USC falls short in the Triton Invitational


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Senior utility Sophia Lucas throws the ball to another player during USC’s 33-2 victory over Occidental Jan. 23
Senior utility Sophia Lucas throws the ball to another player during USC’s 33-2 victory over Occidental Jan. 23. Lucas had 3 assists in the game, second-most in the game, plus 1 goal. (Nayeon Ryu | Daily Trojan)

No. 1 USC traveled to La Jolla this weekend to face top ranked opponents in the Triton Invitational. The Trojans handled business early, winning their first three games against No. 16 UC Santa Barbara, No. 13 Long Beach State and No. 6 Hawaii. USC came up short in the title match against No. 3 UCLA, losing 11-10 on a game-winning goal scored with only 23 seconds left.

Despite playing two games per day, the Trojans won with ease Saturday. USC won its first game of the tournament against the Gauchos 10-4, with 2-meter redshirt sophomore Tilly Kearns and utility freshman Honnie Vandeweghe-O’Shea leading the charge with three goals apiece.

Later that day, the Trojans took down the Beach 17-6, in which USC never trailed. Although Kearns had a hat trick, it was senior utility Bayley Weber who stole the show by scoring two goals in the first 75 seconds of the game. Weber finished the game with four total goals.

USC started Sunday with the semifinal match against Hawaii that proved a much closer game than the previous two matches. USC looked set for victory, but two back-to-back goals by Hawaii had the game deadlocked at five with more than four-and-a-half minutes left in the third. 

The Trojans would then rally off three straight goals to take back control of the game, winning 9-7. The win secured a spot in the final against crosstown rivals the Bruins. The main charge against the Rainbow Warriors was led by senior driver Grace Tehaney, who scored five goals in the game, tying her career high.

A back-and-forth game with 11 total lead changes throughout the contest, USC came up just short against UCLA, losing 11-10. Weber and Kearns once again scored three goals each, but it was just not quite enough, as the Trojans came up on the losing end of the matchup. 

This is USC’s first matchup against the Bruins since last year’s National Championship when the Trojans were victorious in claiming their seventh NCAA title.

Although disappointed with the outcome, Head Coach Marko Pintaric was pleased with the team’s overall performance.

“Our final six defense was actually holding well, and, offensively, we scored enough goals to win the game,” said Pintaric in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “Every loss like this, it’s a learning experience for the team. I think they took it in the right way.”  

USC will look to rebound from their hardfought loss as it hosts No. 2 UC Berkeley next weekend in their first Mountain Pacific Sports Federation matchup of the season. Following their play against the Golden Bears, the Trojans will take part in the Barbara Kalbus Invitational to face additional top ranked teams. 

Pintaric is ready to embrace the tough competition in the next few weeks.

“We’re very excited about a good game this weekend against Cal,” Pintaric said. “The weekend after, where we meet all the top 16 teams and be tested again, so I can only see the progress moving forward.” 

The season fully underway, USC will begin the MPSF conference season against Cal Feb. 19 then move on to the Barbara Kalbus Invitational Feb. 25-27.