Water polo opens season with two blowouts


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Women’s water polo opened its season with big wins against UC San Diego at home on Friday and away at Whittier on Saturday. The Trojans came away with a 2-0 record to kick off their 2016 campaign to the championships, winning 17-4 against UC San Diego and 28-2 against Whittier.

The Women of Troy hosted UC San Diego Friday and opened up with a 4-0 lead with goals from junior driver Stephania Haralibidis, sophomore utility Hayley McKelvey, junior driver Nikki Stansfield and sophomore utility Annika Jensen. The Tritons answered back with a power play goal. Sophomore goalie Victoria Chamorro and the Trojan defense left UC San Diego scoreless for the next 10-plus minutes of play. Chamorro and the defense kept the Tritons at bay, the Trojan offense added on five more goals bringing their lead 9-1 at the half.

Freshman goalie Amanda Longan made her debut in the cage in the second half for the Trojans racking up four saves by the end of the half. USC’s offense continued to fight hard tallying up 8 more goals for a final score of 17-4. Top scorer junior two-meter Brigitta Games totaled four goals from the two-meter position. Stephania Haralibidis and junior two-meter Avery Peterson also scored three goals each earning hat tricks.

The Trojans carried their momentum from Friday’s win to Whittier on Saturday. USC dominated Whittier, leading 8-2 by the end of the first quarter. The Trojan defense left the Poets scoreless for the remainder of the game. The offense also packed a punch with six Trojans tallying 3 or more goals while another three Trojans made their first goals of their careers. Stat leader of the evening was Peterson who totaled a career-high 6 goals against Whittier.

Longan started in the cage for the Women of Troy batting down four saves for the Trojans. Longan and the Trojan defense held the Poets to just 2 goals into the half. Senior Alegra Hueso took over the cage in the second half allowing no goals and tallying five saves to help the defense stop the Poets.

The Trojan offense continued their scoring frenzy leading 16-2 by the end of the first half with 4 goals from Peterson as well as a career-first goal for freshman driver Mackenzie Flath. The offensive momentum carried into the third quarter for the Women of Troy with junior driver Ioanna Haralibidis adding 3 more goals to the scoreboard as well as another two from Games.

Jensen helped the Trojans finish strong in the fourth quarter with a career-first hat trick bringing her total to 3 goals. Freshman driver Courtney Fahey also made a splash tallying 2 back-to-back goals to kick off her career. By the end of the fourth, Peterson would add 2 more goals bringing her total to 6 for the evening and the final score to 28-2.

After a successful pre-season weekend, the Trojans will be hosting the Brazilian National Team for a scrimmage Feb. 10 at 5 p.m. at the Uytengsu Aquatic Center before hitting the road for the Triton Invitational on Feb. 13-14.