There aren't many choices for an elite prospect in this top-heavy sport, and when Hauschild examined the options, her influences were pointing her north. Her club coach in Santa Barbara, Cathy Neushul, had sent her two daughters to play at Stanford, and it was naturally assumed Hauschild would follow them to Palo Alto. The Trojans, even coming off a 2016 national championship, were an afterthought, but Hauschild accepted an official visit offered by USC coach Jovan Vavic.
Saturday, in the national semifinals against UCLA, it was hard to imagine her anywhere else. Hauschild's hat trick lifted the top-seeded Trojans to a 10-6 victory over the Bruins and into the place they knew deep down they'd end up all season — in the NCAA final against archival Stanford, in their home pool at the Uytengsu Aquatics Center.