Lacrosse prepares for crucial games
Coming off a 10-7 victory over Stanford, No. 20 USC lacrosse will look to add to their two-game win streak as they travel to Colorado and Oregon this week. The Trojans have improved since their 14-3 opening-day loss to Boston College, going 11-2 since their defeat at Fish Field House.
“[We’ve improved] tremendously across the board,” said Head Coach Lindsey Munday in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Defensively, they continue to get better and better each game and kind of set the bar higher for themselves … Offensively, they’re finding their groove.”
Offensively, junior attacker Maggie Brown has been a driving force behind the Trojans owning the No. 39 offense in Division I. The Minnesota native has scored in all but two games this season and has a team-leading 27 goals.
“My teammates every day in practice have pushed me to be my best possible self and pushed me to perform at my best,” Brown said.
Aside from Brown, four other players have 24 goals or more. One of them, redshirt sophomore attacker Isabelle Vitale, also has a team-leading 24 assists.
Defensively, the Trojans allow 8.21 goals per game, good for No. 7 in the nation. USC has allowed 10 goals or less in ten games this season.
“Huge shout out to our defense,” Brown said. “They’ve been working incredibly hard all season long, and our offense would not be nearly as close to what we are right now.”
The Trojans are also No. 8 in the nation in forced turnovers per game. Senior defender Olivia Dooley and graduate defender Emma Wightman have combined for 57 of the team’s 155 forced turnovers. Against Stanford last Sunday, Wightman forced 4 turnovers and picked up 4 ground balls.
“We’re a really close team overall, ” said senior defender Danielle Carson. “Especially on defense, it’s very different from the attack. Everyone has to be selfless and work together.”
In the cage, junior goalie Kait Devir has played in 738 of the team’s 840 minutes this season, allowing just 96 goals. The Boston College transfer surrenders the fourth-fewest average goals in the country.
Devir and the Trojans will first play Colorado on Friday. Both teams only have one loss in the Pac-12, but USC has 6 wins while the Buffaloes have 4.
Led by fifth-year attacker Charlie Rudy and sixth-year attacker Sam McGee, the Buffaloes have the No. 42-ranked offense in the nation, averaging 12.82 goals per game. McGee and Rudy have scored 76 of the team’s 141 goals on the season.
On defense, the Buffaloes allow an average of 10.91 goals per game, good for No. 42 in the nation. Earlier this season, Colorado surrendered a season-high 17 goals to the Trojans. However, the Buffaloes found the net 13 times in that game, the third-most goals allowed by USC this season.
“Colorado has a great team,” Munday said. “They’re really really well coached and, so, we have to come ready for a battle. It’s going to be back and forth.”
Next, the Trojans will rematch against Oregon. The Ducks are last in the Pac-12 with an 0-5 conference record and a 4-7 overall record.
Oregon junior midfielder Morgan McCarthy and sophomore attacker Gabby Cleveland have a team-leading 25 goals on the season each and are first and second in draw controls, respectively. Oregon ranks outside the top 50 in scoring offense and scoring defense.
In the cage, the Ducks have rotated between junior goalkeeper Cassidy Eckert and sophomore goalkeeper Paige Crowther. Eckert has an individual record of 3-2 with a .392 save percentage, while Crowther is 1-5 with a .424 save percentage.
The Trojans are 37-11 in Pac-12 games and 107-18 all-time against unranked opponents.
USC will hit the road to face Colorado Friday at 3 p.m. and Oregon Sunday at noon.