March 12, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK: USC sets up this week for its most heated rivalry of all -- a home showdown against UCLA. The No. 3 Trojans (12-4, 5-0 MPSF) will play host to the top-ranked Bruins (20-0, 6-0) on Friday (March 14) at McDonald's Swim Stadium, where USC holds a 42-game win streak.

RANKINGS: USC ranks No. 3 in the latest national poll. UCLA is ranked No. 1.

LAST WEEK: USC completed an MPSF sweep on the road last weekend, beginning with an important 8-7 win over No. 3 Cal, which had displaced USC in the national rankings two weeks ago. That was followed by a powerful 18-4 win over Pacific. Michelle Stein led the Trojans with game-high scoring in both matches. She had three against the Bears and four against the Tigers, en route to earning her second MPSF Co-Player of the Week honors. In the Cal game, USC moved ahead early and held its lead thanks in large part to 12 saves from goalie Tumua Anae. At Pacific, USC was strong in every frame, even outscoring the Tigers 6-0 in the third period while goalie Whitney Morgan tallied five saves and allowed just two goals during her time in the cage. For the third time this season, 10 different players scored in the road win.

SCOUTING UCLA: The No. 1 Bruins are undefeated at 20-0 overall and 6-0 in MPSF play after a 9-7 win over No. 2 Stanford and a 15-5 win over No. 10 San Jose State last week. Katie Rulon and Jillian Kraus lead the Bruins in scoring with 41 goals apiece, and goalie Brittany Fullen averages 7.9 saves and 5.0 goals against per game. USC is 12-33 all-time against the Bruins after losing its seventh straight to UCLA in an 8-4 loss at this year's Stanford Invitational championship game. USC's last win over UCLA was a 6-4 victory on April 8, 2006 at McDonald's Swim Stadium.

STEIN STRIKES AGAIN: Junior Michelle Smith stands as USC's leading scorer on the season with 34 goals. She had nine in four games at the UC Irvine Tournament, just a week after scoring seven goals in two games for the Trojans to help USC to a 2-0 start in MPSF play. Stein scored four of USC's final eight goals against UC Irvine and had a hat trick as USC avenged an earlier loss to ASU the next day. Last weekend, Stein had another seven-goal outing across the games, as USC beat Cal and Pacific on the road. After both those seven-goal weekends, Stein earned her first career honors as the MPSF Mikasa Co-Player of the Week, giving her two selections this season.

LET THE BALANCE BEGIN: In the previous three seasons, the Trojans have tallied 18 different scorers each year. In game one of 2008, USC made a big early dent in that mark with 10 Women of Troy scoring in USC's opener against Hartwick on Feb. 2, hinting at another widespread scoring attack from the Trojans in the season to come. The next game proved the point, with another 10-player production to get two more Trojans on the scoring charts this season. USC did it a third time with 10 scorers against Pacific on March 9. To date, 15 different Trojans have scored this year.

GETTING DEFENSIVE: The Trojans are just a breath out of the No. 1 slot in the conference's top defensive standings thanks to a strong start to 2008. Behind a potent tag-team in the cage of goalies Tumua Anae and Whitney Morgan, and arguably the top defensive field players in the game -- Forel Davies and Miranda Nichols -- USC is averaging 5.19 goals against per game. Morgan and Anae also lead the MPSF in fewest goals allowed with 2.89 and 4.08 goals against per game, respectively.

TUMUA TAKES CONTROL: Sophomore goalie Tumua Anae recently claimed her first career award from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, named the MPSF Mikasa Co-Player of the Week after another strong weekend in the cage. Anae put up big defensive numbers again in the cage for the Trojans, tallying 21 saves in just over six periods of play last week as USC ballooned its home win streak to 42 straight victories. Anae ranks third in the conference with 9.38 saves per game.

SENIOR STRIKER: After 16 games, senior Veronika Bartunkova is closing in on her goal total of 27 from last season. She sits as USC's second scoring leader with 22 goals, having struck in 11 games so far this year, including four three-goal outings.

FOREL'S FAST: Sophomore Forel Davies has plenty of speed to go along with her defensive prowess and offensive abilities. She won eight of her nine opening sprints at the UC Irvine Invitational, including five straight in USC's semifinal overtime clash with Stanford.

HOME POOL ADVANTAGE: After five straight undefeated seasons at McDonald's Swim Stadium and a 4-0 mark at home this season, USC's home winning streak is now a whopping 42 straight. The Trojans went 7-0 at home in 2003, 7-0 in 2004, 8-0 in 2005, 9-0 in 2006 and 7-0 in 2007. USC's last home loss was a 7-6 MPSF Semifinal loss to UCLA on April 27, 2002, when USC last hosted the MPSF Tournament.

WHO'S BACK: Leading the Trojans into the 2008 season are a set of four experienced seniors ¬-- Veronika Bartunkova, Miranda Nichols, Alison Riddle and Julie Spataru -- as well as 2006 All-American goalie Whitney Morgan and 2007 MPSF All-Freshman picks Forel Davies and Alexandra Kiss. Also entering another year of action at Troy are juniors Jordan Anae and Michelle Stein and sophomores Tumua Anae and Kally Lucas.

WHO'S NEW: USC has added a stack of new talent to its 2008 roster, including a set of last year's redshirt players. The Trojans' redshirt freshman are Tekla Beckmann, Shauna Letvin and Rebecca McCall. And splashing down for their first seasons at Troy as true freshmen are Kristen Dronberger, Katie Indvik, Jessica Kutcher, Stephanie Lavayen, Courtney Ray, Lindsey Urquhart and Sarah Van Norman.

PUTTING THE "USC" IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: As the 2008 Olympic Games draw near, so does the promise of Olympic dreams for several Trojans. USC athletes comprise almost a third of the current U.S. women's national team roster, as Team USA preps for Beijing. USC junior Kami Craig is taking time off from the pool at Troy this year in order to work toward the games alongside five former Trojans: Patty Cardenas, Erika Figge, Brittany Hayes, Moriah Van Norman and Lauren Wenger. Team USA also boasts 1996 USC grad and 2000 Olympian Bernice Orwig as an assistant coach. Over the summer, USC sophomore Forel Davies joined Craig as a member of the U.S. Junior National Team at the 2007 Junior World Championships in Portugal. To keep up with the Women of Troy in their pursuit of Olympic gold, check back to usctrojans.com and also at usawaterpolo.org.

LAST SEASON: In 2007, USC finished third in the NCAA Tournament and in the MPSF Tournament, losing to eventual national champion UCLA by a single goal in the semifinals at both tournaments. The Trojans went 22-6 overall last season and were 10-2 in MPSF action. The Women of Troy also expanded their home win streak to 38 straight games with their fifth consecutive undefeated season at McDonald's Swim Stadium.