March 26, 2008

Complete Release in PDF Format

THIS WEEK: USC gets back to action after a week of training over Spring Break. The Women of Troy (12-5, 5-1 MPSF) have two MPSF clashed lined up for the week. No. 3 USC first will host No. 18 UC Santa Barbara (4-13, 0-7) in a 5 p.m. match on Friday (March 28), and will then travel for a game at No. 6 San Diego State (21-2, 5-1) at 1 p.m. on Saturday (March 30).

RANKINGS: USC ranks No. 3 in the latest national poll. UC Santa Barbara ranks No. 18, and San Diego State is No. 6.

LAST GAME: In USC's most recent action, the Trojans rallied from a deep hole against top-ranked UCLA on March 14, but fell shy of an upset after the Bruins got the last goal of the match in an 8-7 UCLA win at USC's McDonald's Swim Stadium. Undefeated for 42 straight games at their home pool, the Trojans suffered their first home loss since 2002. The Women of Troy had trailed the Bruins by four until making a 4-0 run against the MPSF's top defense to tie it up in the fourth period. UCLA got the winner with 2:31 left to play as UCLA kept its undefeated record on the year intact with the 8-7 decision. Veronika Bartunkova and Alexandra Kiss each had two goals for the Trojans, and goalie Tumua Anae had seven saves.

SCOUTING UCSB: The No. 18 Gauchos are 4-13 overall and 0-7 in MPSF play after falling to Hawai'i 11-5 on March 15. Gillian Morgan -- sister of USC goalie Whitney Morgan -- leads UCSB in scoring with 37 goals this season for an average of 2.2 goals per game. USC has won the past eight games against the Gauchos for an all-time record of 21-14 against UCSB. USC beat UCSB 17-6 last season during MPSF play.

SCOUTING SDSU: The No. 6 Aztecs are 21-2 overall and 5-1 in MPSF play and are on an eight-game win streak entering this week's competition. Anna Gonzales is SDSU's leading scoring with 49 goals, ranking fourth in the MPSF with 2.23 goals per game. Jenna Schuster is sixth with 2.14 goals per game. The Trojans have won 24 straight games against SDSU for a 25-9 all-time record. USC's last win over the Aztecs was a 13-6 decision in the NCAA Third Place game last year.

STEIN STRIKES AGAIN: Junior Michelle Stein stands as USC's leading scorer on the season with 35 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. Recently, Stein had another seven-goal outing across two 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 stand in 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 5.35 goals against per game. Morgan and Anae also lead the MPSF in fewest goals allowed with 2.89 and 4.36 goals against per game, respectively.

TUMUA TAKES CONTROL: Sophomore goalie Tumua Anae claimed her first career award from the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation on March 3, 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 9.21 saves per game.

SENIOR STRIKER: After 17 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 24 goals, having struck in 12 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, USC's home winning streak stretched out to 42 straight wins before UCLA edged out the Trojans 8-7 on March 14 of this season. UCLA had been the last team to beat USC at home before the streak began, when the Bruins claimed a 7-6 MPSF Semifinal win over the Trojans on April 27, 2002, when USC last hosted the MPSF Tournament. 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 is now 4-1 at home this season.

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.