Lacrosse moves to No. 7 nationally after win over Cal

The No. 7 USC women’s lacrosse team continued its perfect start to the 2020 season with a 16-9 home win over Cal Sunday afternoon. 

USC was led by senior attacker Izzy McMahon, who finished with 5 goals on the afternoon — tying a career-high — after a frustrating performance in Friday’s win against Stanford in which she picked up only 1 goal on five shots. 

Head coach Lindsey Munday was impressed with the way McMahon performed and with her ability to bounce back against Cal just two days after the Stanford game. 

“Really proud of her for being able to step on the field today and put the past behind her, step up and take the opportunities she had, which was awesome,” Munday said. “It’s hard getting out after a bad game and not focus on it.”

The Trojans kept the Golden Bears at bay most of the first half before McMahon tallied 3 goals to start the second. McMahon credited her success to her relaxed mindset coming into Sunday afternoon’s game. 

“I just wanted to play loose and forget about whatever happened on Friday,” McMahon said. “Our mentality this year has been next play, letting go of the things that happened in the past and just focusing on the present.”

USC saw a strategy it hadn’t seen this year from Cal on the defensive side as the Bears tried to press the Trojans on the edge of the arc. McMahon spoke to how the Trojans adapted to the new defense and were able to grab 16 goals despite it. 

“We are playing ‘SC lacrosse,” McMahon said. “We changed up our offense a little but just working on coming off the pick, coming off the screen and attacking right away. With us, our go-to is quick ball movement. I think that’s what broke down the defense the best way possible.” 

Not only did the Trojans thrive on the offensive end, but USC also put on a clinic defensively to hold Cal to only 2 goals in the first half. For the fifth time this season, USC kept its opponent’s scoring total in the single digits. 

Junior goalie Riley Hertford finished with 10 saves and three ground balls as USC held the Golden Bears in check most of the way. Senior defender Natalie Byrne spoke to how the Trojans were able to lock down California in the first half. 

“We have been practicing really solid together,” Byrne said. “We pride ourselves on our defense. We are a family out there, we never get on each other, it’s always positive.”

With 4 of the 9 goals on the afternoon coming from free position looks, it was tough for the Trojans to limit Cal’s open opportunities in front of the cage. Bryne spoke to how the defense is always coming together to try to do more to help their goalie.

“After those 8-meters, we need to bring it in and say, ‘Hey, those calls aren’t going our way, this is what we need to do,’” Bryne said. “It’s a bummer for Riley to put her in that position. We never want to put her in that position, so we always talk about it afterward.”

While the Trojans were stellar on the defensive end, they struggled with the draw controls against the Bears all afternoon as Cal won the battle at the draw circle 15-12. Munday spoke to how the draws will be a point of emphasis for the Trojans moving forward. 

“It’s an area of focus that we need to work on as a team, get better at and just continue to compete,” Munday said. “It’s still trying to figure out the circle people, our draw takers. And every game is different with that, but we just have to improve in the area.”

USC took an 11-point lead with 11:46 left in the contest and got its bench into the game. Munday said it was important to get underclassmen playing time against the Bears this weekend. 

“Every single person on this team battles so hard in practice and competes in practice,” Munday said. “It’s awesome to see [freshman midfielder] Caroline Cheetham score her first goal of her career today for all the hard work that they put in.”

The Trojans will face the 5-3 Arizona Sun Devils on the road Friday at 1 p.m. as they look to continue their perfect start to the season.