LOS ANGELES, Calif. – In a see-saw battle between two of the top men’s water polo programs in the nation, No. 3 USC pulled out a 12-8 overtime victory over No. 2 Stanford Saturday morning at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center in Los Angeles.
Senior Bret Bonanni, redshirt junior Adam Abdulhamid and junior Connor Stapleton scored two goals apiece, with senior BJ Churnside and redshirt freshman Mitchell Mendoza adding goals for the Cardinal.
The teams traded goals early on with both teams finding the back of the cage three times with 6:48 remaining in the first half. USC broke the tie with five unanswered goals over the next 9:40 to open an 8-3 lead with midway through the third quarter.
Stanford responded with five unanswered goals of its own over the final 10:52 of regulation, as Bonanni capped the run with the equalizer with 29 seconds to play in the fourth quarter to force overtime. Abdulhamid and Bonnani each had two goals with Stapleton adding a score during the five-goal spurt.
USC rattled the cage four times during the extra period to earn the 12-8 victory over the Cardinal.
Senior Drew Holland posted 12 saves in goal for Stanford. His counterpart, McQuin Baron, recorded 18 saves for the Trojans.
Stanford out-shot USC, 43-33, in the contest.
Stanford returns to action next week as the Cardinal heads to Malibu, Calif. for the Kap7 SoCal Invitational. Stanford begins competition in the two-day tournament Saturday at 8 a.m. PT against Concordia.
