University of Southern California Official Athletic Site

Sept. 15, 1997

USC Athletics Week in Review / Preview

Last Week 
Sport                   Record  Conf. Record        Nat'l Rank  Last Week
Women's Cross Country   --      --    --                4th at UC Irvine Invitational
Football                0-2     0-0   --                lost to Washington State, 28-21
Women's Soccer          5-1     0-0   --                def. Fresno State, 2-1, def. San Diego State, 4-1
Women's Volleyball      7-0     0-0   9th (AVCA)    def. Cal State Northridge, 3-0 def. San Diego State, 3-0
Men's Water Polo        1-0     0-0   2nd (AWPCA)   def. UC Irvine, 14-2
This Week
Tuesday:    Men's Water Polo, at Long Beach State, at Belmont Plaza, 7 p.m. 
Friday:     Women's Soccer, vs. Cal State Fullerton, L.A. Coliseum, 3 p.m.
            Women's Volleyball, vs. Arizona State, North Gym, 7 p.m.
            Men's Golf, at New Mexico "Tucker Invitational", through Saturday
Saturday:   Men's Water Polo, hosting Southern California Tournament, McDonald's Swim Stadium, 7 a.m.
            Women's Volleyball, vs. Arizona, North Gym, 7 p.m.
Sunday:     Men's Water Polo, hosting Southern California Tournament, McDonald's Swim Stadium, 7 a.m.
            Women's Soccer, vs. San Jose State, L.A. Coliseum, 1 p.m.

Women's Cross Country

USC had three runners place in the top 11 at the UC Irvine Invitational, led by freshman Anna Lupacvich, as the Women of Troy took fourth overall. Lupacvich was fourth in a time of 17:23, while sophomore Grazyna Penc was fifth in 17:30 and sophomore Kristie Johnston was 11th in 17:57.

Football

The Trojans opened the season 0-2 for the first time since 1960, and Washington State won for the first time at the Coliseum since 1957, 28-21, on Saturday. USC had rallied from 21-6 deficit to the tie the game at 21 in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars scored on a 51-yard pass play with 4:18 to go. Sophomore quarterback John Fox was 23-of-42 for 229 yards, but the Trojans continued to struggle on the ground, gaining just 31 yards on 28 carries. Senior cornerback Brian Kelly had two interceptions.

Women's Soccer

The Women of Troy avenged their two non-conference losses of a year ago with a 2-1 win at Fresno State on Thursday and a 4-1 win at San Diego State on Sunday. Junior midfielder Carol Hatcher was the hero against the Bulldogs, scoring both goals in the game's final nine minutes to rally USC to victory. Against the Aztecs, sophomore forward Kaylee Whitfield and sophomore midfielder Kim Clark scored two goals each and Hatcher added an assist.

Senior goalkeeper Laura Badagliacco got both wins and made five saves against the Bulldogs and eight against the Aztecs.

"Our will to succeed was the key against Fresno State," USC Coach Jim Millinder said. "I'm proud of the team for hanging in there. We also got a great effort in a big game against San Diego State. We did all the right things. We played hard, battled and used our skill players well to create good scoring chances."

Women's Volleyball

USC defeated Cal State Northridge, 15-5, 15-9, 15-8, last Tuesday at the North Gym and swept San Diego State on the road on Thursday, 15-8, 15-8, 15-6. The Women of Troy dominated the Matadors, outhitting them .406 to .145. Junior middle blocker Jasmina Marinkovic had a match-high 12 kills and USC outblocked Northridge, 11-2. USC had similar success against San Diego State, holding the Aztecs to a hitting percentage of .082. Marinkovic had a match-high 17 kills, hitting a blazing .609, and junior outside hitter Jennifer Kessy added 14 kills.

USC opens Pac-10 play this weekend with home matches against Arizona and Arizona State.

"Now comes the nitty-gritty part of the season," USC Coach Lisa Love said. "I, of course, like that we're 7-0, but we're still a young team, we make young mistakes and we are still gaining experience. Both Arizona schools are off to great starts as well and will probably provide our toughest contests to date."

Men's Water Polo

USC got its season off to a big start, crushing No. 6 UC Irvine, 14-2, on Saturday. Sophomore 2-meter man James Castle and senior driver Simun Cimerman each had three points to lead the Trojans. USC had a 10-1 lead in the third quarter. Freshman 2-meter man Sean Hylton and junior driver Marko Pintaric, each playing in their first game for the Trojans, scored two goals apiece.

The Trojans host the Southern California Tournament this weekend, featuring the top 10 teams in the country.

"This will be a great tournament," USC Coach John Williams said. "We have a tradition of success in this tournament, so we'd like to make it back to the championship game this year. It's an outstanding event with a lot of great water polo."

Athletes of the Week

Carol Hatcher, Women's Soccer
Hatcher, a junior midfielder, was the hero at Fresno State with two goals in the final nine minutes, turning what could have been a 1-0 defeat into a 2-1 win. She also had an assist at San Diego State.

Anna Lupacvich, Women's Cross Country
Lupacvich, a freshman, led the Women of Troy to a fourth-place finish at the UC Irvine Invitational with a fourth-place finish of her own in 17:23.

Jasmina Marinkovic, Women's Volleyball
Marinkovic, a junior middle blocker, led the Women of Troy in kills in both of their wins last weekend with 12 against Cal State Northridge and 17 against San Diego State.