Trojans know how to win big and small

USC men’s water polo is good. Really, really good.

That much we know.

Since the 2006 season, the Trojans have run up a collective 95-6 record for a robust .940 winning percentage. They went 29-0 in 2008 on their way to a fourth national title and have lost just one match so far this year.

But take a closer look and you’ll find a common theme, one you might not expect: The Trojans don’t win big. They win small.

This comes in direct contrast to what you would usually expect from a No. 1 team. Take the Lakers, for example — some LA fans get outraged whenever they don’t blow a team out.

But Saturday, No. 1 USC beat No. 3 Stanford in as close a match as you’ll ever see at McDonald’s Swim Stadium.

Senior driver Justin Rappel scored with 10 seconds left to give the Trojans a 12-11 lead, but the Cardinal fought back to tie it and force overtime.

Rappel scored again in the extra period and sophomore goaltender Joel Dennerley kept Stanford scoreless to clinch the 13-12 victory. Sounds exciting, right?

It was, but it was also business as usual.

That was the fourth one-goal victory the Trojans have had this season. And that doesn’t include five other victories that came by a margin of three or less.

“It shows that we have the poise and confidence to not be shaken by a close game,” said senior two-meter Jordan Thompson, who had a career-high four goals against the Cardinal. “Or, in the case of Stanford, to not be shaken by a late deficit. We all know that we can do it when it comes down to crunch time.”

Yes, they can.

And they use crunch time as a learning experience, too.

“At the same time, these close wins show us where our weaknesses are,” Thompson added. “Obviously against Stanford, we had a great offensive attack — 13 goals — but we allowed 12 goals. There were some issues, so now we are making adjustments.”

To put it simply, they know how to perform in the clutch.

“We play like our lives are on the line every game — it’s just the team mentality,” Rappel said. “We refuse to lose and we don’t see it as an option, whereas other teams are content to have a losing record, I guess.”

But it’s not like this is a new phenomenon.

The Trojans did this last year too, with five one-goal wins and several come-from-behind victories.

And nearly every key contributor from that team is back this time around.

“We’ve all been here before,” Rappel said. “We’ve all been in these close games and no one’s freaking out about it. Everyone stays calm and does what we need to do to win.”

The team’s chemistry is evident.

“It’s just a huge advantage,” Thompson said. “We know — almost to an infinitesimal fraction — exactly what our teammates want: when they want the ball, where they want it, how they want it.”

Thompson told the story of last year’s Mountain Pacific Sports Federation title game in vivid detail.

The Trojans fell behind 2-1 late in the game and faced the prospect of losing their first match of the year to Pepperdine. But Rappel equalized with little more than a minute left and then-junior two-meter Shea Buckner delivered the game-winning goal as the buzzer sounded to give USC the dramatic road victory.

From there, it was all downhill, they say.

“The fact that we’ve been to the top of the mountain lets us know that we can get there again,” Thompson said. “And we are going to overcome the obstacles that are in our way.”

And Rappel said some of that late-game fortitude can be traced back to practices, where coach Jovan Vavic’s training methods have been known to be perhaps the most intense in the nation.

The 47-year-old prides his players on being able to maintain their water polo skills, even when their bodies are threatening to break down.

If they reach 180, even 200 heartbeats per minute? That’s nothing.

“Once you’re tired, that’s when the real work begins,” Rappel said. “That’s when you really gotta buckle down and stick to the fundamentals.”

And Vavic, in his 15th year with the Trojans, presides over it all. Owner of a .846 career winning percentage at the college level, he’s been named Coach of the Year — nationally and MPSF — five of the last six seasons.

His teams just win.

“And when you win as many games as we do, you just have confidence,” Vavic said. “And confidence is a big part of being successful in sports.

“We just think that we are going to win every game.”

Of course, USC did lose once this year — once again by a one-goal margin. UCLA beat the Trojans 5-4 in the preseason NorCal Tournament.

Thompson called it a “phenomenal slap in the face.”

But the Trojans’ goaltender and key underclassman — Dennerley — missed the entire week of practice and wasn’t at his best, Vavic said.

It’s clear the loss struck a nerve with Vavic and his team, and the Trojans have come right back and beat UCLA twice since then.

And guess what the margins of victory were?

Yep. One, each time.

“Looking Past the X’s & O’s” runs Wednesdays. To comment on this article, visit dailytrojan.com or email Pedro at [email protected].