USC falls to Pacific 8-7 on the road


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The No. 2-ranked men’s water polo team lost its first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation match 8-7 in a back-and–forth battle with No. 4 Pacific in Stockton Sunday afternoon.

Despite a hat trick from sophomore James Walters, the Trojans could not score in the final minutes when the team was trailing by a single goal.

The Trojans fall to 17-3 overall and 5-1 in the conference after suffering their first loss on their MPSF schedule. The Tigers have improved their record to 19-2 and 5-0 in conference play.

After the first quarter, Pacific led 2-1, but the Trojans answered back securing a 4-3 halftime lead. In the second half, the scoring was sparse, and heading into the final period of play, the game was tied.

With three minutes to go in the game, the score was 7-6 Pacific, and though both teams scored, the Trojans had possession as time was expiring, but was unable to convert a goal, instead turning the ball over.

Sophomore All-American goalkeeper McQuin Baron recorded nine saves on the day, but it was offset by the eight goals that Pacific scored. In contrast, Pacific goalie Brady Moore gave up seven goals, but recorded 14 saves. The Trojans ranked second in the conference in goals allowed, giving up just five goals per game.

Sophomore Grant Stein scored two goals for USC, and junior Blake Edwards and sophomore Lachlan Edwards each netted a goal in a game in which the Trojans struggled to get their offense going to its usual level. Prior to this game, USC was leading the MPSF with just over 16 goals per game.

USC also recorded 13 turnovers, which was six more than Pacific, and was part of USC’s downfall.

The Trojans will now have a long week of work ahead of them before they travel to Berkeley to take on No. 3 California, which is coming off a one-goal loss to    top-ranked UCLA.