Oct. 19, 1997

USC Captures No. California Tourney with Win Over Stanford

PALO ALTO, Calif. - The USC men's water polo team captured the Northern California Tournament for the third straight season on Sunday when it defeated host Stanford, 6-5, in the championship at deGuerre Pool.

Senior driver Mateo Juric scored the game-winning goal for USC (11-3) with 1:55 to play. Juric led the Trojans with two goals.

USC, the third seed, upset No. 2 California, 9-6, in a semifinal earlier Sunday. The Trojans had lost to the Golden Bears twice earlier this season. Junior driver Marko Pintaric scored five goals.

In a quarterfinal on Saturday, USC bested crosstown rival UCLA, 10-9, in overtime. Sophomore driver Allen Basso scored four points.

In a first-round game on Saturday, USC hammered UMass, 13-4. Juric scored five goals.