April 26, 2009

HONOLULU - The No. 1 seed USC Trojans beat the No. 4 seed California Golden Bears, 7-4, in the first semifinal match of the MPSF Water Polo Championship on Saturday night at the Duke Kahanamoku Aquatics Complex on the campus of the University of Hawai`i.

California will take on the loser of the Stanford/UCLA match at 6 p.m. PST in the third-place match game.

USC got on the board first when Michelle Stein scored the opening goal two minutes into the match. The Trojans held on for a 1-0 lead after the first quarter.

In the second quarter, the Trojans scored two more goals, one by Stein and one by Kami Craig. California got on the board when Camille Hewko scored before halftime as the Golden Bears trailed 3-1 at the break.

The Trojans came out hot in the third quarter, scoring four goals to take a 7-2 lead going into the final quarter. Stein and Alexandra Kiss did the damage for USC in the third.

California scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to cut into USC's lead. Emily Csikos and Remy Champion scored the two goals for the Golden Bears. But USC was able to hold off the late charge.

Score by period 1 2 3 4 - F
California 0 1 1 2 - 4
USC 1 2 4 0 - 7

California goals: Emily Csikos (2), Camille Hewko, Remy Champion
USC goals: Alexandra Kiss (3), Michelle Stein (3), Kami Craig

California saves: Stephanie Peckham (12)
USC saves: Tumua Anae (13)