Women’s lacrosse upsets Florida, on to quarterfinals


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After winning back-to-back MPSF championships, the USC women’s lacrosse team looked to carry over its success in conference play to the NCAA Tournament. In pursuit of the first national championship in the program’s five-year history, the Trojans took a step in the right direction over the weekend, returning to the quarterfinals with wins over Jacksonville and No. 3 Florida. With the upset over Florida, USC joins Navy and Boston College as one of three unranked teams in the quarterfinals.

The Trojans opened their tournament with a 13-10 win over Jacksonville. Senior attacker and reigning MPSF Player of the Year Michaela Michael led the way with four goals and three assists, while freshman Kaeli Huff and senior attackers Kylie Drexel and Cynthia Del Core added three goals each to sink the Dolphins.

After the victory over Jacksonville, the Trojans advanced to a second-round matchup with regional host No. 3 Florida on Sunday. Despite suffering a loss to Florida earlier in the season, USC edged the Gators in a 15-12 upset.

In a well-rounded team win, the Trojans won thanks to six different goal scorers and another stalwart performance from Johns. The goalie tallied 14 saves, forced two turnovers and grabbed seven ground balls. Del Core led USC offensively, racking up her 14th career hat trick with four goals on the day. Freshman midfielder Kerrigan Miller scored three times while seniors Michaela Michael, Kylie Drexel, Gabby McMahon and Drew Jackson pitched in two apiece.

After conceding the opening goal to junior Allie Pavinelli, USC responded with goals of their own from Del Core, Michael and Miller, taking a 7-6 advantage into halftime, but Florida hit back with a 3-0 run to retake the lead. The Trojans and Gators traded goals in a back-and-forth second half, but USC went on a decisive 5-1 run in the last nine minutes of the game. The pivotal moment came when Jackson scored with six minutes left, evening the score at 12. Jackson struck again two minutes later on a free position shot, and the Trojan’s lead was further solidified with two late goals from McMahon. The 15-12 upset gave USC its 12th win in a row.

Next, Boston College (15-6) will host USC (18-3) on Saturday in Newton, Mass. The Eagles boast an impressive home record of 8-1 this season and are led by sophomore attacker Sam Apuzzo, who recorded 7 points in each of the Eagles’ tournament games over the weekend. BC, also unranked going into the tournament, reached the quarterfinals with a pair of convincing wins. The Eagles beat Canisius 21-9 in their first-round game and followed up with a 21-10 win over No. 6 Syracuse — the team that sent the undefeated Trojans home last year.

With 2016’s heartbreaking 12-11 quarterfinal loss in the back of their minds, the Trojans will look to do one better this year and advance to the semifinals for the first time in program history. With eight seniors on the roster, USC has talent and plenty of tournament experience, and the Trojans will continue their championship pursuit this weekend, with their match against BC set to begin at 1 p.m. EST on Saturday.