No. 12 USC, No. 13 Stanford Win Fourth Straight
March 7, 2016 MPSF Lacrosse Release 4
No. 12 USC (0-0 MPSF/4-0 Overall) won a pair of home games last week, 13-4 over Michigan and 18-7 over Vermont. Michaela Michael was a combined 10-for-14 on shots (.714), putting away five goals in each contest. The 10-goal week moved Michael into a tie for second at USC with teammate Amanda Johansen with 106 career goals. She also totaled eight draw controls through the two wins. Lydia Sutton totaled seven ground balls and seven caused turnovers, including career-highs of five in each stat vs. Vermont. Gabbi Klein accumulated two goals (game-winner vs. Vermont), two assists, one ground ball and one caused turnover.
No. 13 STANFORD (1-0 MPSF/4-1 Overall) won its fourth-straight with a 17-10 home outcome over Vanderbilt (Mar. 6). Kelly Myers recorded four goals on seven shots, while winning four draw controls and causing two turnovers. Meg Lentz kept the Commodores' leading scorer from notching a goal, while winning four draw controls and collecting two ground balls.
COLORADO (2-0 MPSF/5-1 Overall) Cali Castagnola led two wins this past week, scoring five goals along with three assists for eight points. She scored the game-winner in overtime and had four goals and two assists to tie a career-high six points in a 15-14 win over James Madison (Mar. 3). She added a goal and an assist in a 15-3 win over Central Connecticut (Mar. 5). Marie Moore totaled seven draw controls, six caused turnovers and three ground balls. She had four draw controls, two caused turnovers and a ground ball against JMU, before tallying four caused turnovers, three draw controls, two ground balls and a goal vs. CCSU.
OREGON (0-0 MPSF/3-2 Overall) Rachel Steinberg scored four goals on five shots, collected one ground ball and caused two turnovers in the Ducks' 16-6 win over LIU Brooklyn (Mar. 5). Shannon Williams scored three points on two goals and one assist, while picking up a ground ball and causing a career-high two turnovers. Oregon hosts its MPSF opener Sunday (Mar. 13) against Fresno State.
UC DAVIS (0-0 MPSF/1-2 Overall) Taylor Cuenin tallied four points with her second career hat trick and an assist in the 10-7 loss to Furman, played at Fresno State (Mar. 6). Mary Doyle led the Aggies in draw controls (4) and caused turnovers (3). The Aggies host St. Mary's Sunday (Mar. 13) in their MPSF opener.
DENVER (1-1 MPSF/2-3 Overall) Christa Reese scored a career-high five of the Pioneers' seven goals in the narrow 9-7 home loss to James Madison (Mar. 5). Caitlin Derry was credited with three of those assists. Nicki Wilkinson caused three turnovers.
SAN DIEGO STATE (0-0 MPSF/1-2 Overall) Kristen Hickey netted a career-high three goals and Natalie Peel scored twice in the 10-6 home loss to Michigan (Mar. 2). Katie Merritt picked up seven saves and two ground balls in goal.
FRESNO STATE (0-2 MPSF/3-3 Overall) defeated Furman 7-4 Monday, and visits Oregon for its MPSF opener Sunday (Mar. 13). The Bulldogs last earned a 14-10 win at Presbyterian (Feb. 26). Natalie Yorba picked up four ground balls and had no turnovers. She added six ground balls and three caused turnovers in the Campbell game (Feb. 28). Kyleigh Westgarth accumulated five goals, five ground balls, six draw controls, and two caused turnovers in the win. Sarah Bloise combined for seven points on six goals and one assist, along with 13 draw controls over the two games.
CALIFORNIA (0-0 MPSF/0-3 Overall) is coming off a bye week, and hosts Longwood and Vermont this week. Bella Huther recorded two goals and five ground balls at Marquette (Feb. 26). Meredith Haggerty added three draws and four ground balls, and Jenny Wilkens had 12 saves.
ST. MARY'S (0-1 MPSF/0-2 Overall) Megan Zummo had a game-high five draw controls in the Gaels' home opener (Feb. 28) against Harvard. Lauren Neumann and Meagan Bennett were the SMC scorers. SMC hosts LIU-Brooklyn and Longwood, before competing in its MPSF opener at UC Davis this week.