Vavic and Johansen win MPSF honors


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The MPSF Conference recognized outstanding performances from two Women of Troy this week, as senior water polo driver Monica Vavic and junior lacrosse midfielder Amanda Johansen were commemorated with weekly awards for their exceptional athletic work during the first week of April.

On the road against the No. 4 ranked Cal, Vavic came up huge for the No. 3-ranked Women of Troy, scoring three of a game-high four goals in the match during the final period to lead USC to a nailbiting 6-5 comeback victory.

Trailing 4-2 and in danger of being upset by the Bears, USC got a late third-frame goal from freshman driver Brianna Daboub before Vavic took over the game in the fourth. After scoring the equalizer with four minutes 56 seconds left in the match, Vavic put home the go-ahead goal just 54 seconds later with four minutes two seconds remaining after capitalizing on a 5-meter penalty shot. She would later ice the comeback win with just over a minute remaining, on a win-clinching dagger that put USC up 6-4 en route to the one-goal victory. Vavic also added three steals and two ejections drawn on the day, helping her earn the MPSF water polo Player of the Week honor.

The weekly award marks the third of the season for Vavic and the sixth of her illustrious career at USC. Her four goals Saturday pulled her into a tie for third-most all-time career goals in MPSF history (273), and placed her alone in second place for most goals during one season in USC history (82). Vavic’s contributions have helped the  No. 3-ranked Women of Troy to a 20-2 record overall, 3-1 in conference play.

Though Vavic was tearing through Berkeley’s fourth-period defense, Johansen was busy stuffing the stat sheet for the USC women’s lacrosse team during two tough road matchups. In a hard-fought 16-12 loss to then-No. 2-ranked Boston College in Newton, Massachusetts, on March 30, Johansen scored four goals of her own while picking up two ground balls and winning two draw controls.

Then, in a 13-11 victory this past Friday against Oregon in Eugene, Oregon, Johansen played an even more all-around game, dishing three assists to go with a goal, five draw control wins, two collected ground balls, and two caused turnovers. Her combined efforts earned her the MPSF Offensive Player of the Week award, the third such award of the season for the Women of Troy. Junior attacker Cara de Lyra won the award on Feb. 9 before sophomore midfielder Kylie Drexel was honored on March 16.

The offensive accolade is the first of Johansen’s career, adding to an impressive resume that began her freshman year in 2013 when she won Rookie of the Week honors three different times. Johansen’s efforts last week continued what has been an immensely successful season for her, as she currently sits in third place on the team’s season points leaderboard with 27 goals and six assists, and also boasts 35 draw controls, 14 ground ball pickups, and nine caused turnovers. She is tied for third-best or better on the team in each category.

Johansen has helped the USC lacrosse team to an impressive 8-3 record and 4-0 conference mark thus far. The team next takes the field this Friday at home versus Colorado before hosting Denver for their final home regular season game of the year on Sunday. USC will then play three road conference games to close out the season before MPSF Tournament play begins on April 30 in Denver, Colorado.

Vavic, meanwhile, will be honored at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Saturday during a Senior Day ceremony, as the USC women’s water polo team plays its final home match of the year against San Jose State. The team will conclude its regular season the following Saturday across town against UCLA before heading to Tempe, Arizona, for the MPSF Championships beginning on April 24.