In Kalbus Final, Top-Ranked USC Stops #2 Stanford, Extends Win Streak to Thirty-Three

A great atmosphere for a compelling Kalbus final at the UC Irvine Aquatics Center. Photo Courtesy: UC Irvine Athletics

In what was the biggest match of the 2019 women’s NCAA varsity water polo season thus far, on Sunday the Trojans of USC rode roughshod over Stanford, beating the Cardinal 10-8 in the finals of the 2019 Barbara Kalbus Invitational at the UC Irvine Aquatics Center.

With the win, USC not only extends its current win-streak to a sizzling 33-straight, Jovan Vavic’s team avenges the loss that begat that streak—likely the longest one active in NCAA varsity sports; a 9-3 beating administered by then-No. 1 Stanford in last year’s Kalbus final. It’s the Trojans’ fifth straight-appearance in the finals of the most prestigious college women’s invitational, and the third time in that period they’ve taken top honors.

In the third-place match, Cal continued its recent strong play, beating UCLA 7-6 in overtime behind double-digit saves from goalie Madison Tagg and assuredly unseating the Bruins as the nations’ third-ranked team.

All results for all matches are available here at the Kalbus Invitational Tournament Central.

USC sprints ahead early, displays resilience at the end

Very little gets by USC’s Amanda Longan. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne

That the Trojans, who prior to the Kalbus Invite had been demolishing primarily non-conference opponents, won is not surprising. With a line-up featuring Maud Megens (39 goals), Paige Hauschild (25) and Denise Mammolito (19)—supplemented by newcomers Alejandra Aznar (23) and Bayley Weber (19) and backstopped by reigning Cutino Award winner Amanda Longan—USC is deeper in talent than any team in the country. Stanford boast its own impressive array of scorers, with sisters Mackenzie (47 goals) and Aria Fischer (19) backed up by Sarah Klass (25) and freshman Madison Stamen (22).

After squeaking by Cal in Saturday’s semifinal, USC appeared vulnerable to an upset. But, as he has so many times in his quarter century leading the Trojan men and women, Vavic had his team well-prepared for the most meaningful game at hand.

Behind scores from Megens, Aznar and Weber, Stanford found itself in an immediate 3-0 deficit. The Cardinal would rally, getting scores from Klass, Mackenzie Fischer and Ryann Neushul to counter a second Megens goal, cutting USC’s first period lead to one. But the Trojans immediately doubled their lead early in the second period on a goal from Kelsey McIntosh before Klass scored with a minute left before halftime to make it 5-4.

USC Women's Water Polo hosts China at Uytengsu Aquatics Center for an exhibition match.

Trojans’ fabulous freshman from Spain:Alejandra Aznar. Photo Courtesy: John McGillen

This pattern repeated itself in the third. Megens completed her hat trick and Hauschild connected, offseting goals byMackenzie Fischer and Cassidy Wiley. Kat Klass—Sarah’s older sibling—finally brought the Cardinal even at 7-all two and a half minutes into the final period of play.

The tie did not last long, due to another USC burst. Goals on consecutive possessions by Mammolito, Kearns and Hauschild put the Trojans up 10-7 with four minutes remaining. Sarah Klass completed her hat trick to narrow the Cardinal’s deficit to two, but Longans (11 saves) snuffed out any Stanford comeback homes, stuffing Fischer on a penalty shot with 46 seconds left to preserve her team’s margin of victory.

Cal and UCLA engage in an epic contest for third

The Golden Bears may have trouble closing out a win against USC, but in the Coralie Simmons era, Cal has demonstrated that beating UCLA, her alma mater, is now a regular occurrence. In beating the Bruins for the third-straight time—after 16-straight losses from 2001 until last season—Simmons’ squad beat back a furious second half comeback effort by Adam Wright’s squad. Down 4-0 at intermission, The Bruins climbed back, with freshman Val Ayala knotting the game with three minutes remaining in the fourth period.

Tagg (10 saves) and Carlee Kapana (10 saves) kept the game tied at 4-all until the end of regulation. In the first overtime period, Maddie Musselman quickly gave UCLA its first lead of the game, but goals by Elli Protopapas and Hannah DeRose reestablished Cal’s lead for good. When Kitty Lynn Joustra scored early in the second overtime period, the Golden Bears had an insurmountable lead, closing out an inspiring weekend which saw them push top-seeded USC to the brink in a 9-8 loss in a semifinal match on Saturday.

Hawai’i, Michigan, UCI, LMU, LBSU and SDSU are all winners on Sunday

Hawai’i rebounded from a Saturday morning loss to Cal with a 10-8 victory over Arizona State leading to a fifth-place match against Pacific, a 14-6 win for the Rainbow Wahine. Michigan captured seventh-place with a win over the Sun Devils, while host UC Irvine beat Big West rival UC Santa Barbara 11-9 for ninth place; after a blazing 9-1 start, the Gauchos have now dropped four of their last seven.

The UCI Anteaters finished on a high note with a win over the UBSC Gauchos. Photo Courtesy: Glen Feingerts

Loyola Marymount finally had faced a lower-ranked opponent, beating UC San Diego 11-9 for 11th place. Long Beach State closed out its Kalbus interlude by upsetting San Jose State for 13th place, winning 8-7 in overtime. Closing out the tournament, San Diego State triumphed over CSUN, winning 11-4 and taking 15th place.

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Thomas A. Small

5 years ago

Congratulations

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Michael Randazzo

5 years ago

Reply to Thomas A. Small

Hi Thomas:

Yes, congratulations to the Trojans for taking round one! But, this is a three (or perhaps four) round bout; the rematch is on Saturday, March 30th in Los Angeles, when the Cardinal come to Uytengsu Aquatics Center. Luckily, THAT match will be on the Pac-12 Network, so I suspect you, me and a buch of OTHER interested parties will be watching!

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