No. 2 UCLA Claws its Way to Victory Over No. 5 USC, 13-12

SOCIAL MEDIA: MWP on Twitter | MWP on Facebook | MWP on Instagram

STANFORD, Calif. -- No. 2 UCLA (13-0) rallied to defeat No. 5 USC (10-3), 13-12, on Saturday evening in the semifinals of the 2022 MPSF Invitational at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center. UCLA improved to 93-88-1 in the series history against the Trojans.

The Bruins had five players score in the game, paced by a career-high-tying five goals from senior Tommy Gruwell. Gruwell finished with a game- and career-high nine total points, adding four assists in the contest. Super senior Jake Cavano added a season-high four scores against the Trojans.

Senior Bernardo Maurizi got the start in the cage and went the distance, registering nine saves and two steals while allowing 12 goals.

Massimo Di Martire and Jake Ehrhardt each scored four goals to lead USC while Garrett Allen had eight saves while surrendering 13 goals to UCLA.

PERIOD ONE
> USC outscored the Bruins 3-2 in the first period.
> USC scored the first two goals of the opening period (6:59 and 6:09).
> Super senior Evan Rosenfeld scored for the Bruins (3:54) to trim the deficit to 2-1.
> Gruwell then tied things up at 2-2 with his first score (2:49).
> The Trojans scored the last goal of the opening period (2:20).

PERIOD TWO
> UCLA outscored the Trojans, 4-3, to tie it up at 6-6 at the break.
> Senior Gabe Discipulo scored from two meters (7:39) off a feed from redshirt junior Jack Larsen to tie things up at 3-3.
> Larsen then drew a penalty shot that Gruwell converted (his second goal of the game) to give the Bruins their first lead at 4-3 (6:33).
> After back-to-back goals by the Trojans (6:12 and 5:19), Gruwell completed his hat trick off a feed from redshirt sophomore Gianpiero Di Martire (3:16) to it up at 5-5.
> Cavano then scored a power play goal (2:33) to put UCLA back in front at 6-5.
> The Trojans got the final goal of the first half (1:14) to tie it up.

PERIOD THREE
> Both teams battled to a 4-4 and game was tied at 10-10 heading into the fourth.
> Cavano netted his second of the game to open the scoring in the third with a power play goal (5:59) to put the Bruins back in front at 7-6.
> After a power play goal for USC (5:12), the Bruins responded with a power play goal when Di Martire took a feed from Gruwell (3:38) to put UCLA back in front at 8-7.
> The Trojans scored again (3:02), but again UCLA had the answer (2:36) when Cavano completed his hat trick off a feed from Gruwell to lead 9-8.
> USC got another score (2:16), but the Bruins' Gruwell scored his fourth of the game off an assist from Rosenfeld (1:53) to lead 10-9.
> The Trojans tied it at 10-10 (1:16) with a power play goal to end the scoring in the third.

PERIOD FOUR
> UCLA won the fourth quarter, 3-2, to provide the 13-12 final.
> Di Martire scored from the front court (6:25) off a third assist of the game from Gruwell to open the scoring in the fourth.
> USC tied it at 11-11 with a power play goal (6:00), but Gruwell tied his career high of five goals on a Bruin power play (3:09) off a pass from Dodd to put UCLA in front 12-11.
> Cavano scored his fourth goal of the game on a Bruin power play (0:35), the eventual game-winning goal, off of Gruwell's fourth assist of the game, to make it 13-11.
> Jake Ehrhardt scored his fourth goal of the game (0:24) to end the scoring.

UP NEXT
The Bruins return to action tomorrow in the championship game of the MPSF Invitational at No. 3 Stanford (12-0) at 1:00 p.m. PT at Avery Aquatic Center. UCLA and Stanford are the last two remaining undefeated teams in Division I water polo.

No. 2 UCLA vs. No. 5 USC (MPSF Invitational - Semifinals)

SCOREBOARD	1	2	3	4	FINAL
No. 5 USC	3	3	4	2	12
No. 2 UCLA	2	4	4	3	13

6x5 - UCLA - 6/10 - USC - 7/7
Penalties - UCLA - 1/2 - USC - 0/0

USC Goals: Massimo Di Martire 4, Jake Ehrhardt 4, Carson Kranz 1, Chris Sturtevant 1, Marcus Longton 1, Andrej Grgurevic 1
USC Saves: Garrett Allen 8

UCLA Goals: Tommy Gruwell 5, Jake Cavano 4, Gianpiero Di Martire 2, Evan Rosenfeld 1, Gabe Discipulo 1
UCLA Saves: Bernardo Maurizi 9

Recent Results

Upcoming Events

No. 2 UCLA Claws its Way to Victory Over No. 5 USC, 13-12

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jake Cavano

Gianpiero Di Martire

Gabe Discipulo

Tommy Gruwell

Jack Larsen

Bernardo Maurizi

Evan Rosenfeld

University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

No. 2 UCLA Claws its Way to Victory Over No. 5 USC, 13-12

Related News

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Jake Cavano

Gianpiero Di Martire

Gabe Discipulo

Tommy Gruwell

Jack Larsen

Bernardo Maurizi

Evan Rosenfeld

Related News

Related Videos