UCLA
USC (3rd Place Match)
No. 1 UCLA Defeats No. 3 USC, 10-5, Captures Third at MPSF Tournament
November 24, 2014 | Men's Water Polo
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- The No. 1 UCLA men's water polo team (27-3, 8-0 MPSF) took control right from the start, posting a decisive 10-5 victory over No. 3 USC (22-6) to claim third place at the 2014 MPSF Tournament on Sunday afternoon at LBSU's Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center.
Junior Danny McClintick led the Bruins with three goals and goalkeeper Garrett Danner had a stellar outing with 14 saves, helping UCLA post its largest margin of victory (five goals) over USC in 25 years (the Bruins beat USC 10-4 on Nov. 10, 1989). The win also gave the Bruins three over USC in 2014, pushing the record to 3-1 against the Trojans this year and 5-2 against USC in the last two years.
Top-ranked UCLA jumped out to a 4-0 start against the six-time defending NCAA Champions. McClintick got things going with a goal from the front court (7:33), followed by a power play goal from sophomore Chancellor Ramirez (5:31), another goal from the front court by McClintick (3:58) and a goal from the front court by junior Anthony Daboub (2:15). Marc Vonderweidt scored his only goal of the match for USC on a Trojan power play with 0:03 on the clock to end the scoring in the first with UCLA leading 4-1.
The Bruins were dominant in the second period as well, outscoring USC 3-1 to build a 7-2 lead by halftime. Sophomore Ryder Roberts made it 5-1 from five meters after an ordinary foul (3:53). Ramirez scored his second on a 6-on-5 opportunity to push the lead to 6-1 (2:57). Roberts then scored his second from five meters after the ordinary (1:07) to extend the advantage to 7-1. Kostas Genidounias scored his first from the front court to end the scoring in the second period (0:05) with the Bruins leading 7-2.
UCLA also won the third period, 2-1, to take a 9-3 lead into the fourth. Sophomore Gordon Marshall scored the first goal of the second half (6:46) to make it 8-2. McClintick capped his hat trick with an exclusion goal (4:25) to give the Bruins their largest lead of the match at 9-2. Matteo Morelli scored on a counter attack for USC to end the scoring in the third.
The Trojans won the fourth quarter, 2-1. Genidounias scored on a penalty shot (3:23) and then senior Paul Reynolds scored on a counter attack (1:30) to push the lead back to six (10-4). Genidounias scored a power play goal with 0:47 to go to provide the 10-5 final.
Danner started in goal for the Bruins and played the majority of the game, registering a career-high-tying 15 saves, while surrendering four goals. Senior Stephen White played the final minute of the fourth, picking up one save while allowing one power play goal. McQuin Baron played all four quarters in the cage for the Trojans and was credited with six stops while giving up 10 goals.
USC was a paltry 2-for-12 on power plays while UCLA fared slightly better going 3-for-9. The Trojans converted the only penalty shot of the game.
The Bruins now await the NCAA Tournament selection committee's announcement, which should decide the seedings and who gets the two at-large bids tonight. The Bruins can make a strong case for the top seed. UCLA has beaten Stanford twice this season (2-1 against the Cardinal) both wins against the Cardinal was while Stanford was ranked No. 1. UCLA has been ranked No.1 in the country for seven weeks, compared to Stanford's four weeks at No. 1. Both teams are 9-1 in their last 10 games, but Stanford's one loss in that stretch was to UCLA, which has the best record in the country at 27-3 (Stanford is at 25-3). Nobody has a winning record against the Bruins in 2014. Long Beach State has the best record at 1-1, but the Bruins' have the 19-13 goal differential advantage. The Bruins went undefeated at 8-0 in the MPSF, the strongest conference in the country, and UCLA has the best record away from home in the country at 18-1, going 10-0 in neutral games and 8-1 in road games, with its only loss at Long Beach State in the semifinals of the MPSF Tournament. Stanford went 21-3 (13-2 neutral, 8-1 road).
2014 MPSF Tournament - 3rd Place Match: No. 3 USC vs. No. 1 UCLA
Nov. 23, 2014 - Ken Lindgren Aquatics Center (Long Beach, Calif.)
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F | |
| No. 3 USC | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| No. 1 UCLA | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 |
USC Goals: Kostas Genidounias 3, Marc Vonderweidt, Matteo Morelli
USC Saves: McQuin Baron 6
UCLA Goals: Danny McClintick 3, Chancellor Ramirez 2, Ryder Roberts 2, Anthony Daboub, Gordon Marshall, Paul Reynolds
UCLA Saves: Garrett Danner 15, Stephen White 1
