USC lacrosse has had little to celebrate during its second season in the Big Ten. Through six conference matchups, the Trojans are 0-6, marking their longest losing streak in program history. Many of those losses were uncompetitive, coming by an average of more than eight goals per game.

Fortunately for USC, Monday’s road matchup with Central Michigan University wasn’t a Big Ten game.

Free from the pressure of conference play, the Trojans (7-8, 0-6 Big Ten) handled the Chippewas (2-11, 1-3 Mid-American) with ease, opening the game with 11 unanswered goals en route to a 15-4 blowout. The win represented USC’s largest margin of victory this season and broke a stretch of losses that lasted nearly a month.

Though it didn’t affect the Trojans’ Big Ten record, Monday’s victory provided a much-needed morale boost for a team currently sitting dead last in the conference standings. With just two games left in the regular season, USC would need to win both of its remaining matchups to have a chance at making the seven-team Big Ten Tournament field.

First-quarter outburst propels Trojan victory

The Trojans wasted no time getting on the board, scoring on their first possession of the day thanks to two familiar faces: junior attack Reese Robinson and junior attack Emma Bunting. Just over a minute into the game, Robinson dished her 18th assist of the season to Bunting, who found the net to give USC an early 1-0 lead.

While the duo wouldn’t team up on another score for the rest of the day, they quickly found plenty of success on their own, combining for six goals in the first quarter alone. Four of those came via Robinson, who tied her career high to take the team lead with 22 on the season.

Along with a goal from junior midfielder Alex May, the Trojans found themselves with a commanding 7-0 lead after just 15 minutes — a score that would eventually reach 11-0 before Central Michigan finally saw its first goal in the second quarter. Though USC’s offense slowed down in the second half, with mostly reserves scoring four times to the Chippewas’ three, its first-half outburst proved more than enough to lock up the win.

Behind Robinson’s team-high four goals, Bunting finished the day with three of her own, marking her fourth hat trick on the season. Bunting failed to record an assist for just the fourth time in 15 games, but she still leads the roster with 26 assists and 45 points.

The only other Trojan to score multiple times was sophomore attack Vivian Leuthold, who notched both of her goals late in the second half. Leuthold has yet to start a game this season but has excelled off the bench in several of USC’s more lopsided victories, including four-goal performances against UC Berkeley (6-9, 1-7 ACC) on Feb. 8 and Niagara University (7-7, 6-0 Metro Atlantic Athletic) on March 8.

On the goalkeeping end, all three of the Trojans’ goalies saw playing time Monday, with junior starter Annie Shields taking over for two quarters and sophomores Ellie Thomas and Charlotte Morton playing a quarter each. The trio wasn’t tasked with much — thanks to USC’s 35-14 advantage in shots and 13-7 advantage in draw controls — but allowed four combined goals on eight shots on goal.

Postseason play a long shot for USC

With less than two weeks to go until the Big Ten Tournament begins April 22, the Trojans are in do-or-die mode as they look to avoid missing the field altogether, a year after squeaking into the tournament and promptly losing in the first round. Of the nine teams in the Big Ten, only seven are invited to the tournament; with an 0-6 record in conference play, USC sits in ninth, placing it firmly outside the projected bracket.

Nevertheless, the Trojans still have a chance to make the field if they can beat both of their remaining opponents: Ohio State (7-6, 2-4 Big Ten) and fellow cellar dweller Oregon (6-7, 0-5).

The Ducks are also winless in Big Ten play, meaning USC would be guaranteed to place higher with a head-to-head win. Meanwhile, the Buckeyes have two conference wins, so they would have to lose their other matchup as well for the Trojans to pass them in the standings; however, Ohio State’s remaining bout is against none other than No. 1 Maryland (13-0, 5-0), which has yet to lose all season.

Essentially, for USC to play in the Big Ten Tournament, it needs to win both of its remaining games and have Ohio State lose both of its remaining games. The Buckeyes’ only conference victories have been against Oregon and a one-goal win over Northwestern (9-3, 3-1) — though the Trojans’ ideal outcome is unlikely, it isn’t impossible.

USC would also likely need to make a run in the conference tournament to earn a bid to the NCAA Tournament, where just 14 at-large teams are selected to the field in addition to 15 conference champions. The Trojans currently rank 32nd in the country in the NCAA’s Rating Percentage Index.

In a must-win battle, which will also serve as USC’s Senior Day game, the Trojans will take on Ohio State at Rawlinson Stadium on Saturday at 1 p.m.