Coming off a decisive, cathartic victory over No. 1 Stanford last week, USC women’s water polo will be rounding out the home portion of its schedule with back-to-back games this weekend. 

Led by redshirt senior Tilly Kearns’ double hat trick, the Trojans (24-1, 3-0 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation) pulled out a fourth- quarter comeback that propelled them back into first in the national rankings ahead of the No. 2 Cardinal (17-1, 3-1 MPSF). With this momentum, USC looks to make two final statement wins in front of its home crowd.

“We [have] got to carry that momentum. Our big goal is to be 1-0 every week. But a big win like that is [a] confidence boost for our team. It just grows our belief as a team together, that we could really stick together [and] play with each other,” said second-year Head Coach Casey Moon in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “But at the end of the day, it’s just one game, right? Our ultimate goal is to make the NCAAs.”

The Trojans have been led by their two Olympian stars, Kearns and freshman attacker Emily Ausmus. Kearns has been nothing short of dominant from center this season, scoring 82 goals and drawing 41 exclusions. On the outside, Ausmus has had a superstar freshman campaign, leading all Trojans in goals with 86.

Kearns and Ausmus have both been recognized on the 2025 Cutino Award Watch List, the highest individual award in the sport. 

USC will face No. 14 Arizona State University (17-7, 1-4 MPSF), led by junior attacker Millie Quin, in their first weekend match. Quin has been the Sun Devils’ go-to goal-scorer this season, leading the team with 78. On the other end of the pool, Arizona State’s freshman goalkeeper, Keri Glad, has totaled 122 saves. Despite making her debut in late January, Glad sits fourth in MPSF in save percentage at 61.5%. 

The last time the Trojans faced ASU was April 13, 2024, when they downed the Sun Devils on the road 14-8. 

USC will have a quick turnaround, as, not 24 hours after its game against ASU, it will face No. 15 San Jose State University (13-10, 2-3 MPSF).

The Spartans are led by sophomore driver Darcy Spark, who leads the team in goals with 65. On defense, senior goalkeeper Grace Smith has made 128 saves this season. 

The Trojans last faced SJSU on April 7, 2024, where they beat the Spartans 14-8. 

Sunday’s match will also mark the final home game for five USC seniors, who will be honored on Senior Day. 

“It’s bittersweet. It’s never nice to be finishing something that you spend so much time on, and obviously you’ve grown a family here,” said redshirt junior attacker Sally McCarthy. “You spend every day with these girls, so knowing that this is the last time that we’ll play in this pool together is sad, but everything has to come to that end.”

 For sophomore attacker Ava Stryker, Senior Day will be an opportunity to embrace both USC’s environment and the seniors for all they’ve done for the program. 

“We’re a really passionate team, but it comes out a lot when we play at home. It’s so special, the atmosphere here at USC in particular,” Stryker said. “When the band comes, it just brings out so much emotion from us. It’s gonna be sad for the seniors, obviously — their last home game — but that’ll fuel our fire even more.”

USC will host Arizona State on Saturday, April 12, and San Jose State on April 13, both at 1 p.m. at Uytengsu Aquatics Center.