MPSF Lacrosse Results, Feb. 11
Feb. 11, 2017 *USC 20, St. Mary's 2
Recap by USC
LOS ANGELES – The No. 4-ranked USC lacrosse team (1-0, 1-0 MPSF) took down Saint Mary’s College (0-1, 0-1) by a 20-2 count to open the 2017 season at McAlister Field on Saturday, Feb. 11. The Women of Troy won their second straight season opener and improved to 5-0 against the Gaels; outscoring SMC, 95-24, in the all-time series. Senior attacker Michaela Michael dominated the center circle with 12 draw controls and scored a hat trick to top all 12 of USC’s scorers. Michael also had an assist to finish with four points. It was her 27th-career game with three goals or more, the most in program history. Senior attackers Gabby McMahon and Cynthia Del Core each picked up four points with two goals and two assists apiece. McMahon also had a draw control and a ground ball. The Women of Troy won their 18th consecutive home game; the 16th straight at McAlister Field. USC out-shot Saint Mary’s, 29-7, in the game, which included a 20-3 edge in the first half alone. The Trojans’ aggressive ride forced the Gaels into 19 turnovers (13 credited as caused turnovers), which included a 5-for-14 clearance rate. The Trojans also picked up more ground balls, 20-13, and won the center circle by a 16-8 count. In goal, junior Gussie Johns allowed just one goal had one save to earn the win. Freshman Hannah Upshaw played the second half and also allowed just one goal to her three saves. Upshaw also led the Trojans with three ground balls and had two caused turnovers to her credit. Junior Lydia Sutton led the Trojan defense with two caused turnovers and a ground ball. Senior midfielder Drew Jackson added a pair of goals and had an assist and freshman midfielder Kerrigan Miller had two goals and an assist for three points each. Sophomore attacker Gabbi Klein dished out three assists for game-high honors and scored a goal late in the second half. Off the bench, junior attacker Alexis Kardias and freshman Sarah Larkin each scored a pair of goals. Sophomore midfielders Allie Gershman and Amanda Flayhan, senior attacker Kylie Drexel, and freshman midfielder Kaeli Huff each scored one goal in the game. For the Gaels, Jocelyn Lubert and Jill Dunlap had the goals while Meagan Bennett picked up four draw controls in the second half. Claire Healy was SMC’s defensive standout with three ground balls and a pair of caused turnovers. The Trojan attack was unrelenting and scored the first goal of the game just over a minute into the first half when McMahon dished out of her free position to get Michael a clear look at the net. USC then scored four goals in a matter of 33 seconds to go up, 5-0. The Trojans reached 10 goals when Flayhan found the back of the net with 11 minutes off the clock. USC went up, 13-0, on a goal by Miller before Lubert put the Gaels on the board. Kardias took a pass from Miller for the goal at 2:10 to give USC a 14-1 lead at halftime. USC slowed down the offense, but remained aggressive to score six goals in the second half for a 20-1 lead when Klein found Huff for the final bell-ringer with 6:27 left to play. Dunlap put one more goal on the board for SMC with just under three minutes to play before time ran out for the Gaels. The Trojans remain home to host No. 9-ranked Northwestern (2-0) next Saturday (Feb. 18) at McAlister Field. First draw is set for noon PT. USC defeated the Wildcats, 14-11, in Evanston, Ill., last season (April 15).
*OREGON 11, San Diego State 9
Recap by Oregon
EUGENE, Ore. - The Oregon women's lacrosse team opened conference play with an 11-9 win over San Diego State and improved to 2-0 to start the season on Saturday afternoon at Pape Field.
How it Happened: The Ducks (2-0, 1-0 MPSF) opened up a lead within the first three minutes for the second straight game, as sophomore Shannon Williams found junior Mariah Gatti with a beautiful pass from left of the cage for a goal. San Diego State (0-2, 0-1 MPSF) quickly responded, though, pulling the game even with a score at the 25:43 mark. Oregon answered back less than a minute later, as senior Bella Pyne snuck the ball into the goal with a left-handed shot from the right side.
After more than 10 scoreless minutes, Natalie Modly raced into the scoring area and bounced one into the net to extend the Ducks' lead to 3-1, and Williams took a stellar feed from Cambi Cukar with 2:23 left in the half to push Oregon's lead to three. The Aztecs ended the half with a goal with 26 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to two, 4-2. Williams got things going again for the Ducks out of the half, rolling around the cage and zipping the ball past the goaltender for her second goal of the game. After an Aztec score, Pyne scored her second goal of the day on a pass from Gatti and Cukar tallied her second point with an impressive goal from the right side to make Oregon's lead 7-3.
Two goals by SDSU and Gatti's second goal of the game pushed Oregon's lead to 8-5 with 15 minutes remaining, and Williams took the Ducks' lead to four when she found an empty net for her first hat trick of the year. The sophomore scored fourth goal of the game six minutes later with a left-handed shot to put Oregon up, 10-6.
After the Aztecs trimmed the lead to 10-8 with six minutes left, sophomore Julia Taylor made her presence felt with her first goal of the day and fourth of the year on Cukar's second assist. The Aztecs scored 30 seconds later to pull within three, but the Ducks were able to ice the game and come away with a win.
Who Stood Out: Williams was a threat to score all game, finishing with a career-high four goals and an assist to finish with five points. Gatti tallied three points with two goals and an assist, and Cukar celebrated her 21st birthday with two assists and a score. Pyne also found the net twice, and Modly and Taylor each scored once. Junior JoJo Hesketh was stellar for the Ducks with seven draw controls to help Oregon win that battle, 14-8, and Becca Katzen made seven saves to earn her second win in as many games.
Notable: The Ducks and Aztecs each finished with 18 turnovers, with Oregon causing 17 of SDSU's 18 giveaways … Oregon ended with 28 total shots, with 19 of those coming on goal … head coach Katrina Dowd is now 2-0 in her career as a head coach … Five Ducks finished with multiple caused turnovers, with Modly, Taylor and Jill Zubillaga each tallying three … San Diego State's Vickie Porter finished with a hat trick to lead the Aztecs.