Women’s lacrosse starts conference play


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Fresh off a weekend trip to New York, USC women’s lacrosse now returns home to the sunny locale of Los Angeles to kick off their conference season this Tuesday.

After battling long travel times, frigid weather and tough opponents, the Women of Troy split their weekend matchups in the Empire State, following up their 7-4 Saturday loss to No. 16 Stony Brook with an 11-7 Sunday victory over Marist College. Sunday’s win marked the first of the season for the team after dropping their opening game in heartbreaking overtime fashion to then-No. 5 Northwestern on Feb. 7 at the Coliseum. The Women of Troy enter conference play with a 1-2 overall record after losing the opening two games.

“We learned from our loss Saturday and looked at Sunday as a new day with a new opportunity,” head coach Lindsey Munday said. “Now we need to learn from that Sunday game as well and continue to improve in preparation for Tuesday’s game.”

USC faces a quick turnaround as they prepare for their third game in four days on Tuesday, as Fresno State comes to town to battle with the Women of Troy at McAlister Field. The Bulldogs enter the game with an 0-1 record after being kenneled by No. 19 Stanford in their season-opening 22-7 conference loss in Palo Alto last Wednesday, Feb. 18. The Tuesday matchup with USC marks the second game of four in a row on the road for the Bulldogs to start their 2015 campaign.

Fresno State will be led by a duo of attackers in sophomore Caroline Dineen-Carlson and freshman Nicole Ortlieb.      Dineen-Carlson put home three goals in the Bulldogs’ game with Stanford, while Ortlieb added two of her own in her first collegiate game. Sophomore midfielder Kyleigh Westgarth will also be a handful for USC as an expert at draw-controls. Westgarth set a Fresno State single-season record last season as a freshman with 37 draw-controls and continued her success in their matchup with Cardinal, tallying five in a strong effort.

“We have to be ready for Fresno (State),” Munday said. “They are a conference opponent, and especially coming off two far away games this weekend, much of our preparation will be mental, in addition to the obvious physical recovery that comes with playing games so close to one another.”

Among others, the Women of Troy will be paced offensively by their own duo of attackers in junior Caroline de Lyra, who leads the team with 11 points on seven goals and four assists, and sophomore Michaela Michael, who has tallied 9 points on six goals and three assists. Michael also leads the team with 12 draw controls, followed closely by junior midfielder Amanda Johansen, who has 11.

Defensively, the Women of Troy will be anchored by junior captain Courtney Tarleton and senior Elizabeth Eddy, who each have caused three turnovers so far this season. Defending the net for USC will be freshman goalkeeper Gussie Johns, who has made 10 saves and surrendered 26 goals in 54 shots faced.

Tuesday’s matchup should be a good one, as the Women of Troy look to even their season record and start off conference play with a bang. Fans who come out to watch should expect a physical game, as the Bulldogs will be playing with chips on their shoulders after losing by    double-digit goals in each of the first two matchups these programs have met.

“Conference games always add an element of intensity, so we need to be mentally and physically locked in,” Munday said. “However, we are excited for the conference season to begin and I think we are going to embrace that intensity fully.”

The game kicks off Tuesday at 3 p.m. at McAlister Field.