USC Hits the Highest Watermark

Stanford played some terrific defense Sunday--at one point holding USC scoreless for almost 10 minutes--but the Cardinal’s inability to defend during the final few seconds of the shot clock resulted in the top-ranked Trojans winning their first NCAA water polo title.

Senior Marko Pintaric fired a two-point missile into the high corner of the net with no time left on the 35-second shot clock and 1 minute 38 seconds remaining in overtime to propel USC to a 9-8 victory in front of a standing-room only crowd of 2,385 at Corona del Mar’s Marian Bergeson Aquatics Center.

It was Pintaric’s 12th two-pointer of the season, a school record.

“He just keeps doing it,” Stanford Coach Dante Dettamanti said. “We know he’s going to do it, he’s their best shooter, he’s their best player and we assign someone to stay on him.

“And when you’re leading by one at that point in the game, you don’t give up the two-pointer.”

The Trojans, who had lost in the championship game four times in the last six years--six times in co-Coach John Williams’ 26-year tenure--flung themselves into the pool in a wild celebration as the SC band serenaded them with the school fight song.

“You cannot believe how terrific it is to win this championship after so many years of trying,” Williams said. “We’ve come so close so often.”

The Trojans (25-3) looked like they might win this time without much fuss, jumping out to a 3-0 lead, capitalizing on two defensive lapses by second-ranked Stanford (21-7). They went up, 4-1, with 2:19 left in the second quarter when Stever O’Rourke, a former Marina High standout, slammed home a point-blank shot.

But the Cardinal stormed back to score three times and tie the score, 4-4, with 2:36 left in the third quarter.

USC just beat the shot clock for the third time in the game to take a 5-4 lead on a lob shot by Allen Basso (El Toro High) on the Trojans’ first possession of the fourth quarter. The teams traded man-advantage goals before Stanford sent the game into overtime on Andy Walburger’s goal with 1:13 left in regulation.

The first of the two three-minute overtime periods ended in a 7-7 tie with the Cardinal rallying yet again when Walburger erupted from under water to tip in a shot by Sean Joy. Then Stanford grabbed its first lead of the game when Joy tipped in a rebound off a block by USC goalie Rich McEvoy with 2:13 left in the second overtime.

That set the stage for Pintaric, who had only two shots all day.

“I can’t explain how ecstatic I was when that goal went in,” said McEvoy, who had nine saves. “But it didn’t surprise me. He does that to me everyday in practice.”

Pintaric found a little space when two Cardinal defenders made the momentous mistake of collapsing on George Csaszar, who was in position to score only a one-point goal. Csaszar flipped the ball back to Pintaric, who gunned a shot through a gauntlet of waving arms into the net to lift USC to the title.

“That’s the best defense played against me since I came to U.S.,” said Pintaric, who’s from Croatia. “But I practice those shots all the time. I knew there was no time left on clock, but I saw the goal.”

As a result, the Trojans reached a long-time goal. USC now has 70 men’s team NCAA titles, more than any other school, but this one was special for Williams.

“This one’s not just for this team,” Williams said, tears welling in his eyes. “It’s for the entire Trojan water-polo family. I saw former players from the ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s here tonight and it’s for all of them too.”