USC falls to California


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The USC women’s water polo team headed to Berkeley this past weekend, hoping to prove Its worth in its quest for another national championship.

The match, however, did not reflect one of a championship-caliber team as the Women of Troy (9-3, 1-1) fell to California, 8-3.

Cal goalie Stephanie Peckham put in a stellar performance with 20 saves, and the Women of Troy simply couldn’t get shots past her. The first half of the game went by with each side’s defense taking control. The Bears (15-3, 3-0) held USC to one goal during the entire half, and scored three themselves. At halftime, the scoreboard ready 3-1 in favor the Bears.

The second half was all about the Golden Bears. They only allowed one goal per frame, and scored five on the Women of Troy.

USC wasn’t able to rally or get anything going in the hopes of making the second half a close game.

None of the Women of Troy had more than a goal, and the only three players to score were junior two-meter Kara-Leigh Huse, junior driver Nadia Dan and senior two-meter Sarah Van Norman.

In its wins where USC has had at least seven or eight girls scoring (two or three them contributing multiple scores as well), this game was not typical for the team.

Pair this with the great performance by Cal’s Peckham, and the USC offense struggled all day to string together any offense.

This upcoming weekend brings the Women of Troy back home for two matches with one MPSF match against Arizona State on Friday evening, and another against UC Irvine on Saturday.