In an interview after Sunday’s matchup with No. 3 Northwestern, USC lacrosse Head Coach Lindsey Munday said to beat a “phenomenal” team like the Wildcats, the No. 18 Trojans would “have to play a full 60 minutes.” 

After about 21 minutes — around one-third of the way through the second quarter — the Trojans (8-4, 1-3 Big Ten) had tied up the game at 4-4 after four unanswered goals. Munday said USC continued to battle through the third quarter, keeping within five of Northwestern (9-2, 3-0 Big Ten). And then the wheels fell off.

Five Northwestern goals and just over eight minutes into the final period, the Trojans were out of it. Despite redshirt senior Isabelle Vitale completing her hat trick in the game’s closing minutes, USC ultimately fell 17-8. The loss continues the Trojans’ struggles against ranked opponents, which have handed them all four of their losses this season. USC’s only ranked wins this season have come against teams that are no longer ranked in Ohio State (8-3, 1-3 Big Ten) and Colorado (5-5, 1-0 Big 12).

“There’s a ton of positives to take from [the loss], and then, some learning moments too. We want to be our best at the end of the season, and there’s an opportunity to get better from this,” Munday said. “There were just some moments where [Northwestern] went on some runs, and we couldn’t stop them. I think they did a great job with the draw, so, again, learning moments, and you just continue to get better.”

Early in Sunday’s game, Northwestern — led by junior attacker Madison Taylor, who has the second-most goals in the nation with 55 — looked like they couldn’t be stopped. Before anyone else had scored, Taylor already had a hat trick — two on free position shots — and with Northwestern adding another score, the Trojans were already down 4-0.

“[Taylor] is a phenomenal player. She’s extremely fast and I think that the biggest thing is getting her off the eight-meter,” Munday said. “She does a really good job at dodging really hard and getting fouled.”

Nearing the end of the first quarter, the Trojans began to battle back with help from Vitale — who notched a goal and provided an assist for senior attacker Maddie Dora’s finish. USC’s momentum continued into the early part of the second as Northwestern failed to capitalize on a free position shot, which was followed by goals on back-to-back possessions from sophomore attacker Emma Bunting and freshman midfielder Kaylee Fravert, tying the game.

“We really battled,” Munday said. “We could have probably put our hands up after they went up 4-0, and we didn’t, we fought back.”

Just as fast as the Trojans clawed their way back into the game, Wildcat free position shots killed their momentum through the rest of the second quarter, leading to three of Northwestern’s four goals in the period. Two of the second-quarter 8-meter goals came from Wildcat graduate attacker Riley Campbell — who scored three consecutive goals in the middle stretch of the second quarter.

Northwestern’s capitalization on free position shots proved to be a major factor in the game, as they converted 7 of 10 opportunities — almost half of their goals. The Trojans had three opportunities at the 8-meter line but only converted one.

“It’s a discipline piece. I think they’re playing really fast, so, again, you have to get there with your feet and make sure you know you’re not fouling,” Munday said. “It’s hard to play defense, but I think there were some moments that we were just a little aggressive where we could have let them make their own mistakes.”

After the teams traded goals throughout the third, USC was down 11-7 at the onset of the fourth quarter and needed a rally. But after the Trojans lost the draw to begin the frame, and two concurrent green cards resulted in a goal, Northwestern started a five-goal run that would put the Trojans away.

In the fourth quarter, the Wildcats outshot the Trojans 12-3, doubling their total shot advantage to 18. Northwestern’s dominance of the draw also contributed to their scoring runs. The Wildcats won 22 of 29 draws, including 12 of 14 in the second half, giving them more offensive opportunities.

“Our energy dipped a little bit just when they went up a couple goals [in the fourth quarter], we kind of lost sight of being able to keep up with them,” Dora said. “[We need to do] a better job at still keeping up with every single play that happens, and believing that we could have beaten them because we could have.”

As the game waned, Northwestern sophomore midfielder Lauren Archer concluded the game’s scoring with a behind-the-back, no-look shot with just over two minutes for the Wildcats’ 17th score of the game — more than double the Trojans’ final tally.

Despite winning two national championships with Northwestern as a player under still Head Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller and serving as an assistant coach for four seasons afterwards, Munday said she treated it like any other game and is looking forward to the next matchup with No. 7 Maryland (7-3, 3-1 Big Ten).

“At the end of the day, again, every opponent’s important,” Munday said. “I have, obviously, awesome memories of being a player and a coach at Northwestern. I have so much pride [in] being an [alum] there, and it’s really gotten me to where I am today in my coaching career … It’s just important for me to give that back to my players as well.”

USC will next face off against Maryland on Saturday at 1 p.m. at Dignity Health Sports Park.