USC looks to capture third straight Barbara Kalbus title


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Sophomore driver Julia Janov looks to pass the ball during USC’s victory against UC Berkeley last Saturday.
Sophomore driver Julia Janov looks to pass the ball during USC’s victory against UC Berkeley last Saturday. Janov had 3 assists in the game. (Gina Nguyen | Daily Trojan)

No. 2 USC heads to Irvine this weekend to participate in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational. The tournament hosts 11 of the top 15 ranked teams in the country. 

While the tournament was not held last year, but in 2020 and 2019, the Trojans came out victorious and were able to reach the final in 2018. Their group for the tournament includes the likes of Arizona State, Long Beach State and Pomona-Pitzer.

Last weekend, USC got its first conference win of the year against No. 2 UC Berkeley in a convincing 13-7 win at Uytengsu. Because of the win, the Trojans improved to No. 2 in the national rankings, jumping up from No. 3. USC, now 8-1 on the year, looks to improve on that this coming weekend.

Head Coach Marko Pintaric was pleased with the team’s improved defensive performance against a strong-sided Golden Bears squad.

“I was very happy and pleased with the way the defense actually played,” said Pintaric in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “[The] last performance is giving us confidence; the defense is going in a good direction and I really hope that will translate into [the] tournament.”

The Trojans held Cal to its lowest goal total of the season — only the second time the Golden Bears were held under double-digits. USC’s defense stayed especially strong in the second half only allowing 2 goals. The Trojans aim to keep that momentum heading into the Barbara Kalbus Invitational.

The tournament begins play on Friday, as USC takes on
Pomona-Pitzer, the No. 1 ranked Division III school. The Trojans will then play either the Sun Devils or the Beach, depending on the results of both games. 

USC is slated to play four games in just a three day stretch, but Pintaric feels confident in the team’s ability.

“We look at this tournament as a completion of an important cycle for us, the first part of the season, and we work and taper for that,” Pintaric said. “The team always prepares one game at a time. By that time, we do have valuable intel on every team so we can actually individually prepare for any possible opponent.”

The Trojans’ play this season has already garnered a few accolades. For two straight weeks, a USC player has won the MPSF Player of the week. 

Two weeks ago, senior utility Bayley Weber won the award for her play in the Triton Invitational, scoring 11 goals in the weekend. This week, it was redshirt sophomore 2-meter Tilly Kearns who won the award for her stellar performance against the Golden Bears, scoring 3 goals and gathering 2 steals as well in the win. 

The Trojans feel confident they are well poised to make a deep run in the tournament.

“We’ll see who’s going to win it so it’s almost the ultimate challenge of the teams and coaches and, like I said, we welcome these situations and I’m really looking forward to the tournament,” Pintaric said.

USC kicks off the tournament against Pomona-Pitzer Friday at 10:45 a.m. at Crawford Pool.