STANFORD, Calif. – Jackson Painter scored a game-high four goals and Griffen Price made 11 saves in the cage, the last on an attempt from Carson Kranz with two seconds remaining in the second overtime period, and No. 5 Stanford knocked off No. 3 USC, 14-13, at Avery Aquatic Center on Saturday afternoon.
The Trojans opened the scoring on their first possession to grab what would be their only lead of the afternoon. Painter went far post to tie it with 3:15 remaining in the first quarter and then Stanford took its first lead when Ethan Parrish scored on the power play with 16 seconds on the clock.
The teams would trade goals until late in the third quarter, with Stanford answering to go ahead by one each time USC tied it. After Massimo Di Martire converted a penalty with 2:03 remaining in the third, the Cardinal reeled off four unanswered to jump out to its largest lead, 10-6, with 5:34 to go in regulation when Grant Watson's skip to the near post found the back of the cage.
As they did on Sept. 24, the Trojans reeled Stanford back in, but this time with a different result. Two weeks ago at the Overnight MPSF Invitational in Los Angeles, the Cardinal had its largest lead with 5:23 left in the fourth quarter, 11-8, but USC responded by scoring three straight to send the game to overtime, which it eventually won, 13-12. Saturday on The Farm, USC closed regulation on a 5-1 run to force the extra periods.
In the first overtime, Painter's quick release to the near side on the first possession put Stanford in front, 12-11. USC would answer, but Alex Gheorghe battled in front and scored his second on the redirect to again push his team ahead.
USC won the sprint to begin the second extra session and scored its final goal to tie it up at 13. The eventual game winner came from Painter at five meters, with Christopher Arakelian doing the work inside to draw the penalty on Di Martire.
Up a man with 27 seconds left, the Trojans' final effort came on the attempt from Kranz, which was knocked down by Price and gathered by the Cardinal before calling timeout and then running off the final two ticks.
The result snapped a five-game winning streak for USC in the series. Stanford's last victory over the Trojans came on Feb. 20, 2021 (15-9). The two will meet again on Nov. 4 in Los Angeles.
The Cardinal is back in action tomorrow when it hosts top-ranked UCLA at Avery at 1 p.m.
