday, April 26 | Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center (Bloomington, Ind.)
USC 3 – 4 – 3 – 1 = 11
STAN 1 – 2 – 7 – 2 = 12
SCORING:
USC — Ava Stryker 5, Alejandra Aznar 2, Rachel Gazzaniga, Abigail Hendrix, Hannah Meyer, Julia Janov.
STAN —Christina Hicks 4, Sophia Sanders 4, Eleanor Facey, Kamryn Barone, Sophie Wallace, Celeste Wjinbelt.
SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 6, Maya Avital (STAN) 13.