Lacrosse continues undefeated season
The undefeated Trojans continued their winning ways Thursday in a road blowout, dominating Fresno State 17-3. In their fourth encounter, the Trojans lead the all-time series against the Bulldogs 4-0.
The Women of Troy (10-0, 4-0) came out on fire, racing to a 13-0 lead when the halftime whistle blew. Junior attacker Michaela Michael anchored the team on offense, contributing 2 goals with junior attacker Cynthia Del Core contributing 3. Michael earned her fourth career MPSF honor this week, collecting Offensive Player of the Week following her commanding performance against both Dartmouth and Oregon.
However, the key to the Trojans’ offensive success is their depth. Twelve different players contributed goals, adding up to 17 total for the Women of Troy.
“Today was an opportunity where we could get every single player into the game because every single player determines our success on the field whether they’re in the game or not,” head coach Lindsay Munday said. “It’s an opportunity for everyone to see the rewards of their hard work, but it also shows our depth right now of different people being able to step up and score goals.”
In addition to a powerful offense, the Women of Troy maintained a strong defensive front to fend off the Bulldogs and limit them to just 3 goals, all of which came in the second half. For Fresno, Caro Dineen-Carlson, Lindsay Hobson and Anjelica Fuccillo each sent a ball into the back of the net. However, their efforts were unable to surpass a solid Trojan defense.
“So much of defense is communication and just working together and I think this entire season, we’ve been doing a great job of working together day in and day out in practice and in games,” sophomore goalie Gussie Johns said.
With a 13-goal advantage, it can be easy to become complacent with the lead. However, the Trojans aim to maintain a competitive mindset, regardless of the score.
“Even when a team gets up by so much, we try to stay focused as much as possible and go back to the basics and really work on what we’ve been working on in practice and try and execute it to the best of our ability,” Johns said.
Another key aspect of the Trojans’ success in a historic season is the team chemistry. With 14 seniors on the roster, the girls are comfortable playing together with three and four years of experience on the same team and they enjoy every minute that they have on the field together.
“Right now our team is playing really well together all over the field — offensively, defensively and in the midfield, the girls are really having a lot of fun with one another,” Munday said. “Their chemistry is great right now, so I think that translates onto the field.”
With 10 wins under their belt, the Trojans’ season is far from over and the girls continue to seek opportunities to improve in each contest, no matter which opponent they face.
The Trojans’ next competition is slated for April 2 at home against San Diego State.