#3 UCLA Falls to #4 USC, 7-5

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STANFORD, Calif. -- Third-ranked UCLA (19-4, 1-2 MPSF) fell to fourth-ranked USC (25-3, 1-2 MPSF) in the title game of the 2017 MPSF Championship this afternoon at Stanford's Avery Aquatic Center by a score of 7-5. The Bruins struggled in power play situations, going 0-for-5 on offense and 5-for-10 on defense. The Bruins are now in a waiting game as the NCAA selections will be announced later this evening, which will include the two at-large berths.

Senior Jack Grover and freshman Nicolas Saveljic led the Bruins in scoring with a game-high-tying two goals. Redshirt sophomore Alex Wolf played the entire game, registering eight saves while allowing seven goals, five on Trojan power plays, two of which were deflected.

Matteo Morelli provided the only goal of the first period on a power play shot that hit the bar and richocheted off the back of Jack Grover's head, beating Wolf for the score (4:39).

James Walters scored off a one-timer to open the scoring in the second period (7:01) to push the lead to 2-0. Blake Edwards then scored off a field block deflection that snuck past Wolf (6:13) to push the lead to 3-0 for the Trojans. Senior Max Irving then scored his 11th goal against the Trojans in 2017 when he scored off a change of possession (5:53). Grant Stein scored a power play goal for USC to make it 4-1. But senior Jack Grover ended the scoring in the second (2:17) with a shot from distance that made the halftime score 4-2, USC.

Grover opened the scoring in the third (7:11) with a shot that hit the post and beat McQuin Baron to cut the lead to 4-3. Morelli then put the Trojans back up by two at 5-3 with USC's third power play score in eight attempts. Freshman Nicolas Saveljic got on the board with a beautiful lob shot that fooled Baron to end the scoring in the third (1:34) to cut the Trojans' lead to 5-4.

After the Bruins had several opportunities to tie the score, USC's Blake Edwards scored his second goal of the game (2:53) on a front court strike to open the scoring in the fourth, extending the Trojans' lead to 6-4. Nine seconds later, Saveljic fooled Baron again, got him going the wrong way, and fired for an easy score after the ordinary (2:42) to pull the Bruins to within one at 6-5. But the freshman got called for an exclusion and USC's Lachlan Edwards capitalized on the ensuing power play (1:07), giving the Trojans the cushion they needed for a 7-5 win.

No. 3 UCLA vs. No. 4 USC (MPSF Championship)

SCOREBOARD	1	2	3	4	FINAL
No. 4 USC	1	3	1	2	7
No. 3 UCLA	0	2	2	1	5

6x5 - UCLA - 0/5 - USC - 5/10
Penalties - UCLA - 0/0 - USC - 0/0

USC Goals: Matteo Morelli 2, Blake Edwards 2, Grant Stein 1, James Walters 1, Lachlan Edwards 1
USC Saves: McQuin Baron 6

UCLA Goals: Jack Grover 2, Nicolas Saveljic 2, Max Irving 1
UCLA Saves: Alex Wolf 8

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#3 UCLA Falls to #4 USC, 7-5

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University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics

#3 UCLA Falls to #4 USC, 7-5

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