{"id":286888,"date":"2017-12-03T10:15:11","date_gmt":"2017-12-03T17:15:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=286888"},"modified":"2017-12-03T15:38:02","modified_gmt":"2017-12-03T22:38:02","slug":"usc-rallies-late-to-beat-cal-will-meet-rival-ucla-in-2017-ncaa-mens-water-polo-final","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/usc-rallies-late-to-beat-cal-will-meet-rival-ucla-in-2017-ncaa-mens-water-polo-final\/","title":{"rendered":"USC Rallies Late to Beat Cal; Will Meet UCLA in 2017 NCAA Men\u2019s Water Polo Final"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor<\/em><\/p>\n

LOS ANGELES \u2014 In a compelling contest that saw the home team go up by three goals early then fall into a sizable deficit late, host USC got standout performances from senior Grant Stein<\/strong> and freshman Marko Vavic<\/strong> to defeat defending champion Cal 12-11 in a 2017 NCAA Men\u2019s Water Polo Tournament semifinal Saturday night at a sold-out Uytengsu Aquatics Center. With the win, the Trojans advance to a record 13th-straight NCAA championship final today at 3 p.m. (PST) where they will face cross-town rival and top seed UCLA.<\/p>\n

\"ncaa_waterpolo\"<\/p>\n

USC Head Coach Jovan Vavic<\/strong>, who in 23 seasons has now guided his team to a remarkable 17 NCAA title tilts, spoke about how his veteran team never panicked when they went down 10-7 with two minutes left in the third period.<\/p>\n

\u201cNobody on our bench and none of our coaches was thinking we\u2019re going to lose this match,\u201d he said in remarks following the match. \u201cI believe in these boys and they believe in each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Citing both sides in an extremely physical match that saw USC\u2019s Lachlan Edwards <\/strong>ejected and Cal\u2019s Johnny Hooper<\/strong> and Odysseas Masmanidis<\/strong> rolled, Vavic added: \u201cWhen the game becomes physical, emotions flare up. We were at one end of these emotions when we went down. We recovered, fought through, and never gave up.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a decisive third quarter, when things looked bleakest for nine USC seniors who have yet to win a national championship despite numerous opportunities, it was a freshman who sparked the Trojans to victory.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was just trying to get us back in the game,\u201d Marko Vavic said about back-to-back goals late in the period. \u201cI did not want to lose.\u201d<\/p>\n

After the deflating defeat, Cal Head Coach Kirk Everist<\/strong>, who described the match as a \u201cheavyweight fight,\u201d acknowledged the younger Vavic\u2019s success but put their significance in the context of a back-and-forth game.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey got through and they\u2019re nice plays,\u201d he said, then added: \u201cIn a flow sport like this, runs are going to happen. You\u2019re up by three and you\u2019re pretty happy. But you look up at the clock and realize: there\u2019s a lot of time, and this team\u2019s not going away.\u201d<\/p>\n

Excessive passion in the stands and the pool<\/strong><\/p>\n

On a cloudless night, heightened emotions in the stands reflected the charged action in the water. The two finalists for last year\u2019s crown hit the water with alternating chants from their respective supporters echoing off Uytengsu\u2019s brick walls.<\/p>\n

\"December

Safak Simsek. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne\/KLC fotos<\/p><\/div>\n

The host Trojans broke out to a quick lead. Matt Maier<\/strong> converted a pass in front from captain Blake Edwards<\/strong> with USC on the man advantage. Cal answered two minutes later on a Ryan Hurst<\/strong> goal, but Stein converted on another USC power play, and when\u00a0Matteo Morelli<\/strong> and Zach D’Sa<\/strong> added goals at 2:27 and 54 seconds respectively, the Trojans had already exceed their total in last month\u2019s 6-3 loss to the Golden Bears.<\/p>\n

Just when it appeared that the home team would take a three-goal lead into the second period, Cal\u2019s Safak Simsek<\/strong> scored the first of his game-high four goals with a rising shot that beat USC goalie Baron McQuin<\/strong> at the buzzer to make the score 4-2.<\/p>\n

In the opening minutes of the second period, when USC\u2019s Thomas Dunstan<\/strong> hammered a shot past Cal goalie Kevin Le Vine<\/strong>, the host\u2019s fourth goal with the man advantage, Trojan fans were ecstatic. Cal\u2019s coach explained why his team didn\u2019t panic despite trailing in a hostile environment.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew that they were going to come out with a lot of intensity,\u201d Everist said. \u201cWe had opportunities but were rushing a little bit.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cEven though we were down, we were doing some good things [and] eventually we\u2019d score our goals,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The coach\u2019s faith in his players paid off. Simsek scored 20 seconds after Dunstan\u2019s goal, and\u2014following a Stein lob shot that beat Le Vine\u2014Cal continued its rally. Pedro Stellet<\/strong> took a shovel pass from Hooper and beat Baron in front of the USC cage, then Luca Cupido<\/strong>, the 2017 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Player of the Year, rattled a cross-cage shot past the beleaguered USC goalie to tie the match at 6-all going into intermission.<\/p>\n

\"December

Luca Cupido. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne\/KLC fotos<\/p><\/div>\n

Third Period Reveals Trojans\u2019 True Character<\/strong><\/p>\n

The younger Vavic put his team on top again with a 6-meter blast a minute and a half into the third period, but Cal answered with four straight scores to silence the pro-USC crowd. Simsek scored on a power play at 4:12, then Nicholas Carniglia<\/strong> gave the Golden Bears their first lead of the match, beating Baron from three meters with 3:28 to go in the period.<\/p>\n

Less than a minute later, momentum shifted again, in what was the game\u2019s pivotal moment. At the 2:53 mark Cupido appeared to have been struck by Lachlan Edwards, and a cut was identified when he exited the pool.<\/p>\n

Cal\u2019s Everist was given a yellow card by referee Danielle<\/strong> Dabbaghian<\/strong> for arguing an initial call of misconduct, but referee Joe Piela<\/strong> elevated the ruling against Edwards to flagrant misconduct, ejecting the Trojan senior from the match while awarding the Golden Bears both a 5-meter penalty and a subsequent man advantage.<\/p>\n

Simsek hit the penalty shot, and when Nikos Delagrammatikas<\/strong> beat Baron with a tip inside on the ensuing power play, the Golden Bear fans deliriously celebrated a three-goal lead.<\/p>\n

Their enthusiasm was quelled by Coach Vavic, who stopped the game to appeal the referees\u2019 decision, an act that certainly chilled the Golden Bears\u2019 momentum. Walking slowly around the pool deck to engage in a protracted exchange with Bob Corb<\/strong>, the NCAA Referee Coordinator, the Trojan coach gave his charges a moment to catch their collective breath.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy protest was that a call was changed,\u201d Vavic said. \u201cThe original call was misconduct. When [Cupido] got out of the water and there was blood, then they changed it to flagrant foul.\u201d<\/p>\n

Explaining that the delay in reversing the call was troubling, the USC coach argued in vain for Edwards, an All-American 2-meter man who will almost certainly miss today\u2019s final, what would have been his final match as a Trojan.<\/p>\n

With the five-minute delay concluded\u2014not to Vavic\u2019s satisfaction\u2014son Marko took matters into his own hands. On USC\u2019s next possession, he beat Le Vine with a long shot off of an ordinary foul, then scored again, his third goal of the period, with 51 seconds remaining to cut his team\u2019s deficit to one.<\/p>\n

A two-minute pause between periods didn\u2019t stall the Trojan comeback. When Marin Dasic<\/strong> scored on a break away at 6:34 of the fourth period, it was the Trojan faithful\u2019s turn to exalt. USC gained its first lead since early in the third period when D’Sa broke past the Cal defense for a goal at 5:47. That advantage did not last long as Carniglia fought past the Trojan interior defense to beat Baron, tying the match at eleven with four minutes remaining.<\/p>\n

\"December

Grant Stein. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne\/KLC fotos<\/p><\/div>\n

Both teams traded possessions, then USC caught another break when Cal\u2019s Vassilis Tzavaras<\/strong> picked up an exclusion at 2:53. The Trojans went back to their power play, which had already generated four scores. After working the ball around the perimeter, Stein completed his hat-trick with a beautiful skip shot at 2:32 that handcuffed Le Vine.<\/p>\n

\u201cI knew it was my shot,\u201d Stein explained. \u201dJovan talks to us about seeing that moment before it happens, and throughout this whole last week I visualized that same shot.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI saw it and it happened.\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

The Golden Bears had two chances to equalize but couldn\u2019t break through Baron and the Trojan defense, setting up an NCAA championship match-up that we\u2019ve all seen before. UCLA and USC\u2014currently tied at the top of the polls\u2014will play for a national title for the sixth time since 2009.<\/p>\n

\"December

Jovan Vavic. Photo Courtesy: Catharyn Hayne\/KLC fotos<\/p><\/div>\n

That result is just fine with Coach Vavic.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou spend so much time preparing and sacrificing a great deal and this is why,\u201d he said. \u201cThis is the best of the best: playing your number one opponent in a championship match.\u201d<\/p>\n

Of course all Trojans hope the result will be different from a 10-7 Bruin win at UCLA\u2019s Spieker Aquatics Center.<\/p>\n

\u201cLast time we played them it was in their own pool,\u201d said the leader of USC water polo. \u201cNow we\u2019re at home, in our house; it\u2019s going to be tough.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Michael Randazzo, Swimming World Contributor LOS ANGELES \u2014 In a compelling contest that saw the home team go up by three goals early then fall into a sizable deficit<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4875,"featured_media":286891,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3,12],"tags":[64894,62273,61851,63511,64493,62272,2763,64161,7060,64898,42084,62606,47057,60192,64929,64162,64928,27247,61959,63503,64930],"class_list":["post-286888","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-water-polo","tag-2017-mens-water-polo-ncaa-championships","tag-baron-mcquin","tag-blake-edwards","tag-cal-water-polo","tag-grant-stein","tag-johnny-hooper","tag-jovan-vavic","tag-kevin-le-vine","tag-kirk-everist","tag-lachlan-edwards","tag-luca-cupido","tag-marko-vavic","tag-matteo-morelli","tag-michael-randazzo","tag-nicholas-carniglia","tag-odysseas-masmanidis","tag-safak-simsek","tag-thomas-dunstan","tag-ucla-water-polo","tag-usc-water-polo","tag-zach-dsa"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\nUSC Rallies Late to Beat Cal; 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