Southern California Finishes Undefeated Season With NCAA Men’s Water Polo Title

PALO ALTO, California, December 8. FOR the USC men's water polo seniors, today's 7-5 win over Stanford notched their 100th career win as Trojans. What's more, the victory capped off a perfect season for USC and earned the Trojans their fourth NCAA Championship. Not since a 5-0 final record in 1944 has USC gone undefeated in a season, but this year's dominating 29-0 run through 2008 blows that previous program record out of the water. In today's final at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center, the Trojans again came through on the shoulders of a powerful defense, while Shea Buckner led all scorers with three goals in the historic win by USC.

Of the four national championships claimed by USC in program history, two of those have been captured by seniors Arjan Ligtenberg and Jovan Vranes. Since coming to Troy, the two seniors have accumulated a 100-6 career record as Trojans. They won their first NCAA title in 2005 as freshmen, when USC beat Stanford 3-2 in the national championship game. USC is the first team in 16 years to go undefeated through an entire season. California last achieved a perfect en route to a national championship in 1992.

J.W. Krumpholz was named the MVP of the NCAA Tournament, with Matt Sagehorn and Shea Buckner also All-Tournament First Team picks. On the NCAA All-Tournament Second Team are seniors Arjan Ligtenberg and Jovan Vranes along with freshman Peter Kurzeka.

After falling behind 1-0 and then 2-1 in the first period of tonight's NCAA Championship, USC rifled in five straight goals on the hands of five different scorers to catapult into control of the game. The Trojan defense combined field blocks with big stops by goalie Joel Dennerley to shut down the Cardinal for over 17 minutes of play.

Stanford got on the board first in the second minute of action. After a takeaway at set by Buckner, J.W. Krumpholz earned a 6-on-5 for the Trojans, and Buckner blasted in the equalizer at 4:27. Stanford goalie Jimmie Sandman turned away five shots by the Trojans in the frame, while Stanford struck with a 6-on-5 of its own at 2:56 to take a 2-1 lead into the second period.

Another Sandman save opened the second period, only to see USC crack the Cardinal for three straight goals while the Trojan defense pitched a shutout. Arjan Ligtenberg earned a 5-meter penalty shot after snagging a rebound from the Sandman save. Buckner lined up for the penalty shot and buried it to level the game 2-2. Joel Dennerley stymied a Stanford 6-on-5 next, and USC took its first lead when Anthony Artukovich found Jordan Thompson at 2-meters for a 3-2 USC edge. Peter Kurzeka nabbed a steal at set next, and Justin Rappel sent a screaming skipper to the back of the net to set USC on a solid path to the championship with a 4-2 lead.

USC `s scoring surge extended in the second half with a ferocious cross-cage bar-in strike from Buckner – his this score of the day. Dennerley shut down another Stanford 6-on-5 to keep it a 5-2 USC lead, and then USC worked the ball from Kurzeka to Rappel to Kyle Sterling on the left post for a high-flying blast that made it 6-2 USC with 1:12 on the clock in the third.

Stanford put a stop to USC's scoring streak when a looping shot floated across the goalline before the buzzer to make it 6-3 entering the final frame. And although managed to make good on a pair of 6-on-5 advantages in the fourth period, a searing backhand out of set from Krumpholz kept USC's lead well padded, taking USC up 7-4 before Stanford's last score finished off the game as a 7-5 Trojan championship victory. One last defensive word was made, however, as Kurzeka put up a field block on a late Stanford try to close out the match and put the finishing touches on USC's fourth national championship and a perfect season for the Trojans.

NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
USC 7, Stanford 5
STAN 2 – 0 – 1 – 2 — 5
USC 1 – 3 – 2 – 1 — 7

SCORING:
USC – Shea Buckner 3, Jordan Thompson, Justin Rappel, Kyle Sterling, J.W. Krumpholz.
STAN – Drac Wigo, Jeffrey Schwimer, Ryan McCarthy, Jason Wigo, Sage Wright.

SAVES: Joel Dennerley (USC) 10, Jimmie Sandman (STAN) 10.

2008 NCAA All-Tournament Team
First Team:
J.W. Krumpholz (USC) – MVP
Tim Hummel (LMU)
Sage Wright (Stanford)
Drac Wigo (Stanford)
Matt Sagehorn (USC)
Shea Buckner (USC)
Andy Stevens (LMU)

Second Team:
Jimmie Sandman (Stanford)
Mike Mulvey (Navy)
Janson Wigo (Stanford)
Peter Kurzeka (USC)
Will Hindle-Katel (Stanford)
Jovan Vranes (USC)
Tibor Forai (LMU)
Time Heafner (LMU)
Arjan Ligtenberg (USC)

Special thanks to USC for contributing this report.

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