MPSF Lacrosse Results, Mar. 25-26
March 26
*SAN DIEGO STATE 14, California 13 (OT)
Recap by SDSU
SAN DIEGO - Senior Alex Watson scored the game-winning goal with 3:23 elapsed in overtime to give San Diego State a thrilling 14-13 triumph over California on Sunday in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation game at Aztec Lacrosse Field. With the win, SDSU matched its best 10-game start in program history, improving to 7-3 overall and 2-1 in league play, while the Golden Bears slip to 2-8 on the year and 0-2 in the MPSF. Trailing 13-11 late in the second half, the Aztecs scored two goals in the final 72 seconds of regulation to force overtime on strikes by Watson and freshman Taylor Sullivan. Earlier in the period, Sullivan scooped up a loose ball in front of the Cal goal and flipped it into the twine to give SDSU a seemingly comfortable 11-6 spread with 21:17 left on the clock. However, the Bears controlled the next 19-plus minutes with a 7-0 surge, capped by Chloe Landry's tally with 1:58 left that provided the visitors a two-goal cushion. Cal won the ensuing draw, but Aztec senior Ijeoma Ikpe caused a crucial turnover by the Bears' Wheatley Raabe and collected the ground ball before racing upfield. Moments later, Watson found the back of the net with 1:12 remaining to pull SDSU to within one. The Aztecs won the subsequent draw as senior Kristen Hickey soon directed a shot on goal that hit the left post with 45 seconds to go. Sophomore Natalie Peel gathered the loose ball and was promptly fouled, setting up a free position attempt. Peel's shot was initially rejected by Cal goalkeeper Jenny Wilkens, but Sullivan gathered the rebound and snapped a quick shot that hit pay dirt to tie the score. The Bears had two shots by Landry and Jena Fritts go wide early in overtime, but the SDSU defense held firm. Shortly thereafter, Cal won the draw control at the midway point of the extra session, but committed another costly turnover, setting up Watson's heroics. Watson and fellow classmate Kayla Deitz netted three goals apiece to lead the Scarlet and Black, while Sullivan, Hickey and sophomore Harlowe Steele finished with two markers apiece. In addition, the Aztecs received single tallies from Ikpe and freshman Morgan Taylor. Peel and Sullivan tied for game-high honors with three ground balls each, while Hickey and Steele won three draws each. In front of the cage, SDSU senior Katrina Reeves played full-time, making 11 saves. The two sides were evenly matched for the most part on the stat sheet, with the Aztecs maintaining a slight 33-32 edge in shots. However, both teams directed 24 shots on goal and picked up 18 ground balls apiece on the afternoon. Conversely, the Bears owned a 17-13 advantage in draw controls, but were just 1-for-5 on free position attempts, compared to SDSU's 5-for-10 clip. The Aztecs broke a 2-2 deadlock early in the first half with a four-goal outburst during a seven-and-a-half minute stretch, capped by Steele's second goal of the day at the 9:33 mark. Later in the period, Sullivan fed Deitz for a goal with 22 seconds left on the clock to give SDSU an 8-4 advantage by intermission. Cal's Elizabeth Pellechi led all players with four goals, while Jena Fritts, Susie Ropp and Meredith Haggerty finished with two each in the loss. San Diego State will step out of conference play next week when it plays host to Brown on Friday, March 31, starting at 5 p.m. PT.
No. 9 USC 16, Ohio State 7
Recap by USC
MOUNTAIN LAKES, N.J. - In a homecoming for fifth-year USC lacrosse head coach Lindsey Munday, before a crowd of 2,552 fans, the ninth-ranked Women of Troy (7-3) snapped a two-game skid with a 16-7 win over Ohio State (6-7) at Wilkins Field on the campus of Mountain Lakes High School on Sunday, March 26. Senior attacker Michaela Michael led the Trojans as she registered her third-career six-goal performance to lead all scorers. It was Michael's program-record 32nd-career hat trick.
Michael was one of three Trojans to score hat tricks. Senior attackers Kylie Drexel and Gabby McMahon each scored three goals apiece. It was Drexel's 12th-career hat trick and the third for McMahon. Drexel added an assist for four points and led the team with three draw controls to go with a caused turnover and a ground ball.
Four other Trojans scored single goals including senior attacker Cynthia Del Core who added a game-high three assists to go with two ground balls, a draw control and a caused turnover. Senior midfielder Drew Jackson scored one and had an assist to go with a career-best three ground balls and a draw control. Freshman midfielder Kerrigan Miller scored a goal, and matched career marks with four ground balls and three caused turnovers to go with two draw controls. Freshman Kaeli Huff had the last Trojan goal, and earned it on a free-position shot.
Defensively, senior Nina Kelty had three ground balls. Junior defender Lydia Sutton had three ground balls and added three caused turnovers. In goal, junior Gussie Johns put up three saves and led all players with six ground balls to go with two caused turnovers.
USC out-shot Ohio State, 40-16, and out-gained the Buckeyes by a 28-10 count in ground balls. Ohio State won the center circle by a 15-9 edge. The Women of Troy forced the Buckeyes to commit 23 turnovers with 12 credited as caused turnovers. In all, 69 fouls were called on both teams combined: 35 on Ohio State and 34 on USC.
For the Buckeyes, Molly Wood scored three goals for the hat trick and tied for team high three ground balls. Erika Keselman had four points on two goals and two assists and added three ground balls and three draw controls. Baley Parrott scored a goal and dished out an assist to go with two draw controls and Paulina Constant scored once. In goal, Jill Rizzo took the loss but had 13 saves.
Ohio State needed just 3:30 to score the first two goals of the game. Parrott and Keselman scored back-to-back to put the Trojans on their heels, but back-to-back free-position goals by USC's Drexel and Michael helped steady the ship. The score remained tied at two goals apiece for six minutes before Michael went to goal unassisted for her second score of the day and put the Trojans on top, 3-2. Miller scored unassisted to complete a 4-0 USC run with 10:36 left in the first half. Constant scored the next goal to keep the Buckeyes within reach of the Trojans, but Del Core found McMahon open on consecutive offensive sets to help the Trojans score back-to-back goals as part of a 3-0 run capped off by another goal from Michael to end the first half.
USC carried that momentum into the second half and scored the first two goals on free-position attempts by Huff and Del Core to stretch the run to five unanswered goals. Wood scored to stem the tide at 24:56, but Drexel had a response less than a minute later to keep the lead at six, 10-4. 30 seconds later, Wood put up her reply to trim the lead back to five, but McMahon and Drexel scored back-to-back goals before Wood could complete her hat trick and USC sat comfortably with a 12-6 lead with 17:49 left to play. Following Woods' goal, Michael scored three more and McMahon tacked on another to put the Trojans on top, 16-6, with under four minutes to go. Keselman added one more goal for the Buckeys before time expired to make the final score, 16-7.
Up next, the Women of Troy return home to McAlister Field to continue Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play as hosts to Fresno State on Friday (March 31) and California on Sunday (April 2). The USC-Cal game will be shown on Pac-12 LA and Bay Area.
For more information on the USC women's lacrosse team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and on Twitter @USCTrojansLax.
GAME NOTES · USC and Ohio State met for the first time. · The Trojans and the Buckeyes played on Wilkins Field on the campus of Mountain Lakes High School in Mountain Lakes, N.J.; the alma mater of fifth-year USC head coach Lindsey Munday. · An unofficial record crowd of 2,552 spectators watched the game at the high school's turf football field. · The Women of Troy improved to 7-11 all-time in games played on the East Coast. · USC had three players score hat tricks in the same game for the fourth time this season. Stetson (Feb. 26); New Hampshire (March 13); Dartmouth (March 19). · The Trojans' win snapped a two-game losing streak; the first such streak since the opening of the 2015 season. · Senior attacker Michaela Michael scored a season-high six goals in the win. It was her third-career six-goal game and the 32nd-career hat trick for Michael. · Senior attacker Kylie Drexel put up the 12th hat trick of her career with three goals. · Senior midfielder Drew Jackson notched a new career mark with three ground balls. · Freshman midfielder Kerrigan Miller matched career highs with four ground balls and three caused turnovers.
St. Francis 21, ST. MARY'S 14
Recap by SMC
MORAGA, Calif. -- Saint Mary's lacrosse (1-9, 0-4 MPSF) displayed enormous fight and offensive success in the second half, but fell short in the comeback, falling to Saint Francis (5-4) in a physical match, 21-14. The Gaels were led by four scores from Emily Mack. The junior shot a team-high 13 shots, and converted 2-of-5 free position shots. Meagan Bennett recorded a hat-trick for the Gaels along with four ground balls. Megan Zummo also notched three scores on just five shots. Jillian Dunlap and Hanna Dalrymple combined for 12 draw controls. SMC played three goalkeepers, as freshman Meg Sheehan got the start. Cassidy Hoffman recorded a team-high 27:36 and recorded six saves. Senior Sydney Pinello came into the match and played a solid 18 minutes with three saves. Down 12-5 at the half, the Gaels jumped out hot in the second half, scoring four straight in a 5:30 span. Zummo and Mack each collected two goals in the early run. The Red Flash would answer back with a 5-0 run of their own to lead 17-9. With 17:25 remaining, Dunlap scored a free position shot to spark another comeback effort from the Gaels. SMC would go on another 4-0 run to trail, 17-13. SFU would end the game strong, with four more goals to seal the tough win over the Gaels. Saint Mary's will head down to Berkeley to take on Cal in a Mountain Pacific Sports Federation conference match. The Gaels will take on the Golden Bears at Cal on Friday, April 7 for a 6 p.m. match.
March 25
*No. 6 COLORADO 19, Fresno State 6
Highlights by CU
Darby Kiernan and Katie Macleay have scored at least one point in every game this season. •Johnna Fusco has recorded at least one point in all eight games she has played in this season. •This is the fourth time in Fusco's career she has recorded five goals in a single game. •The five goals by an individual is a CU record, which has happened 13 times. •The 10-0 start to the season is the best in CU history, as well as the longest win streak in school history. •CU has also won 10 straight home games dating back to last season. •This is the seventh time this season CU has posted 15 or more goals. •For the sixth time in 10 games (five at home) the Buffs have had a running clock. •The 49 shots by the Buffs is a CU single-game record. Prior to this, the record had been 44 (set on Feb. 26, 2017 against UC Davis).
UP NEXT: Colorado is back on the road next week. The Buffs will take on Delaware on Wednesday, March 29 and on Friday, March 31, CU will face its fifth ranked opponent this season in [7/9/9] Stony Brook.
TOWSON 10, Oregon 7
Recap by UO
TOWSON, Md. - No. 12/15 Towson used a 7-0 run in the second half to break open a tight game on Saturday afternoon as the Oregon women's lacrosse team fell, 10-7, at Johnny Unitas Stadium.
How it Happened: Sophomore Shannon Williams, who entered the day leading the MPSF in both goals (29) and points (43), opened the scoring with a goal just more than three minutes into the game to give Oregon (6-4) an early lead.
Towson (7-3) responded with back-to-back goals to move ahead before senior Bella Pyne scored off an assist from freshman Julia Bolte with 1:21 left in the half to tie the game, 2-2, going into the break. The low-scoring first half saw the Ducks put seven shots on goal, but Towson goalie Angie Benson tallied five first-half saves to keep the game tied.
Williams got things going again to start the second half, once again scoring less than four minutes in to put Oregon back on top, 3-2. After a Towson response tied the game again, junior Jill Zubillaga took a feed from Cambi Cukar and found the back of the net to put the Ducks back in front, 4-3, with 24:21 remaining.
The Tigers then took back control and momentum, mounting a 7-0 run to take over the lead for good.. Towson scored three times in a three-minute span to take back the lead with 16:42 remaining, and then found the back of the net four times in a stretch of just more than three minutes to pull away.
The Ducks began to mount a late comeback in the final minutes, as Pyne and Zubillaga each scored their second goals of the game to pull Oregon within four, 10-6. Cukar scored with six seconds remaining to get Oregon within three, but it was too little, too late as Towson held on for the win. The Ducks had multiple scoring chances throughout the second half, but Benson kept them in check for the Tigers with nine saves.
Who Stood Out: Williams improved upon her team and MPSF-leading goal total with a pair of scores, while Pyne and Zubillaga also scored twice for the Ducks. Cukar finished with a goal and an assist, and Bolte assisted on a pair of scores.
Notable: Cukar finished with one assist to push her career total to 105, putting her only nine shy of the all-time Oregon record ... Zubillaga, a defender by trade, now has six goals in the last two games and seven in the last three after entering the season with no career goals ... Williams now has 31 goals this season to lead the club, one more than her team-best total from 2016 ... Oregon put 16 of its 21 shots on goal ... The Ducks were held to less than 10 goals for the first time this season.
Up Next: The Ducks enter the final two games of their eight-game road stretch as they travel to face George Mason at 3 p.m. PT on Monday. Oregon will end the road swing on Wednesday at Virginia before returning home to Eugene.