USC stifles Villanova at the Soni McAlister Field


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Junior attacker Maggie Brown notched a career high 4 goals during USC’s drubbing of the Villanova Wildcats on Sunday (Drake Lee | Daily Trojan)

USC picked up its fourth win in a row by routing Villanova 15-4 at McAlister Field Sunday. In the four-game stretch, the Trojans have outscored their opponents 63-27. 

With 4 points, the Wildcats scored the lowest number of points against the Trojans since 2019. Villanova attempted just 15 shots compared to USC’s 28.

Coming into the game, Wildcat sophomore attacker Sydney Pappas was the reigning Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association co-offensive player of the week. However, the Trojans managed to limit her to just 1 goal in the entire match. 

USC caused 17 of Villanova’s 22 turnovers and forced two shot-clock violations.

“Our defense is so rock solid,” said Head Coach Lindsey Munday after the game. “When [our defenders] ramped up their pressure, I think we kind of rattled them a little bit and caused some chaos.”

Three of the four defensive Trojan starters caused multiple turnovers. Graduate defender Emma Wightman forced 3, while senior defenders Olivia Dooley and Danielle Carson each tacked on 2 more.

“We really have so much trust in each other and we know our capabilities,” Carson said. “And we know we can keep teams under 5, 4 goals.”

In the cage, junior goalie Kait Devir played for most of the game, recording 4 saves and earned the winning decision. 

Offensively, seven different Trojans found the net. USC shot for 54% from the field, while the Wildcats shot just 27%. 

Junior attacker Maggie Brown scored a career-high 4 goals along with 2 assists. 

“[Brown] … just provides great energy,” Munday said. “I mean, she’s just so fun to be around and when she plays loose and has fun, that’s when she’s her best.” 

Coming off the bench, Brown quickly made an impact, scoring the first goal of the game in the first quarter.  The Minnesota native scored 2 more goals in the second half, contributing to an 8-0 run by the Trojans. The scoring streak convinced the referees to start the running clock. 

Redshirt sophomore attacker Isabelle Vitale scored a hat trick and had 2 assists. Vitale and Brown are tied with a team-leading 9 goals on the season.

“We’re really dynamic,” Munday said. “Each game has multiple goal-scorers. So I just think it’s really hard to stop them when they don’t have to focus on one person or two people.” 

In the draw circle, both sides won 11 times, despite the lopsided score. Sophomore midfielder Christina Gagnon got the lion’s share with five victories.

USC moves to 4-1 overall and 100-17 against unranked opponents. The Trojans are currently on an 11-game winning streak against unranked opponents at home. 

The win against Villanova marks the second time this season the Trojans have handed an opponent their first loss on the season.

“For each team, we try to just keep the same mindset,” Carson said. “Yeah, they’re a good competitor, but we know that we can beat them this year and we just got to be confident, do everything we’ve been doing and just work together.”

USC will face No. 15 Princeton away at Sherrerd Field Friday. The Tigers are 2-2 and are coming off a 15-10 loss against No. 22 Yale.