Women’s lacrosse to defend perfect home win-streak


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USC lacrosse player Shelby Tilton attacks with the ball.
Junior attacker Shelby Tilton has scored 12 goals so far this season, good for fifth most on the team. (Louis Chen | Daily Trojan)

Coming off of a 17-6 win against Arizona State last week, the women’s lacrosse team will look to continue their 4-game home win streak against Colorado Friday and Oregon Sunday. 

Currently, the Trojans are ranked No. 18 in the nation and sit in second in the Pac-12 with a 6-2 overall record. Despite posting a 3-4 overall record, the Colorado Buffaloes sit atop the Pac-12 standings having defeated Stanford and the UC Berkeley. 

Redshirt sophomore attacker Isabelle Vitale, who leads the team in assists and is tied for first in points, believes the team can attribute their success to both their high-powered offense and strong defense.  

“We’re just going to use the momentum from ASU and continue building connection on our offense and then with the defense,” Vitale said. “They’ve been doing such a great job with stopping opposing teams so just continue what we’ve been doing and trust in our prep and we will perform well.”

Head Coach Lindsey Munday has set her sights on winning a bid to the NCAA tournament but is still focused on winning the next game. Last year, the Trojans made the tournament, losing in the first round to Virginia. The team has reached the NCAA tournament five times in the past 10 years of the program’s history and reached the quarterfinals twice — in 2016 and 2017. 

“If you win your conference, you get a bid to the NCAA and that opportunity to keep playing,” Munday said. “So that’s top of mind. But we have to take it one game at a time. And just like we always do, just focus on Colorado right now because they’re our next opponent.”

USC is the only Pac-12 team ranked in the top 25 teams in the nation. The Trojans also lead the Pac-12 in goals per game at 12.5 and rank second in average goals against at 8.25. Colorado is fourth in goals per game and second in average goals against and Oregon is third in goals per game and third in average goals against. 

The team has also historically dominated Colorado and Oregon, winning its last two matchups against the Buffaloes and its last six matchups against the Ducks. 

The women’s lacrosse roster has welcomed new faces from the transfer portal and a slate of freshmen. Senior attacker Ella Heaney, a returning veteran, believes the team’s close-knit culture has been one of the key components to its success.  

“Our chemistry throughout this year and the years past has really just been making an effort to connect with everyone, whether off the field, on the field, no matter the grade and that’s really helped us build our team as a whole and become USC lacrosse,” Heaney said. 

USC will face off against Colorado at McAlister Field at 3 p.m. Friday and Oregon at noon Sunday.