This weekend, No. 3 USC women’s water polo traveled down to La Jolla, California and returned with a first-place finish in the Triton Invitational.  

The tournament, hosted by No. 14 UC San Diego (4-6), boasted an extraordinarily strong lineup, with seven of the top 10 and 13 of the top 25 teams in the nation competing. Facing that gauntlet and coming out on top marks a huge boost for second-year Head Coach Casey Moon and USC (8-0).

“We have the ability to play anybody in the country,” Moon said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “There’s a really big confidence boost, especially for our returners coming from last year, but more importantly, our five freshmen this year … We’re really gelling in regards to team chemistry [and] this cohesion [and] connection that we have together.”

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The Trojans began the tournament in Bracket B alongside Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Colleges (1-5), the second-ranked team in Division III, as well as N0. 11 Loyola Marymount University (4-5) and No. 21 UC Davis (5-5).

USC opened the tournament in a dominant fashion, dismantling Claremont-Mudd-Scripps 30-8. The Trojans were spearheaded by graduate center Tilly Kearns, who returned to the team this year. Kearns spent last season training with the Australian National Team for the 2024 Summer Olympics, eventually helping the Aussie Stingers take silver in Paris. 

Over the course of the weekend, Kearns scored a team-high 13 goals from the center position. 

Significant production also came from freshman attacker Emily Ausmus, who also competed in Paris for Team USA, and sophomore attacker Meghan McAninch. Both attackers had five goals against the Stags, a career-high for McAninch. 

“If you see us play, there’s an excitement, there’s an energy there that is built organically,” Moon said. “Our upperclassmen really embrace the underclassmen. The underclassmen really embrace the upperclassmen … We put our egos aside and really play for each other.”

The next match against the Aggies looked to be a tighter affair, with Davis keeping the game tied through the first quarter. But a rally just before the second half gave the Trojans a four-goal lead heading into the last 16 minutes.

From there, it was all academic as USC outscored the Aggies 6-2 in the second half to cap off a 17-9 victory, propelling the Trojans into a semifinal showdown with No. 5 University of Hawai’i at Manoa (7-2). 

While USC beat the Rainbow Warriors by the exact same score as the Aggies, the start was much different as the Trojans wasted no time, jumping out to a 13-4 lead at halftime. 

USC’s quick lead allowed it to trade goals with Hawai’i through the second half and cruise nonetheless to another 17-9 win. The Trojans spread the ball around well, with 12 different players finding the back of the net. On the other end of the pool, junior goalkeeper Jada Ward was impressive in stopping Hawai’i from running up the score even more, amassing 13 saves. 

USC’s victory bought the team a ticket to the showdown for an early-season crosstown rivalry match against the defending national champions and No. 1-ranked UCLA Bruins (6-1). 

USC started slow, falling behind 3-1 early on. However, the Trojans batted back to tie it at three with 5:53 left in the second quarter. Neither team could pull away for the remainder of the first half, with the two being tied 5-5 at the end of the second period. 

The two continued to trade goals in the second half before Trojan sophomore center Rachel Gazzaniga rattled off a stunning hat trick, giving USC a 10-8 lead going into the final period. UCLA pulled within one late to make it 12-11, but the Trojan defense held firm, giving the offense the opportunity to score another two goals and put the game away for good. 

While it may still be early February, the significance of an early victory over the defending national champions should not be underestimated.

“Playing at a championship game, regardless of which tournament it is, that experience is invaluable,” Moon said. “UCLA is the defending national champion. They went undefeated last year. So for us to be able to play with them and beat them is really, really telling to see where we are as a team.”

USC will be back in action Friday, hosting Biola University (1-5) at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.