May 17, 2010 9:27:40 AM

Southern California withstood a furious Stanford rally Sunday and held on for a 10-9 victory to claim the 2010 National Collegiate Women's Water Polo Championship in San Diego.

With less than a minute remaining in the game, the Cardinal had the ball and was pushing toward the goal to attempt what would have been the tying goal. But the Trojans would not be denied the title they had lost the last two years.

"With 45 seconds left, we were all in the center of the pool saying, ‘This is the best defense of our lives,' " said Southern California senior Kally Lucas. "And we got our stop. It's something special – win by four, win by one; it feels great either way." [More]

Semifinals

Southern California 10, Loyola Marymount 6

Southern California     3          2          2          3          10

Loyola Marymount     2          1          2          1          6

Southern California scoring: Kristen Dronberger 3, Joelle Bekhazi 2, Patricia Jancso 2, Nadia Dan, Sarah Van Norman, Alexandra Kiss.

Loyola Marymount scoring: Kimberly Benedetti 2, Erin Manke, Diana Romero, Mary Ann Campos, Anne Scott.

Saves: Tumua Anae (Southern California) 8, Courtney Ray (Southern California) 0, Kristine Cato (Loyola Marymount) 10.

Stanford 6, California 3

Stanford          2          1          2          1          6

California        1          2          0          0          3

Stanford scoring: Melissa Seidemann 2, Cassie Churnside, Alex Koran, Kim Krueger, Pallavi Menon.

California scoring: Dana Ochsner 2, Meghan Corso.

Saves: Amber Oland (Stanford) 12, Stephanie Peckham (California) 8.

Third-place game

California 11, Loyola Marymount 7

California                    4          3          2          2          11

Loyola Marymount     1          3          2          1          7

California scoring: Meghan Corso 3, Dana Ochsner 2, Emily Csikos 2, Lauren Bridges, Camille Hewko, Julie Oreglia, Stephanie Schnugg.

Loyola Marymount scoring: Kimberly Benedetti 2, Erin Manke 2, Daisy Carrillo, Mary Ann Campos, Anne Scott.

Saves: Stephanie Peckham (California) 11, Kristine Cato (Loyola Marymount) 8.

Championship game

Southern California 10, Stanford 9

Southern California     2          4          1          3          10

Stanford                      1          2          2          4          9

Southern California scoring: Kristen Dronberger 2, Patricia Jancso 2, Kally Lucas 2, Joelle Bekhazi, Dominique Sardo, Alexandra Kiss, Kami Craig

Stanford scoring: Kelly Eaton 4, Kim Kreuger 2, Cassie Churnside, Annika Dries, Alyssa Lo.

Saves: Tumua Anae (Southern California) 8, Amber Oland (Stanford) 7.