Box Score LOS ANGELES, Calif. - Nick Kennedy scored five goals to help the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps men's water polo hang in with No. 2 USC in the early going, but the Trojans used their offensive firepower to pull away and take a 25-7 win over the Stags on the first day of the MPSF Invitational co-hosted by USC and UCLA. 

The Stags, who are ranked No. 1 in Division III and receiving votes in the all-divisions poll, slip to 4-2 on the season, while the Trojans move to 8-0 with the win.  

Kennedy tied the score 1-1 on the first CMS possession, and scored another goal to pull the Stags within 3-2. Jeffrey Koretz stopped a 2-0 USC run with a goal off a Kennedy feed to make it a 5-3 contest, but the Trojans closed the half on an 11-0 run to take a 16-3 lead into the break. 

Kennedy scored a hat trick in the third quarter alone to push his game total to five, and his season total to 21, but the Trojans were able to earn their way into the winner's bracket. Asher Engelberg capped off the scoring for CMS with 27 seconds left with a 6-on-5 conversion. 

Reed Hanna led USC with four goals, while Chase Landa, and Jack Martin added three goals apiece. Jake Taylor had seven saves in three quarters for the Stags, and Chase Campbell added two in the fourth,

CMS will be back in action on the second day of the MPSF Invitational at USC tomorrow, when it will face either Princeton or UC San Diego at 11 a.m.