Water Polo seeks revenge against No. 1 Stanford this weekend
USC faces a major test this weekend as it faces No. 1 Stanford for the second time this season. The No. 3 Trojans fell to the Cardinal earlier this season, losing 16-10 in the Barbara Kalbus semifinals. USC will look to disrupt Stanford and give the Cardinal their first loss in 10 games, as well as reclaim the top spot in the rankings.
It has been about two weeks since the Trojans were last in action, as they had a week off after heading to Hawaii for a week-long training session.
In Hawaii, the Trojans took down the Rainbow Warriors 12-9 March 18. This improved their record to 13-2 on the season and gave them their third straight win.
Redshirt sophomore 2-meter Tilly Kearns notched 4 goals in the win against Hawaii. Kearns is having a dominant season for the Trojans, leading them in scoring with 43 goals in her first season back since taking Olympic leave.
Kearns earned her second Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Week Award for her performance against the Rainbow Warriors.
She views the extra time off since the last game as a good thing, as a way to better prepare for this week’s tough opponents.
“We were able to step back and have that extra week that we could afford to just focus on [Stanford] and not worry about other teams,” said Kearns in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “We’ve dedicated almost two weeks to solely studying them and their tendencies and how they play, so we know exactly what we’re going to face and exactly what we’re going to do to beat them.”
The entire team is ready to redeem themselves after the last game against Stanford. The 16-10 loss marked only the third time in the last five seasons the Trojans have lost by 6 or more goals; Stanford again in 2018 and UCLA last season.
It was an irregularity and the team and Head Coach Marko Pintaric would like to keep it that way.
“We entered the season as number one. That’s in their heads, and then we are now going to show you how to go and beat Stanford at Stanford. There’s no other thoughts, there’s no other doubts,” Pintaric said. “That’s the beauty of playing for USC, you always go for the win … I know the team is confident going into the game, and despite the result I know they will keep fighting like they always do.”
USC will take on No. 13 San Jose State Sunday after Stanford Saturday
The Trojans are also quite familiar with the Spartans, having faced them back in February and winning by a score of 20-3. The games this weekend against the Spartans and the Cardinal will mark USC’s second and third straight away games.
By the time the Trojans play their next home game, the last game of the season, it will have been more than a month since their last home game. Senior utility Claire Haas thinks not playing in front of their home fans could play to their advantage this weekend.
“When you don’t have fans and they’re cheering for the other team, it’s also a little bit more of a push. It brings out that competitiveness because you’re like ‘you know what we’re the underdogs in this situation,’” Haas said.
The Cardinal have had the Trojans’ number the last five seasons, as Stanford has beaten the Trojans more times than any other opponent has.
Kearns and the rest of the team hope to flip that script come Saturday.
“Against Stanford, there’s redemption to be done. Last time I was here back in 2019 we lost to them back in the [NCAA] final, and of course we lost to them earlier in this season,” Kearns said. “I’ve got a fire in my belly, I want to prove myself and I want to win, finally, against them.”
USC heads to Avery Aquatic Center Saturday to play Stanford at 1 p.m., and on Sunday it goes to SRAC pool to match up against San Jose State at 12 p.m.