UCLA
USC (Championship)
No. 1 USC Captures MPSF Crown at UCLA
November 20, 2016 | Men's Water Polo
The Bruins fell 9-6 at home in the MPSF Championship game.
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LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- The second-ranked UCLA Bruins found themselves in an 0-3 hole and never recovered, falling 9-6 to No. 1 USC in the 2016 MPSF Championship game on Sunday afternoon at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruins fell to 25-2 overall while the Trojans improved to 23-1.
Senior Ryder Roberts led the Bruins with a game-high-tying two goals. Senior goalkeeper Garrett Danner played the entire game in the cage and registered 14 saves. McQuin Baron played the entire contest in goal for USC, recording 16 saves.
Nick Bell got the Trojans on the board first with a goal at full strength (4:55). Zach D'Sa put the Trojans up 2-0 with a goal at two meters (0:58). James Walters ended the scoring in the first period with a back-handed goal that put USC up 3-0 (0:02).
Senior Patrick Fellner got the Bruins on the board with a power play goal (7:19) to open the scoring in the second quarter. Marin Dasic put the Trojans up 4-1 with a power play goal at the 2:36 mark. Blake Edwards made it 5-1 with another power play conversion (2:04). Senior Ryder Roberts made it 5-2 with a goal near side with 0:07 remaining before the half.
Roberts opened the scoring in the third with a power play score (4:22) to cut the lead to 5-3. Matt Maier scored a power play goal to push the lead back to three at 6-3 (2:59). Then senior Gordon Marshall drew a penalty shot that was blocked by Baron on Fellner's attempt and the Trojans' Bryce Hoerman scored immediately on a counter (2:29) to make it 7-3. Max Irving scored from the front court to trim the lead to 7-4 (2:06), which was the last score in the third.
Danner and the Bruin defense started the fourth strong, including a penalty stop by Danner on a shot by Blake Edwards, but the offensive woes continued until sophomore Warren Snyder took a nice feed from Marshall for a power play goal (2:42) that cut it to 7-5. Bell scored his second of the game with 2:20 to go from two meters to make it 8-5. The Trojans shut down two Bruin power plays in the final minutes to preserve the win. Dasic scored his second goal on an empty net () and then senior Alec Zwaneveld
The Bruins now will wait for the NCAA Selection Show to find out what seed they will have for the upcoming 2016 NCAA Men's Water Polo Championship at California on Dec. 3-4.
No. 1 USC at No. 2 UCLA (MPSF Championship Game)
| SCOREBOARD | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | F |
| No. 2 UCLA | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| No. 1 USC | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 |
6x5 - UCLA - 4/12 - USC - 3/8
Penalties - UCLA - 0/1 - USC - 0/1
UCLA Goals: Ryder Roberts 2, Patrick Fellner 1, Max Irving 1, Warren Snyder 1, Alec Zwaneveld 1
UCLA Saves: Garrett Danner 14
USC Goals: Nick Bell 2, Marin Dasic 2, Zach D'Sa 1, James Walters 1, Blake Edwards 1, Bryce Hoerman 1, Matt Maier 1
USC Saves: McQuin Baron 16
