No. 19 lacrosse takes on the Bay Area

No. 19 women’s lacrosse will take on the UC Berkeley Golden Bears and Stanford Cardinal in pursuit of their first intraconference road wins this weekend. The Trojans boast 8-2 overall and 6-0 home records, with losses only to No. 7 Boston College and No. 17 Princeton.

Head Coach Lindsey Munday spoke on the impact of beginning Pac-12 games at McAlister Field and her expectation for the team to exhibit a consistent style of play, regardless of location. 

“It’s always fun to play at home, to have the fans cheering you on is awesome. It just gives confidence to come out, to compete well, to get the wins,” Munday said. “Nothing changes on the road, we want to walk in focused on us, first and foremost, rather than our opponent.”

With just two losses heading into the final stretch of the season, the Trojans’ future looks promising. Seven different players have notched a hat trick on the season, six of which were in the last three games. Redshirt sophomore attacker Isabelle Vitale leads the Pac-12 in assists per game. USC’s offensive balance sets them apart; the team largely attributes this on-field cohesion to their camaraderie off the field.

“We have one of the strongest cultures, not just at USC, but in the whole NCAA regardless of sport,” graduate midfielder Katie Ramsay said. “Our team genuinely loves and cares about each other … We’re with each other constantly. Eat, sleep, study, everything we do together.”

Sunday’s matchup against 4-5 Stanford is met with heavy anticipation as the Trojans will go up against the Cardinal’s nationally-ranked offense. The Cardinal offense features sophomore midfielder Annabel Frist and redshirt sophomore attacker Ashley Humphrey, the Pac-12 second place  in goals and leader assists. In points per game, Stanford is No. 13 in the NCAA and No. 1 in the Pac-12. 

Ramsay also said that the team’s style of play is worthy of any offense or defense. 

“For us, it’s always about us. Never focusing or putting too much stock in what they’re doing, but really believing in our systems and what has worked for us,” Ramsay said. “Our defense is one of the top in the country … If we just focus on us and what we’re doing it doesn’t matter who we’re playing.” 

Across the NCAA, senior defender Olivia Dooley ranks No. 10 and USC as a team ranks No. 8 in caused turnovers per game. With sophomore defender Alexis Niblock, who already won Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week this year, and versatile midfielders like Ramsay, the Trojans have the tools to be disruptors.

Before the Stanford game, USC will face 3-6 Cal. This season, nine freshmen have made their Cal debut. The inexperience of Cal’s roster has led to defensive struggles, with opponents averaging about 12 goals per game. One player to watch is senior midfielder Maya Lawliss, who is the first women’s lacrosse  player ever to be named the Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week.

Despite five NCAA tournament appearances, USC has failed to make it beyond the quarterfinals. The Trojans have expressed confidence in their ability to improve their performances each week in preparation for a long-awaited deep playoff run. 

“We don’t want to be the same team we were in February or March. We want to continue to improve and play our best at the end of the season,” Munday said. “Whether it’s after a loss or a win, looking in the mirror and doing everything [that] we can, both individually and collectively, to continue to get better while still having fun and keeping the energy up. I think that’s a really great balance in this group.”

USC will take on UC Berkeley Friday at 3 p.m., and then will head to Laird Q. Cagan Stadium and face the Cardinal Sunday at 1 p.m. Both games can be streamed on pac-12.com.