USC Women’s Water Polo Surges To MPSF Semifinal Spot With 11-6 Win Over ASU

BLOOMINGTON, IND. — The No. 4 seeded USC women's water polo team silenced No. 5 seed Arizona State for over 20 minutes while punching up a six-goal rally to take control and win 11-6 in the MPSF quarterfinal round today in Bloomington, Ind. USC had trailed by two before digging down and dominating the rest of the way, as the Trojans are now through to the semifinals tomorrow against UCLA at Indiana's Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center. USC is now 18-6 overall on the year.

Alejandra Aznar was the fixer for the Trojans early on, assisting on big goals from Rachel Gazzaniga and Maggie Johnson to help tug the Trojans to a 2-0 lead. Arizona State was undeterred, however, netting four straight goals, including a pair of 5-meter penalty shots,  to put USC in a 4-2 hole after eight minutes of action. Aznar, again, proved the provider for USC, as she hit Abigail Hendrix for a savvy crosscage lob that lit the fuse on a resounding USC rally. Johnson sizzled in her second goal of the day soon after to knot the game up 4-4, then nabbed a steal While USC's defense squashed the Sun Devil offense for over 20 minutes of play, the Trojans tallied four more goals. Ava Stryker got USC a 5-4 lead for halftime, and then the third saw a defensive stalemate broken up by Gazzaniga.

Leading things 6-4 entering the fourth thanks in part to another big quarter-ending stop from USC goalie Carolyne Stern, the Trojans had Stryker finish off a 1-on-1 attack before Gazzaniga blazed in her third to top off the 6-0 USC surge. ASU broke its length silent stretch at 5:07 in the fourth, only to see the Trojans smack back-to-back goals from Janov and Aznar to keep USC in winning position. The final word came from Brooklyn Aguilera, who unleashed a rocket with a minute remaining, and USC had an 11-6 victory in-hand in Indiana.

NEXT: 
USC will take on top-seeded UCLA in tomorrow's semifinals, looking to hand the Bruins their first loss of the season when the rivals meet at 3:30 p.m. ET at Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center in Bloomington, Ind.

NOTABLE:
- For the second game in a row and the fourth time this season, USC shut out its opponent in two different periods of play, keeping ASU scoreless today in the second and third frames.
- With one goal today, SR Alejandra Aznar is now one goal away from cracking the all-time top-20 in career scoring at USC.
- With her goal today, SR Julia Janov continues to lead the team with goals scored in 21 different games this season.
- With her hat trick today, FR Rachel Gazzaniga has now recorded a team-high 16 multiple-goal games this season.
- Gazzaniga also leads USC in scoring with 46 goals — one of four Trojans with at least 40 goals scored this season.
- With today's win, USC is making its ninth straight MPSF Tournament semifinal appearance.

2024 MPSF TOURNAMENT

[4] USC 11, [5] Arizona State 6
Friday, April 26 | Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center (Bloomington, Ind.)
USC   2 - 3 - 1 - 5 = 11
ASU   4 - 0 - 0 - 2 = 6

SCORING:
USC — Rachel Gazzaniga 3, Maggie Johnson 2, Ava Stryker 2, Abigail Hendrix, Julia Janov, Alejandra Aznar, Brooklyn Aguilera.
ASU — Luca Petovary 2, Jasmijn Dikmaals, Sophie Shorter-Robinson, Ashley Ferguson, Sanne Keijzer.

SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 7, Sanne Keijzer (ASU) 9.