11 different Trojans scored and two goalies held the Spartans to a 23% shooting percentage as USC routed San Jose State in an 18-7 triumph. With the blowout, the Trojans are 3-0 at home so far this season and have won nine straight matches at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.
Redshirt senior 2-meter Jake Ehrhardt, redshirt junior driver Chris Agliozzo and redshirt senior driver Ashworth Molthen scored three goals each, with three being Agliozzo’s career high. Graduate driver Massimo Di Martire contributed two more to his team-leading 38 goals on the season.
“18 points is great, but it all comes from the defense and playing together as a team,” junior driver Tom McGuire, who recorded his first goal of the season, said. “In practice, we’ve really been working on getting everybody involved. I don’t know exactly how many guys scored today, but I know it was close to 10, so it’s been working for us.”
“It was a great team effort,” head coach Marko Pintaric said. “Before the game, we really stressed making high-percentage opportunities. We have a deadly offense when we play for each other.”
On the defensive side, the Trojans swiped the ball eight times. Out of 15 power plays, the Trojans allowed just two goals in six-on-five matchups.
Redshirt sophomore goalie Blake Jackson and graduate goalie Kyle McKenney each played a half in the cage. McKenny received the first shift, blocking five shots, and Jackson contributed four more in the second half.
Ehrhardt started the scoring for both sides, delivering a strike just thirty seconds into the game. Within another half-minute, the score was 1-1, but Ehrhardt delivered again by drawing a penalty and converting for his second goal in two minutes.
The Spartans struck back, evening the score at two apiece, but Di Martire and senior driver Marcus Longton combined for three goals in the final three minutes of the quarter to put the Trojans up 5-2. With that strike, Longton has registered a goal in 15 out of 16 games this season, the highest number of games on the active roster.
After a successful power play by the Spartans to start the second, the Trojans went on a 5-1 scoring run to firmly put the game away.
The Trojans will travel up to Berkeley for a rematch against the California Golden Bears on Saturday. It will be the start of official MPSF play.
“[Cal] is a great team, great center, great shooters, so we just gotta work on our defense,” McGuire said. “Our offense will come, but locking [the Golden Bears] down on defense is going to be big.
“Going to [the Golden Bears’] house, it’s going to be an extremely hard game,” Pintaric said. “They’re ranked second in the nation with a very young and talented attack and a balanced defense. We’ve been preparing for them since our last loss to [Cal], and it’s going to be a great match. Our guys are super excited.”