USC gears up for UC Davis on senior day


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Freshman midfielder Maddie Dora gets ready to catch the ball.
Freshman midfielder Maddie Dora has managed an 86.5% shot on goal percentage, the second highest in the team among those with at least 30 shots. (Bradley Brown | Daily Trojan)

USC lacrosse will host UC Davis Saturday for its last regular-season match before the Pac-12 Tournament. This game will also mark senior day, honoring eight USC seniors, graduate students and fifth-year players on the team. 

The No. 17 Trojans will celebrate seniors Kaleigh Brennan, Michaela McMahon, Katie Ramsay and Finley Ueland, alongside graduate students Elyse Darcy, Kelsey Huff, Maggie Root and Lizzy Wagner in pregame activities. 

Assistant Coach Asa Goldstock described the group of eight’s impact on the team.

“They’ve all contributed in a tremendous amount of ways, whether it be what they do on the field or off the field,” Goldstock said. “They really contributed to our team culture. They’ve really developed and worked hard to create this culture that we have been so successful with this year.” 

Last week, the Trojans earned the No. 2 seed in the Pac-12 Tournament after defeating Pac-12 opponents Oregon and No. 23 Arizona State. Both USC and No. 1 seed Stanford will have a bye for the first round of games. 

Before the Trojans compete for the Pac-12 title, they face UC Davis this weekend, whom they hold a 6-0 record against. The Trojans are 12-3 on the season with an 8-2 conference record. A win against the Aggies would end USC’s regular season on a 4-game win streak, the longest of the season.

UC Davis will have to keep an eye out for a lot of Trojans this weekend, especially recent Pac-12 Players of the Week redshirt freshman attacker Isabelle Vitale and senior defender Kaleigh Brennan. 

“We just try to focus on us,” Vitale said. “We take it day by day every practice and just mentally and physically getting our bodies ready for Saturday.” 

Other key contributors for USC include junior attacker Ella Heaney, who has 31 goals and 17 assists this season, and senior midfielder Katie Ramsay, who has snagged 52 draw controls and 12 goals this season. 

As for UC Davis, the Trojans will need a game plan to stop freshman attacker Grace Gebhardt, who had 5 goals, 3 assists and 7 draw controls in the Aggies’ last match against San Diego State. Another threat will be freshman midfielder Ella Brislin, who racked in 4 goals and 6 draw controls in that match. 

Following Saturday’s game, the Trojans will have less than a week to prepare for their first match in Tempe, Ariz. in the Pac-12 Tournament. USC will face the winner of No. 3 seed Arizona State and No. 6 seed UC Berkeley. 

Goldstock said securing the bye was valuable for the team’s mentality. 

“The girls worked really hard to get there,” Goldstock said. “It is great for them as a little confidence boost getting ready for this weekend.”

The Trojans will play UC Davis Saturday at 1 p.m. at Soni McAllister Field.