USC women’s lacrosse enters MPSF tourney as top seed

This weekend, the eighth-ranked women’s lacrosse team was victorious in a trip to Northern California, defeating Stanford 15-12 on Friday and UC Davis 18-9 on Sunday.

Friday’s win was significant because it earned the Trojans the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MPSF tournament, which they will host at McAlister Field this week. USC looks to continue its winning streak after stretching it to eight games in a row and 18 straight conference games.

USC’s commanding offense is highlighted by senior attackers Michaela Michael, Kylie Drexel and Gabby McMahon, who combined for 12 of the team’s 15 goals against Stanford. For Drexel, the game marked her career-high performance with five goals, four assists, three ground balls, two draw controls and a caused turnover. Michael recorded five goals of her own for the eighth time in her career. With the win, USC improved its record against Stanford to 5-3 all-time.

On Sunday, the Trojans continued to demonstrate their offensive prowess against the Aggies, as three different Trojans — Michael, Drexel and senior midfielder Drew Jackson — scored hat tricks for the sixth time this season. Jackson’s triple came within a 28-second span, and Michael was dominant in the center circle, securing 10 draw controls.

“It’s great that the older players are stepping up,” head coach Lindsey Munday said. “Hopefully, the young players can continue to look to them for guidance and continue to gain the confidence from them — and from us as a group — so that they can step up in these big moments as well, which they definitely are doing.”

After the two wins, the Trojans locked in as the top seed at this week’s MPSF Tournament. With the regular season complete, Munday reiterated that there were always things to improve on.

“We’re happy with two wins, but there’s definitely things that we need to improve upon before we enter the postseason,” Munday said.

As defending MPSF champions, USC hopes to repeat this season and put itself in a position to secure an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

“We want to go out on top and make sure that we put ourselves in the best position to get an automatic berth,” Munday said. “It’s the only way that you know that you’re in, and that’s our focus right now. It has nothing to do with last year— it just has to do with being in control of our own destiny.”

The first round of the MPSF Tournament kicks off on Thursday with a matchup between Stanford and Cal. USC is the No. 1 seed, earning the Trojans a first-round bye. They will begin their tournament in the
semifinal round on Friday, facing either Oregon or San Diego State at noon at McAlister Field.