California
USC
11/9/2008 12:00 PM | Men's Water Polo
Nov. 9, 2008
LOS ANGELES, CALIF. -
The No.4 ranked Cal Golden Bears fell to the top-ranked USC men's water polo team, 11-9, on Saturday afternoon at McDonald's Swim Stadium. USC now owns a 33-game home winning streak. Matt Sagehorn and Kyle Sterling led the Trojans in scoring on the day, punching in three goals apiece to extend their record to a perfect 7-0 in MPSF play. Cal led by junior All-American Spencer Warden and senior captain Frank Reynolds, moves to 14-6, 1-3 with the loss.
In a game of surges, the Trojans won out thanks to powerful first and third periods of play. USC swamped the Bears in the opening frame. Goalie Joel Dennerley turned away Cal's first three attacks on goal, while the Trojans blasted scores from Jovan Vranes and Matt Sagehorn on 6-on-5 strikes to take a 2-0 lead. Cal would get one to go next, only to see Kyle Sterling knock in a pass from Nico Sardo on another USC power play. Another Dennerley stop was followed by Sagehorn's second of the quarter, as the junior laced in a slider with six seconds remaining to take USC ahead 4-1.
Cal cut into things to open the second, however. The Bears managed three goals in a minute's span to lock the game up 4-4. After a takeaway from Shea Buckner, Peter Kurzeka slammed home a skipper before the shot clock to put USC back on top 5-4. Cal would equalize again on a 6-on-5 score from Trent Calder at 2:56, only to see the Trojans work back out ahead. J.W. Krumpholz generated a power move at set for the go-ahead score, and Sagehorn added to the Trojan advantage with a crosscage blast for a 7-5 USC lead going into halftime.
In the second half, USC pulled farther ahead. Dennerley made another save for the Trojans and fed a pass down pool to a streaking Sterling. Sterling went one-on-one with Cal goalie Jacob McIntosh and iced his shot to take USC ahead 8-5. Buckner and Sagehorn put a stop to a Cal counterattack next, and then Kurzeka rifled in his second of the day at 5:54 to make it 9-4 USC. From there, the game was stop-and-go thanks to 10 ejections called and a pair of 5-meters. Each goalie had stops against their respective 5-meter penalty shots faced.
Cal pushed a 6-on-5 score through at the 5:20 mark of the third period to make it 9-6. Just seconds later, Sterling made quick work of a USC 6-on-5 for the sophomore's third goal of the day, and at 3:22 USC worked the ball around on a power play that Devon Borisoff put the finishing touches on to give USC its largest lead of the game at 11-6.
To close down the game, Cal managed a scored with 20 second left in the third period and cashed in on two more 6-on-5 chances during the fourth period to make it 11-9. The Trojan defense took care of the rest to preserve the lead and hold tight to the 11-9 win.
Cal play tomorrow at 1 p.m. against Pomona College in Claremont, CA.
CALIFORNIA 9, USC 11
No. 1 USC 4 3 4 0 - 11
No. 4 California 1 4 2 2 - 9
SCORING: USC -- Matt Sagehorn 3, Kyle Sterling 3, Peter Kurzeka 2, Jovan Vranes, J.W. Krumpholz, Devon Borisoff. CAL -- Trent Calder 2, Spencer Warden 2, Ivan Rackov, Zach Greenwood, Thomas Pearson, Frank Reynolds, Luka Saponjic.
SAVES: Joel Dennerley (USC) 8, Jacob McIntosh (CAL)11.
Assist 3 Reynolds Warden 1 Rackov Nasoff White Steals 3 Saponjic 2 Warden 1 Cruikshank Rackov Dudley White Steffens
Ejections Earned 2 Dudley White 1 Saponjic Reynolds Warden Roach Greenwood
Field Blocks 1 Sample Reynolds Warden Goalie McIntosh (4 qtrs) Saves 10 Sprints Won 1 Rackov
