September 29, 2004

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Palo Alto Online

It's good to beat the Trojans

by Rick Eymer

This just in: Stanford shocked top-ranked Southern California on Saturday after erasing an early deficit, and ending a five-game losing streak to the Trojans.

Believe it, because it actually happened; only the sport was men's water polo and not football. Stanford beat its rival, 9-8, in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation opener to gain the upper hand in what likely will become a season-long struggle between the two powerhouses.

"This is just the start," Stanford senior Greg Crum said. "We'll be happy for an hour or two, but then we'll refocus on the next game, and the ultimate goal, which is an NCAA championship."

Stanford (1-0, 7-1) also beat Pacific, 13-3, in a nonconference game on Sunday.

Stanford and USC already have split two meetings this season, and the teams could play each other another three times before the title will be decided.

In fact, the next meeting could be this weekend at the Northern California Tournament in Stockton beginning Saturday. After all, Stanford and USC are the top two teams in the nation.

"It was nice to beat them in a conference game," Stanford coach John Vargas said. "Head-to-head competition is important at the end of the season. There's a lot more season to go but we needed to beat those guys."

The Trojans beat Stanford in the NCAA championship game last year, which was played in the Avery Aquatic Center. The Cardinal entered this season as the top-ranked team before USC beat them in the finals of the Southern California Tournament on Sept. 19.

"It was getting frustrating," Crum said. "I hadn't beaten those guys since I was a sophomore. We always knew we could play with them. It's good to become familiar with beating them in our own pool."

The NCAA championship will once again be held at Stanford in early December, and the Cardinal are intent on finishing their season with a victory.

"Last year we didn't beat them at all," Stanford senior Tony Azevedo said. "We changed that, and we have the upper hand for now. There are five or six teams who could win the title, so it's important to be at your best against them."

Azevedo, who played on the United States Olympic men's water polo team in Athens, took a brief respite - about two weeks -- from the sport before joining Stanford in time for the SouCal tournament.

"It's always an easy transition," he said. "I work out with the national team for eight or nine months before the Olympics, but I look at it as training with Stanford year-round for four years. It's easier to train with these guys than the national team because this is college and we're all on the same page. We're a closer unit."

Beating USC also helps Stanford in case it needs to qualify for the NCAA championships as an at-large team. The MPSF is guaranteed only one spot in the four-team NCAA tournament, and that goes to the winner of the MPSF tournament at the end of the year. That event also will be hosted by Stanford.

This despite the fact the top five teams in the MPSF are also the top five ranked teams in the nation.

"It's always a challenge every week," Vargas said. "There are numerous criteria to meet for the at-large bid. We can put ourselves in good position if it comes to that."

USC took a 1-0 lead, but Stanford scored the next five goals, two each by Azevedo and Crum, to gain control of the game.

The Trojans rallied to within 5-4, but were never able to close the gap.

Crum scored three goals in the contest, while Azevedo and Peter Varellas each scored twice. Thomas Hopkins and J.J. Garton also scored.

Stanford hosts Princeton on Friday at 5 p.m. in a nonconference affair before heading for Stockton for the NorCal tourney.

Crum also scored three time against Pacific. Tyler Drake, Sam Tyre and Varellas each added two goals.

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