No. 3 USC Women's Water Polo Rolls To Riverside For Doubleheader At Lancer Joust

LAST ACTION    
USC opened its 2025 campaign with two wins collected at the Beach Invite in Long Beach last weekend. Ten Trojans scored in the season opener and eight tallied vs. the Lions, while all four USC goalies had a hand in the wins. Olympians Emily Ausmus and Tilly Kearns led the offensive onslaught on the day with eight and seven goals, respectively.
#3 USC 21, Biola 6
USC’s season opener saw the Trojans peel out to an 11-0 lead over Biola as redshirt freshman goalie Anna Reed pitched a shutout in her first period of play as a Trojan. Meanwhile, USC newcomers Emily Ausmus and Sinia Plotz registered their first goals as Trojans in USC’s opening rally. By halftime, USC was up 13-1 and Ausmus had a hat trick in the books by the break. She’d wrap the game with a six-goal outburst, and was joined by fellow freshmen Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda on the scoresheet by the final buzzer. Knepper had a hat trick in her USC debut, while two-time Olympian Tilly Kearns enjoyed a hat trick of her own on her first day back in action for USC. In all, 10 Trojans scored in a final 21-6 USC victory, which also featured the debut of redshirt freshman goalie Lauren Schneider in the second half of play.
#3 USC 16, Loyola Marymount 10
USC’s second game of the year opened as a 4-4 stalemate with LMU after eight minutes of action before USC settled in and led things 10-6 by halftime. Jada Ward had control of the cage in that first half, making four saves before giving way to Laine Hourigan in the second half. Hourigan made five blocks in the third period while Rachel Gazzaniga, Emma Lawson and Tilly Kearns struck on the other end to help USC to a 13-8 lead entering the fourth. While Hourigan got to a career-high seven saves in the game, Kearns notched two more goals and Morgan Netherton tallied one as USC topped off a 16-10 final win.
NOTABLE:
– RS FR goalies Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider made their USC debuts vs. Biola, recording six and three saves, respectively in shared time in the cage.
– Four USC newcomers scored their first goals as Trojans today vs. Biola: JR Sinia Plotz, FR Emily Ausmus, FR Ava Knepper and FR Sofia Umeda.
– Ausmus set her USC career high with six goals scored vs. Biola.
– RS JR goalie Laine Hourigan tied her career high with seven saves in her second-half stand vs. LMU.
– Ausmus was USC’s top scorer today with a combined eight goals, followed by fellow Olympian Tilly Kearns with seven on the day.
– Ausmus and fellow freshman Ava Knepper scored in both games for USC today.
– With seven goals scored today, Kearns now has 169 career goals — one away from the No. 14 all-time mark of 170 held by two other former Trojans.

— LANCER JOUST — 
#3 USC (2-0) at California Baptist  (1-3)
Friday, Jan. 24 | 10:30 a.m. | Riverside, Calif.
Series Record (since 2001): USC leads 16-0 (W16)
Last Meeting: USC 16, CBU 6 (Jan. 28, 2023)
STREAM | STATSVETERAN VIPS        
Two-time Olympian and 2024 silver medalist Tilly Kearns plunges back into action at USC, where she is one of a five-woman senior class setting up for their final season as Trojans. Laine Hourigan, Emma Lawson, Sally McCarthy and Isabel Zimmerman all bring veteran experience to the 2025 Trojan talent pool. Lawson and junior Maggie Johnson are USC’s team captains this season, joined by Kearns, Zimmerman, junior Morgan Netherton and sophomore Gazzaniga on head coach Casey Moon‘s Leadership Council, which serves as a guiding force for the Trojans. LAST SEASON            
In 2024, USC went  18-9 overall in a season that saw the Trojans make a 20th consecutive trip to the NCAA Tournament in Casey Moon‘s first season as full-time head coach for the Trojans. USC tied for second in MPSF regular-season play at 4-2 and finished fourth at the MPSF Tournament. At the NCAA tourney, the Trojans fell in the quarterfinals to Stanford. USC’s 2024 team was led in scoring by freshmen Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece.  Both earned All-America honors along with seniors Alejandra Aznar and Julua Janov. #3 USC vs. #7 UC Irvine
Friday, Jan. 24 | 1:30 p.m. | Riverside, Calif.
Series Record (since 1996): USC leads 37-3 (W37)
Last Meeting: USC 12, UCI 9 (Feb. 24, 2024)
STATSTHIS WEEK    
No. 3 USC heads to the Lancer Joust this week for a Saturday (Jan. 24) meeting with two teams in Riverside, Calif. The Trojans (2-0) will face host California Baptist (1-3) at 10:30 a.m. before squaring off against UC Irvine (0-0) at 1:30 p.m. that day.Women’s Water Polo | January 22, 2025ATTACK MODE            
USC’s perimeter attack features a number of Trojan sharpshooters. Along with the more veteran talent of Morgan Netherton and Isabel Zimmerman, sophomores Rachel Gazzaniga, Ava Stryker and Meghan McAninch have proven their worth on the perimeter, with further reinforcements coming in from newcomers Sinia Plotz, Ausmus and Kearns. Additional depth from the bench comes from Hannah Carver and Jelena Sarac, who scored their first goals as Trojans last season, along with another redshirt sophomore in Caitlin Cohen.THE PLACE TO BE.                
The University of Southern California is the undeniable, unequaled and unquestioned top destination for student-athletes. USC is both home to 136 national team championships and one of the top-ranked private research institutions in the world. Located in the heart of the thriving Los Angeles metropolitan area, it is situated in one of the most diverse and visible media markets in the world. USC’s campus is driving distance from the beautiful beaches of Southern California, the majestic mountains range of the Sierra Nevada, the sprawling splendor of the Redwood and Sequoia national forests, and the mysterious Mojave Desert. •STAYING CENTERED            
USC’s center play is anchored by Tilly Kearns and Alma Yaacobi on the offensive end, and is balanced by the defensive savvy of Emily Ausmus and Rachel Gazzaniga as guards. Gazzaniga and Madison Haaland-Ford also add offensive options at the two-meter slot for the Trojans.RANKINGS    
USC opened up 2025 ranked No. 3 in the national rankings. After the first week of action, the Trojans remain at No. 3 in the latest round of rankings (released Jan. 22).CAGE FIGHTERS            
On the defensive end of the pool, USC also boasts a connected unit of goalies. Laine Hourigan and Jada Ward both have logged time in the cage the last two seasons. They’re joined by two other Trojan goalies in redshirt freshmen Anna Reed and Lauren Schneider as USC’s goalkeeping corps for 2025.YOUTH MOVEMENT        
Almost half of USC’s scoring was generated by just five Trojan freshmen and sophomores last year, led by All-Americans Rachel Gazzaniga and Ava Stryker with 49 goals apiece. That dynamic duo gained extra experience as teammates with Team USA in a gold-medal run at the recent Pan American Games alongside incoming freshman and 2024 Olympian Emily Ausmus. Along with Ausmus, who deferred her enrollment in 2023-24 to compete with Team USA in Paris, USC welcomes a total of five newcomers to the pool for this 2025 campaign. Also boasting international experience are true freshman Alma Yaacobi (Israel) and junior transfer Sinia Plotz (Germany). Southern California products Ava Knepper and Sofia Umeda are also tabbed as quick impact players for the Trojans in their first season ahead.