With six-and-a-half minutes left in the second quarter of No. 2 USC’s matchup with No. 15 Indiana at Uytengsu Aquatics Center on Saturday afternoon, things weren’t going as planned. After two straight Hoosier goals in the span of 40 seconds, the teams were tied at seven.

Despite the Trojans (17-1, 1-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) leading by as many as three early, the scrappy Hoosiers (12-6, 0-2 MPSF) would not go away easily as they tried to reverse their 19-game losing streak against USC. But the Trojans didn’t want to snap that streak, and 20 is a pretty nice number.

On the ensuing possession USC sophomore center Rachel Gazzaniga earned a penalty, calling freshman attacker Emily Ausmus — who leads the team with 63 goals this season — to take the shot. The attacker, who Head Coach Casey Moon called “the best freshman in the country” postgame, didn’t let the pressure get to her, sinking her third of five goals in the game.

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“You can’t think too much on [penalties], or else you kind of psych yourself out,” Ausmus said in a postgame interview. “If you just come with it like a blank slate, you have nothing on your mind, and you just think about scoring.”

Ausmus’ goal sparked not just a run, but an onslaught. In just over two quarters of playtime, USC netted another 11 goals while surrendering none. While the Hoosiers battled in garbage time, a 21-12 victory in the Trojans’ first MPSF game of the season will leave few remembering the close early moments.

“It took us two quarters to find our mojo, per se, to get us moving,” Moon said. “We have a resilient group and regardless of if we’re up 10 down 10, whatever it may be, we’re really good, and our focus is to win.”

The usual suspects, Ausmus and graduate center Tilly Kearns — USC’s second-leading scorer with 58 goals so far this season — netted five each to lead the Trojans. But contributions came from all over, with Gazzaniga scoring three, and freshman center Alma Yaacobi as well as junior attacker Morgan Netherton both finding the back of the net twice.

“A presence in [Kearns] at center, as well as a dynamic attacker in someone like [Ausmus], they really are the engine of our team,” Moon said. “They score a lot of goals, but our supporting cast, the girls that don’t get on the paper … collectively, we’re getting better. I’m really proud of them.”

The Trojans jumped off to an early 3-0 lead in the game’s first three minutes on the back of two steals and a goal from Kearns, sparking multiple fast-break opportunities — where USC saw most of its good looks Saturday.

“The first quarter was a bit of a rough patch on our defense, but I think [we adjusted] to Indiana and how they play … looking for the looks on the counter,” Ausmus said. “We’re really good at pushing the counter attack with our speed, getting up, getting advantages.”

USC’s physical defensive play kept the Trojans in control, but also resulted in 15 exclusions, which Indiana capitalized on with 5 of its 12 goals coming during 6-on-5 play.

Other fouls also contributed to the Hoosiers’ comeback early in the game, as Indiana scored a penalty goal with one second left in the first to close the gap to 6-5 and, later, an ordinary foul that led to the point that tied the game at seven.

By the time the third quarter arrived, the Trojans were up 11-7 — already a third of the way through their 12-0 run — and Moon’s philosophy of always winning the third quarter came to fruition with a clean 4-0 victory in the period.

“In the second half of most of our games, we take a bit of a lead,” Ausmus said. “That’s something … we’ve really emphasized and … our swimming.”

Throughout the 18-minute Indiana scoring drought, both junior goalie Jada Ward and redshirt freshman goalie Anna Reed racked up multiple saves and steals, fueling the Trojans’ run. Ward finished with a 41.7% save percentage and five saves while Reed had a 28.6% percentage and two saves. 

“Our cohesion as a group, our culture, really shows when we play defense,” Moon said. “We communicate, and if we’re one unit, I think we can be a really good team.”

Next up for the Trojans is the four-game Aztec Invitational, hosted by San Diego State. On Friday, USC will face off against No. 11 Princeton (9-2, 4-1 Collegiate Water Polo Association) and Bucknell (9-4, 2-3 CWPA) before seeing No. 8 Harvard (16-1, 7-0 CWPA) and No. 12 Michigan (7-5, 1-2 CWPA) on Saturday.

“It’ll be another challenge for us and we’re excited to go play,” Moon said. “Our ultimate goal is to be 1-0 every week, and we did that this week, which is great, and now we have an opportunity next week, so we’ll see how it goes.”

USC’s bout with Princeton will begin at noon Friday at Aztec Aquaplex.