Water polo drowns SJSU in 11-goal victory

It was nothing but smiles and good times for the Trojans throughout their 14-3 thrashing of San Jose State Saturday afternoon. 

USC was in control for the whole game, but the loudest cheers of the entire day came with a little over 90 seconds left in the already-decided contest. Head Coach Marko Pintaric subbed in his end-of-the-bench players, and the entire Trojan bench erupted in cheers for their teammates.

“These girls are great, they helped me through everything. Anytime I look lost, they point where I need to go; they do whatever they need to do to help me out, which is amazing,” said sophomore utility Honnie Vandeweghe-O’Shea. “I love seeing all of our teammates get the opportunity to play and I think they love it just as much.”

This win against the Spartans was nothing new for the Trojans. In the series dating back to 1998, USC is 43-0 against SJSU. USC wasted no time this game, metaphorically sprinting out the gates. Redshirt senior utility Bayley Weber tallied a hat trick before the first period buzzer sounded.

Weber showed her dominance on her third goal by high-pressing an SJSU player and ripping the ball out of her hands. Weber then finished the goal off herself with 7 seconds left to push the lead to 4 goals.

Weber currently leads the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation in goals this season with 50, but was by no means the only Trojan to get in on the goal frenzy. 

Eight different USC players were able to get on the scoresheet. This has been a big part of the Trojans’ success all season, with 10 different players notching 15 goals or more on the year so far.

“Whoever is in a position to make a play or to score a goal, that player should shoot. [We] do not play games where we just put our hands all into the leading scorer,” Pintaric said. “If her role is to set somebody else up … that’s the communication that our team receives. We are very proud of setting each other up.”

The offense wasn’t the only thing on a shimmering display for the Trojans. USC’s defense had SJSU on lock and key, keeping them without a goal in the first half. This marks the second time they’ve held an opponent to a scoreless half this season.

The Trojans never allowed the Spartans to get comfortable with the ball, pressing them from mid-pool all game. The stifling pressure had SJSU throwing the ball away at the end of the shot clock for most possessions, as USC never allowed a free lane to shoot. 

“Every game, defense is always the number one priority in our game overall, and we stress a lot about making good steals, playing good press, getting in the lanes trying to take the ball,” said senior goalie Carolyne Stern. “Everything’s starting to click, and that leads to good defense.”

This win marked the ninth win in a row on the season for USC and continued its perfect start in the MPSF. The Trojans are tied at the top of the conference with Stanford after the weekend games.

Even after the win, all anyone could talk about after the game was the rematch the Trojans have against the Cardinal next weekend. The two schools have history as of late. USC’s one loss this season came at the hands of Stanford in a one-goal affair in February that the Trojans look to avenge. USC has lost four games across the last two seasons, three of those games to Stanford.

“[Stanford is] gonna bring a lot of toughness and power and all that, and I think we’re gonna bring it back,” Vandeweghe-O’Shea said. “It’s going to be a battle for sure.”

The Trojans will host Stanford Saturday at 1 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.