USC tops SDSU in conference matchup
USC’s women’s lacrosse team remains undefeated in early Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play after beating San Diego State Wednesday, 13-9. USC improved to 4-4 overall on the year as well as 2-0 in the MPSF. After suffering a loss at Massachusetts (9-1) last Saturday, USC got back to .500 with the win over the Aztecs.
Sharp shooter · Sophomore attacker Caroline De Lyra scored four goals and notched two assists in USC’s win over the Aztecs yesterday. The Brightwaters, N.Y. native has scored 11 goals on the season. – Ralf Cheung | Daily Trojan
Sophomore attacker Caroline de Lyra led the Women of Troy in scoring with four goals, while freshman midfielders Michaela Michael and Alex Moore and freshman attacker Annie Ruland all added two goals each.
USC more than doubled SDSU’s efforts in shots, putting 29 on target compared to the Aztecs’ 14. That forced SDSU’s goalie to make 13 saves, while USC sophomore goalie Liz Shaeffer only made two.
After eight scoreless minutes to open the game, SDSU got on the board first, but within 30 seconds USC senior midfielder Elizabeth Eddy scored for the Women of Troy. The teams traded goals until the score was locked at 3-3. The Women of Troy then surged ahead, scoring three straight goals to head into halftime with a 6-3 lead.
Coming out of halftime, the Aztecs closed the gap to a 6-5 deficit, but the Women of Troy responded with two goals to move ahead 8-5. The two teams scored back and forth again before USC scored four straight goals to move ahead, 13-7. The Aztecs scored the last two goals of the game, but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Women of Troy.
De Lyra’s offensive prowess was matched by SDSU’s Michaela Jarvis, who also put up four goals and an assist.
The Women of Troy embark on a stretch of five straight road games in conference play tomorrow at Fresno State (1-8, 0-4). After taking on the Bulldogs this weekend, USC will visit Saint Mary’s (0-5, 0-3) and Cal (2-5, 1-3) next weekend before traveling to Colorado the following week to take on Colorado (4-5, 1-1) and Denver (7-1, 2-0).
USC currently sits in a three-way tie with Denver and Stanford for the best record in MPSF play. Both USC’s preseason projection and current standings in conference play indicate that USC will make the MPSF tournament but need big upset wins to dethrone the top two teams in the conference. The Women of Troy also would not receive a bye in the quarterfinals of the MPSF tournament if they finished third in the conference standings.