Women’s lacrosse splits games against NorCal rivals

The No. 15 ranked USC women’s lacrosse team welcomed Cal and Stanford to McAlister Field this past weekend for a rematch against its two Bay Area opponents. The Trojans’ Friday matchup against Cal opened the second half of the Pac-12 schedule for USC.

The Women of Troy kicked off the weekend with a 17-3 rout over the Golden Bears. The victory marked the Trojans’ sixth-straight win over Cal, improving their overall record against the Bears to 6-1.

The Trojans closed the first half of the match with a 13-0 lead. The Bears couldn’t find the back of the net until three minutes into the second half. This was the first time in the 2018 season that the Women of Troy kept their opponents scoreless for an entire half of the game.

Senior net-minder Gussie Johns played a significant role in the Trojans’ first half shutout against the Bears. Later in the weekend, Johns recorded her 11th double-digit save game of her career with a season-high 13 stops against Stanford.

Cal’s only goals came within the first 15 minutes of the second half, in which the Bears went on a 3-1 scoring run. These were the only goals scored by the Golden Bears before USC closed out the game with 3 goals of their own by freshman midfielders Kelsey Huff and Sophia Donovan and attacker Katie DeFeo.

Huff scored a career-high 4 goals against the Golden Bears and proved to be an important asset for the Trojans not only against the Bears but also against Stanford later that weekend. The Women of Troy were eager to play Stanford, who defeated the them 12-11 in overtime last Sunday at Stanford.

In the Trojans’ rematch against the Cardinal, sophomore midfielder Kaeli Huff posted her second hat trick of the season, notching the fifth in her career.

The Women of Troy recorded an optimistic first half with a 7-6 lead against the Cardinal. The Trojans were able to claim the game’s first 2-goal lead at 10-8 with a little over 20 minutes left on the clock.

However, Stanford junior midfielder Areta Buness, freshman attacker Galen Lew and graduate student attacker Kelsey Murray combined to net 3 goals within the span of one minute to push the Cardinal ahead, 11-10, with 15 minutes left on the clock.

With seven minutes left in the game, sophomore attacker Izzy McMahon scored her fourth goal in the game, matching her career-high, helping the Trojans maintain a 1-point lead over the Cardinal. McMahon also notched her third hat trick of the season.

Junior midfielder Emily Concialdi tallied a career-high 5 points and registered the first two assists of her career. Concialdi also achieved her second-career hat trick.

This match marked the first time the Women of Troy have played the Cardinal at McAlister Field. USC played against the Cardinal at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in past seasons where USC is 3-0.

Ultimately, the Trojans fell to the Cardinal with a final score of 14-11. The victory granted Stanford sole possession of first place in the Pac-12 standings.

The Trojans’ weekend split leaves the Women of Troy with a 7-5 overall record. USC is currently sitting at third place in the Pac-12, behind Colorado and Stanford, respectively.

The Women of Troy will now go on a two-game road trip to face off against No. 16 Colorado and then Oregon.