Chamorro wins MPSF Player of the Week


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After a dominant performance between the pipes for the No. 2 USC women’s water polo team over the weekend, junior goalie Victória Chamorro was named MPSF Player of the Week for the first time in her career.

The Rio de Janeiro, Brazil native was locked in on defense down in La Jolla, Calif. at the Triton Invitational, recording 19 saves in just two games. Her standout performance in the championship match against No. 5 Arizona State included 12 saves, which helped USC (14-0) secure its fourth consecutive Triton Invitational crown.

In Saturday’s game against No. 17 San Diego State, Chamorro stopped seven shots in just three periods of work and allowed only two goals to lead USC to a 17-4 victory over the Aztecs.

USC came away unscathed in pool play, and after a win in the semifinals of the tournament against No. 6 Michigan, Chamorro would once again man the cage for USC against MPSF rival Arizona State. After giving up one goal early in the first frame, she silenced the Sun Devils in the second and fourth periods and allowed just one more goal en route to the 12-2 win in the title match. Chamorro’s strength and quickness bothered Arizona State the entire evening, as she tallied a couple of key steals and finished with 12 stops in goal. In total, she allowed just four goals over the weekend.

The 2016 Rio Olympian leads USC with a 2.48 goals allowed per game average, only letting 13 goals get past her so far this season. In 21 total periods of work, she has recorded 55 saves for a 10.48 saves per game average and leads a stingy USC defense that allows just 3.36 goals per game, compared to the team’s 18.5 goals per game scoring average.

The junior is also ranked No. 6 all-time in the USC record books for career saves. In her freshman season, her 207 saves were the most ever recorded by a first-year goalie at USC and the ninth most in program history. For her efforts in 2015, Chamorro was named to the MPSF All-Newcomer Team and earned All-American Honorable Mention status.

As a sophomore last season, she helped USC capture the program’s fifth national championship with a 6.7 saves per game average.

Chamorro and the Trojans will now head down to Irvine, Calif., to take part in the 2017 UCI Invitational. Action begins on Feb. 24 and will conclude Feb. 26 at the Anteater Aquatics Center.