When the whistle blew to begin Saturday’s matchup between No. 18 USC lacrosse and No. 7 Maryland, Trojan senior defender Catherine Lord won the draw. Later on the Trojans’ initial possession, sophomore attacker Emma Bunting evaded multiple defenders, flicking a contested assist to redshirt junior midfielder Kailey Pelkey. Around a minute later, after another draw control, redshirt sophomore midfielder Hannah Barron launched an on-the-run goal into the corner of the net.

The first two minutes of the game — the first-ever matchup between the Trojans (8-5, 1-4 Big Ten) and the Terrapins (9-3, 4-1) — couldn’t have gone any better for USC, but there were still 58 minutes to go.

Despite the Trojans leading after the opening period, a Maryland explosion was already brewing as the Terrapins outshot USC, 9-5, and out-drew them, 4-2, while the Trojans had four fouls that led to three failed free-position conversions. While the Trojans escaped the first quarter with a 3-2 lead, Maryland responded with 9 unanswered goals in the second that contributed to a 12-0 run.

While USC battled in the second half, outscoring the Terrapins 4-1 in the fourth quarter, the Trojans fell convincingly, 16-8, at Dignity Health Sports Park. The loss continues USC’s struggles in Big Ten play, with its only win coming against currently unranked Ohio State (8-4, 1-4).

“Going from the Pac-12 to the Big Ten, I think we’re just playing against a lot of better opponents and I think just making sure that we don’t get put on our heels and we show up to every play like we are the better team, that’s really what’s important at the end of the day,” Lord said in a postgame interview. “Lacrosse is all about runs, and when a team is going on a run, making it end as soon as possible, that’s super important.”

It all came to a head at the beginning of the second quarter, when for more than five minutes, USC’s offensive unit did not touch the ball. Five consecutive Terrapin draw controls and four goals — including one on a free position shot — completely flipped the momentum. Throughout the period, the Trojans only gained possession four times and got off two shots — one with five seconds left in the half — while turnovers relented its other two scoring attempts.

“The biggest takeaway is … just believing in ourselves and believing in each other,” said Lord, who led the team with four draw controls Saturday. “We started making big changes on draws to try to disrupt [Maryland] but that didn’t necessarily work. So, I think, it’s just digging deep within ourselves and putting our best selves on the circle.”

Throughout the quarter, Head Coach Lindsey Munday made multiple changes at the draw position as well as on defense, where she brought in sophomore goalie Annie Shields in place of freshman goalie Charlotte Morton, yet the Maryland onslaught continued.

“It’s always that next-person-up mentality. If it’s not their day, we [have] got to be ready to make a change and make an adjustment,” Munday said in a postgame interview. “We made adjustments, but it was a little too late.”

For the Terrapins, it was graduate attacker Chrissy Thomas and senior midfielder Jordyn Lipkin who were on the mark. Both finished with hat tricks and at least two assists that heavily contributed to the run. 

Three Maryland substitutes scored multiple goals as the game wound down, including sophomore attacker Lauren LaPointe, who contributed a third-quarter hat trick in the Terrapin-dominated period. 

Despite being down by double digits going into the fourth quarter, the Trojans didn’t go down without a fight. In the period, USC outshot Maryland 8-4 and scored four goals to the Terrapins’ one. The Trojans also drew three fouls — one of which led to senior attacker Maddie Dora’s second goal of the game on a free position shot — while only surrendering three.

“We have so much love for each other, and we have such a good connection. I think even though there was a big separation, at some points, we never lost the connection,” Lord said. “When we’re able to fall back on our friends, on our teammates, that’s when we can be our best selves, and that’s when we can play our best lacrosse.”

Strong defense, including two fourth-quarter saves from Shields, limited the relentless Terrapin offense and kept the final score within reason, but as the visitors continued to take slow possessions to burn time, an inevitable loss hit the Trojans.

“I’m proud of the girls for showing that fight,” Munday said. “I’m also disappointed that it took that long. I know how great this team can be and so it’s frustrating when we don’t show that.”

After a similarly tough loss to No. 3 Northwestern (11-2, 5-0) on March 31, Munday echoed a similar necessity to play a “full 60 minutes” after the Wildcats won 22 of 29 draws en route to a dominant 17-8 win. When talking about USC’s upcoming matchups with Rutgers (8-6, 2-3) on Thursday and Penn State (6-7, 4-2) on Sunday, Munday again hit on her talking point.

“We have an opportunity to get back on track [against] another two great Big Ten opponents who are really doing well this season,” Munday said. “We need to be ready to battle, and really ready to put a full 60 minutes together.”

First draw between the Trojans and the Scarlet Knights will take place at 5 p.m. Thursday at SHI Stadium in New Jersey.