No. 1 USC breezes through tournament
The top-ranked Trojans beat their first ranked opponent of the 2013 season and nabbed a few more wins this past weekend at the Inland Empire Classic to extend their current winning streak to 39 games.
Diving in · Junior driver Kostas Genidounias was one of three players to record hat tricks for the Trojans against No. 10 UC San Diego in a 17-5 victory, USC’s first win over a ranked opponent this season. – Daily Trojan file photo
USC (8-0) started the weekend off on a high note by defeating No. 10 UC San Diego in their first match, 17-5. Once again, the Trojans started off with a scoring surge of eight straight goals in the first quarter, while holding the Tritons scoreless. This scoring attack was due largely in part to the first-period hat trick from senior utility player Mace Rapsey. UC San Diego would not score until midway through the second quarter, when the Trojans bounced back with three more consecutive goals.
The Trojans led 10-1 at halftime and started the second half strong with a goal by senior two-meter player Connor Virjee, who also had a hat trick. They would net five total goals in the third to take a commanding 15-4 lead heading into the final quarter, where redshirt junior driver Rex Butler and red shirt sophomore two-meter Mac Carden each added goals to cap off the win for the Trojans.
Nine different players scored for USC against the Tritons and three had hat tricks (Rapsey, Virjee and junior driver Kostas Genidounias).
Senior driver Nikola Vavic also added two goals, while senior goalie James Clark recorded nine saves in the the team’s fifth straight win of the 2013 season.
USC’s next game on Saturday against Pomona-Pitzer was even more of a lopsided matchup, as they trounced the Sagehens 24-6 in a game where the Trojans had 13 different scorers. They jumped out to a 15-4 lead at halftime, and held their ground on defense, shutting Pomona out in the fourth quarter. Vavic and Arden led the USC scoring with four goals a piece, while five other players recored multi-goal games. Redshirt junior Paul Mitre had seven saves for the Trojans.
Sunday was nothing different than Saturday for the team, who defeated Claremont-Mudd-Scripps and Whittier by sizeable margins.
The Trojans started off Sunday morning by beating the Stags 19-2 before closing out the tournament with a 21-4 victory over the Poets in the afternoon.
The team passed up their longest recent winning streak of 35 in a row (2008-09) with their four wins this weekend and continues to strive to break the program’s record winning streak, which stands at 44 (2005-06).
The men will look to continue their winning streak next weekend (Sept. 21 to 22) as they head up to Northern California to play in the NorCal Tournament. Their opponents will be determined later in the week.
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