No. 4 UCLA Upsets No. 2 USC on Senior Day

Saturday, November 11

Los Angeles, CA

1:00 PM

UCLA

USC

Senior Alex Roelse scores on this penalty shot to lift No. 4 UCLA to a 12-11 sudden victory over No. 2 USC.

Photo by: Don Liebig, UCLA Photography

No. 4 UCLA Upsets No. 2 USC on Senior Day

November 11, 2017 | Men's Water Polo

Roelse Postgame Interview MPSF Updated Standings

The Bruins won an epic battle, 12-11, on a penalty shot in sudden victory.

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LOS ANGELES -- Fourth-ranked UCLA (18-3, 1-2) concluded the 2017 regular season with an epic 12-11 sudden victory over cross-town rival, No. 2 USC (22-3, 1-2) to earn its first conference win of the season on Saturday afternoon on "Senior Day" at Dirks Pool at Spieker Aquatics Center. The Bruin seniors came up huge, scoring nine of the 12 goals, including the game-winning score from senior Alex Roelse at the 2:38 mark of the golden goal overtime period. With the win, the Bruins swept USC during the regular season, improving to 85-79-1 all-time against the Trojans. The win also propelled UCLA to a 30-5 advantage in the all-sport crosstown cup rivalry challenge between the two schools. UCLA won the head-to-head battle in 2016-17 for the second time in three years by a score of 105-85. It was also the first sudden victory game for UCLA since a 10-9 SV-OT win over Stanford in the third-place game of the 2012 MPSF Championship (Nov. 25) at USC.

Roelse tied for game-high honors with fellow senior Max Irving with four goals apiece. Senior Warren Snyder also scored in the contest. Redshirt sophomore Alex Wolf played the entire game, registering 14 saves while allowing 11 goals. He played a huge part in the Bruins' win down the stretch, registering five of his saves on Trojan power plays from the fourth quarter through the overtime periods.

Marko Vavic scored first for the Trojans with a cross-cage shot (7:34) to put USC up 1-0. James Walters scored a power play goal (6:29) to put the Trojans up 2-0. But UCLA seniors Max Irving (5:10) and Alex Roelse (3:26) scored back-to-back goals for the Bruins to tie it at 2-2. Lazar Pasuljevic ended the scoring in the first period with a power play goal to give USC a 3-2 lead at the end of one quarter.

Freshman Chasen Travisano scored first in the second period (5:25) to tie the game at 3-3 with a bar-in shot from the front court. But the Trojans scored back-to-back goals as Zach D'Sa (5:07) and Lachlan Edwards (4:19) scored to make it 5-3. But Irving scored his second of the game from the front court (2:42) to cut the deficit to 5-4, ending the scoring in the second period.

Matteo Morelli opened the scoring in the third (7:45) with a goal from the front court to push the Trojans' lead to 6-4. But Irving answered with a goal to complete his hat trick (7:11) to cut the deficit to 6-5. Irving then scored his fourth of the game (5:57) to tie it at 6-6. Another Bruin senior got in on the scoring as Warren Snyder gave UCLA a 7-6 lead (5:24). D'Sa scored his second of the game on a power play (4:03) to tie it at 7-7 and then Vavic picked up a steal and scored (2:26) to give the Trojans an 8-7 advantage. Freshman Nicolas Saveljic scored a power play goal to tie things up at 8-8 (1:51) to end the scoring in the third.

Blake Edwards gave USC a 9-8 lead with a power play goal to open the scoring in the fourth (5:17). But Roelse scored his second of the game on a power play (3:00) to tie the game at 9-9. Wolf made a huge stop on the Trojans' power play with under a minute to keep the game tied up and headed for overtime, it was his third save of the period on 5-on-6.

in the first overtime period, Blake Edwards gave the Trojans a 10-9 advantage with a drive and finish (0:21). But Saveljic had an immediate answer (0:12) just nine seconds later to tie it up at 10-10. Roelse completed his hat trick with a strike from the front court to open the scoring in the second overtime period (2:37) to give UCLA an 11-10 lead. But Lachlan Edwards scored on a backhanded shot from set (0:38) to tie the game at 11-11, sending the game into sudden victory. Saveljic won the sprint, giving UCLA the first possession. Senior Matt Farmer drew a penalty shot and Roelse converted it for his fourth score of the game (2:38 SVOT) to provide the 12-11 final.

The Bruins return to action next weekend at the 2017 MPSF Championship at Stanford on Nov. 18-19. UCLA will be seeded third and will face second-seeded California in the second semifinal on Friday, Nov. 18 at 4:30 p.m. PT.

No. 2 USC at No. 4 UCLA (Regular Season Finale)

SCOREBOARD	1	2	3	4	1OT	2OT	SVOT	FINAL
No. 2 USC	3	2	3	1	1	1	0	11
No. 4 UCLA	2	2	4	1	1	1	1	12

6x5 - UCLA - 4/6 - USC - 4/10
Penalties - UCLA - 1/1 - USC - 0/0

USC Goals: Marko Vavic 2, Zach D'Sa 2, Blake Edwards 2, Lachlan Edwards 2, James Walters 1, Lazar Pasuljevic 1, Matteo Morelli 1
USC Saves: McQuin Baron 8

UCLA Goals: Max Irving 4, Alex Roelse 4, Nicolas Saveljic 2, Chasen Travisano 1, Warren Snyder 1
UCLA Saves: Alex Wolf 14