USC Women’s Water Polo Finishes Fourth At MPSF Tournament

BLOOMINGTON, IND. — The No. 5 USC women's water polo team finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament after taking a tight 12-11 loss to No. 4 Stanford in today's third-place game in Bloomington, Ind. Now 18-8 overall, the Trojans await the announcement of the NCAA Tournament bracket, taking place tomorrow (April 29).

USC had a powerful start to the game, controlling things on both ends of the pool and rattling off four straight goals. Rachel Gazzaniga lit the fuse with a bar-in blast to net a 2-1 lead for the Trojans, and then fellow freshman Ava Stryker faked and fired for a 3-1 lead that held through the end of the first. Stryker kept things clicking for the Trojans with her third goal of the day, and then Abigail Hendrix sailed in a sweet one to get USC ahead 5-1. Stanford managed a couple close-range goals around two 6-on-5 strikes from Hannah Meyer and Julia Janov, and it was a 7-3 USC lead at halftime. 

The Cardinal capitalized with a nearside goal to open the second half, only to see Alejandra Aznar blaze in a no-look backhand and then finish off a counterattack to take the Trojans ahead 9-4. Stanford would hit its stride soon after, however, scoring three straight to get within two. Stryker interrupted things with a rebound and savvy finish to make it 10-7, and then Stanford scored another three in a row to level things 10-10 entering the fourth. Gazzaniga got USC up on a 6-on-5 a couple minutes in, and Aznar found Stryker for her fifth goal of the day to nudge the Trojans back on top with an 11-10 advantage. Stanford would equalize again at 5:44, and later got a fortunate goal to go in on a power play to lead it 12-11 with 2:57 remaining. Try as they may, the Trojans were unable to bring things even to force an overtime opportunity.

NEXT:
USC now awaits the announcement of the 2024 NCAA Tournament field, which will be released Monday (April 29) at 5 p.m. on ncaa.com

NOTABLE:
- With a game-high five goals today, FR Ava Stryker tied her career high.
- With her two goals today, SR Alejandra Aznar now has 143 career goals to rank No. 18 all-time at USC in scoring.
- With her goal today, SR Julia Janov continues to lead the team with goals scored in 23 different games this season.

MPSF TOURNAMENT
THIRD-PLACE GAME
[3] Stanford 12, [4] USC 11
Friday, April 26 | Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatics Center (Bloomington, Ind.)
USC   3 - 4 - 3 - 1 = 11
STAN  1 - 2 - 7 - 2 = 12

SCORING:
USC — Ava Stryker 5, Alejandra Aznar 2, Rachel Gazzaniga, Abigail Hendrix, Hannah Meyer, Julia Janov.
STAN —Christina Hicks 4, Sophia Sanders 4, Eleanor Facey, Kamryn Barone, Sophie Wallace, Celeste Wjinbelt. 

SAVES: Carolyne Stern (USC) 6, Maya Avital (STAN) 13.