Matt Hale

No. 1 USC Cages No. 13 Princeton 13-3 in 2009 NCAA Semifinals

PRINCETON, N.J. -- J.W. Krumpholz recorded a hat-trick in the second period to help No. 1-nationally ranked the University of Southern California build an 8-0 halftime lead as the Trojans knocked off No. 13-ranked and championship host Princeton University 13-3 in the semifinals of the 2009 National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Men's Water Polo Championship.

The Trojans (25-2) advance to face the victor of the other semifinal featuring fellow No. 1-ranked and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) champion the University of California Los Angeles and Western Water Polo Association (WWPA) champion Loyola Marymount University at 2:00 p.m. tomorrow (Sunday, December 5)  for the 2009 NCAA National Championship. 

Princeton (15-12), the Collegiate Water Polo Association champion, will face the loser of the UCLA-LMU semifinal at noon tomorrow in the NCAA Third Place game.  The Tigers have never placed higher than fourth in two previous trips to the NCAA Championship, finishing fourth in both 1992 and 2004.  In 2004, the Tigers pushed UCLA to overtime in the opening round (7-5 L OT), and dropped a one-goal game to LMU in the consolation contest (6-5 L).

USC wasted no time in taking the lead as Matt Sagehorn won the opening sprint and split the Tigers' defense 17 seconds into the first period to give the Trojans a 1-0 lead.  The goal ignited a three-goal spurt by USC in the opening period as Shea Buckner and Jordan Thompson tacked on markers at the 5:10 and 4:16 marks, respectively, to give the Trojans a 3-0 lead after eight minutes of play.

The game multiplied out to a near insurmountable lead in the second period as Krumpholz ripped home shots at 6:41, 5:40 and 3:15 to register his hat-trick and build the margin to 6-0.  Justin Rappel and Buckner completed the first-half scoring with tallies at 2:29 and 1:12, respectively.

The key to the first half and USC's lead was the play of Trojans' netminder Joel Dennerley who turned away nine Princeton shots in the half, including six in the first period, to allow his team to transition and pile on the offense.  Across the pool, Princeton goalie Mike Merlone (Jr., Atherton, Calif./The Menlo School) stopped four of the 12 shots-on-goal by the Trojans in the half.

Princeton broke up the shutout 43 seconds into the third period as Matt Hale (Jr., Atherton, Calif./The Menlo School) pumped and unleashed a shot which zipped past Dennerley to move the Tigers within 8-1 with 7:17 left in the period.  USC answered the tally with a man-up marker by Kyle Sterling 1:17 later, but the Tigers countered with a score by Eric Vreeland (Sr., Los Angeles, Calif./Harvard-Westlake) at 2:49 to make it 9-2.

However, Princeton was unable to move closer as Nico Sardo closed the third with a marker 12 seconds after Vreeland found the back of the cage to make it 10-2 through 24 minutes of play.

The Trojans expanded their lead to 11 goals in the first 7:10 of the fourth period as Thompson, Brian Boswell and Sagehorn struck at 4:45, 3:41 and 1:50 against Princeton back-up goalie Scottie Hvidt (Sr., Los Gatos, Calif./St. Francis) to make it 13-2. 

Mark Zalewski (Sr., St. Louis, Mo./Kirkwood) finished off the game's offensive output with his lone score of the day with 1:32 to play for the 13-3 final score.

In cage, Dennerley finished with 10 saves and two gaols allowed in 21:11 of work to earn the win before being relieved by Brett Giery, while Merlone stopped six shots in 24 minutes and Hvidt diverted two for the Tigers. 

The game marked the second meeting between USC and Princeton this year as the Trojans picked up a 14-3 home victory over the Tigers on October 9. 

NOTES: Princeton is 0-6 in NCAA Championship games as the Tigers previously went 0-3 in 1992 (Stanford 18-5 L, UC-San Diego 14-9 L, Navy 14-9 L) and 0-2 in 2004 (UCLA 7-5 L OT, Loyola Marymount 6-5 L)...Mark Zalewski leads the Tigers with 55 goals on the year, while Matt Hale has 18 and Eric Vreeland increased his total to 22...Princeton has now scored 237 goals this season divided among 16 different players...Zalewski's score marked the 150th of his career, while Vreeland tacked on the 139th of his career and Hale chipped in his 54th...Mike Merlone now has 496 career saves with a 31-22 record...Vreeland has played in all 113 games during his four years of competition..USC, which shares the No. 1-national ranking with UCLA, could play in the first ever No. 1-vs.-No. 1 water polo title game as two teams ranked No. 1 in the nation have never squared off on the sports' grandest stage...The consolation game will be streamed lived online through CBSSports.com, with the championship game live on CBS College Sports Network.

Princeton Goals: Matt Hale, Eric Vreeland, Mark Zalewski

USC Goals: J.W. Krumpholz (3); Matt Sagehorn (2); Shea Buckner (2); Jordan Thompson (2); Kyle Sterling; Nico Sardo; Brian Boswell; Justin Rappel;

Saves: Princeton - Mike Merlone (6, 24 minutes, 10 goals allowed), Scottie Hvidt (2, 8 minutes, 3 goals allowed) ; USC - Joel Dennerley (10, 21:11, 2 goals allowed), Brett Giery (5, 10:49, 1 goal allowed)

Exclusions: Princeton - 2 ; USC - 1

Advantage Opportunities: Princeton - 0-for-1 ; USC - 1-for-2

Sprints: Princeton - 0-for-4 ; USC - 4-for-4

Officials: Mark Koganov, Alex Stankevitch

Gregor Horstmeyer