No. 17 women’s lacrosse splits weekend games


By
 in
USC women's lacrosse number 6 and number 16 in uniform at a game against Arizona State University
Freshman midfielder Maddie Dora receives a pass from graduate student midfielder Kelsey Huff during USC’s 17-10 victory against Arizona State. Dora had 3 goals and 3 assists in the win. Huff had 6 goals — her second most this season. (Bradley Brown | Daily Trojan)

USC fell to No. 17 on the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association poll after splitting its games against UC Berkeley and Stanford this weekend. 

The Trojans defeated the Golden Bears 20-11 Friday afternoon, moving them to 2-0 on the season against Cal. 

USC had one day of rest before springing back into action against the Cardinal. Unfortunately, the Trojans fell in a high-intensity, high-scoring game to No. 22 Stanford 23-17. 

The team will look to bounce back from this weekend as they finish up their regular season. 

“The biggest thing is battling back,” said Head Coach Lindsay Munday in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “You want to take the loss and be frustrated about it, but you don’t want to wallow in it.”

USC entered the last week at No. 13 after defeating top 15 Michigan. It began its weekend duo of games hot on offense. 

Three different players recorded hat tricks to lead the Trojans to their third straight victory Friday. USC was dominant the entire game, outscoring UC Berkeley in every quarter. They also won the loose-ball game 15-11 and the center circle, 18-17. 

Junior attacker Ella Heaney led the team and matched her career high with 5 goals scored, securing her hat trick in the first quarter. This victory moves the Trojans to 14-1 all time against the Golden Bears and marks their 14th straight against Cal. 

Sunday’s game against the Cardinal was incredibly back and forth. Five different Trojans scored goals in the first quarter, helping USC obtain a 6-3 lead. 

The Trojans opened the second quarter scoring 2 goals, taking a 4-point lead. Then, Stanford scored 7 unanswered goals to take a 3-point lead. 

In the second half, the Cardinal continued this momentum, taking a 16-11 lead in the third quarter. USC had several scoring bursts but ultimately fell short by 6 goals, losing 23-17. 

This loss was the Trojans’ third of the season and second in conference. Both conference losses have come against Stanford. 

Despite the loss, Munday said that the Trojans played at a very high level. 

“Offensively, we had a good weekend. We stepped up and we had some players have some breakout games,” Munday said.

Several players had outstanding games, including sophomore midfielder Madison Waters who scored a career-high 5 goals. 

Waters reflected on the newfound importance of the younger girls on the team. 

“Having some girls out that are leaders that are hurt recently, having younger people and people becoming leaders on and off the field has really helped grow our team,” Munday said.

This weekend, USC will continue its quest for the reins of the league with just three Pac-12 regular-season games, all of them on the road.

USC currently sits in second in the Pac-12 behind Stanford and just ahead of Arizona State. These next three games are vital for USC to gain optimal placement going into the Pac-12 tournament. 

USC last played the Buffaloes in the conference opener and secured an 11-7 victory. 

Its following game was against the Ducks when they won 21-5. USC will take on Colorado in Boulder at 3:00 p.m Friday. Then, on Sunday, the Trojans head even further north to take on Oregon in Eugene at 1:00 p.m.