The No. 1 seeded USC Trojans defeated the UC Davis Aggies 11-8 on Saturday in the semifinal round of the NCAA Men’s Water Polo Championship and advance to play Cal in the title game.
In a highly competitive game, USC started on full throttle with senior goalie Nic Porter stealing the ball on the first play. Senior 2-meter man Jake Ehrhardt kicked off the scoring, putting the team up 1-0 within the first minute of the game. UC Davis came back almost two minutes later, tying up the game at one apiece. USC ran a hard press along the perimeter and a drop defense, making it difficult for the Aggies 2-meter men to receive the ball and to establish a rhythm or score on offense.
The Trojans put themselves ahead with goals from graduate 2-meter man Wyatt Barker and junior driver Marcus Longton and a 5-meter penalty goal from junior driver Hannes Daube, bringing the score to 5-2.
Porter shined throughout the match with 12 saves, repeatedly stonewalling the Aggie attack.
“Obviously, it’s more special since it’s my last [game], but at the same time it’s business as usual for us now. We’re going to go into this guy with the same focus or approach every game,” said Porter on heading into his last game as a Trojan.
After crisp execution throughout the first quarter, USC began to falter. Mistakes such as overthrown passes, lack of patience on shooting opportunities and poor shot selection threatened to shift momentum from the Trojans to the Aggies.
Although the Trojans led throughout the game, the team did not play up to its usual standards, and the underdog Aggies refused to go down quietly.
UC Davis attempted to come back in the second period with a goal from junior attacker Logan Anderson. However, Barker responded quickly with a phenomenal backhanded shot with 1:19 left on the clock, giving the Trojans a 7-3 lead. With 32 seconds left before halftime, senior Aggie centerman Nir Gross slammed a shot in from the right post to bring the score to 7-4.
The game against the Aggies set the Trojans up for their next and final match against Cal, highlighting their strengths and weaknesses.
“We’re going to scout the game to see who our opponent is,” USC head coach Marko Pintaric said prior to Cal’s semifinal victory over UCLA. “Offensively, we will address the power play situation and finishing high percentage opportunities. We missed way too many high percentage opportunities throughout the game. But then again that’s a tribute to Davis’s defense and its goalie coaching.”
The Trojans tried to up their tempo with a winning sprint to start the third period from senior driver Jacob Mercep. The first play of the half began with a 6-on-5 for the Trojans, and Daube capitalized with his third goal, extending USC’s lead to four goals.
The third period was full of back-and-forth 5-meter penalty shots for both teams. UC Davis junior attacker Logan Anderson pulled a penalty goal with 3:37 left in the third, making it 8-5.
USC came right back with a 5-meter penalty goal taken by Daube. The Aggies retaliated with another penalty goal by sophomore utility man Ben Fleming.
Mercep took over down the stretch with both a sprint goal and a 5-meter penalty goal, pushing the Trojan lead to 10-7.
However, the Aggies did not stop fighting, trailing by only two points after a goal late in the final period. Mercep answered once again for the Trojans with a 5-meter penalty goal after a member of the Aggies accidentally remained in the game after drawing an exclusion. Mercep pushed the lead to 11-8 which would become the final score.
“I love the team. I keep it all positive. You know, ‘It was the greatest game of their lives,’” Pintaric said. ‘’You know, tomorrow we’re going to shoot on all cylinders and play defense the best we can. Tomorrow is our best game. I have no doubts. I really have complete trust in our team.”
The Trojans face off against Cal Sunday at 2 p.m. at Spieker Aquatics Center.