The USC women's lacrosse team began its 2015 season exactly how it started year one of the program in 2013 facing the No. 5 ranked lacrosse powerhouse, Northwestern, at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum. The Women of Troy jumped out to an early lead finishing the first half with a 7-3 lead. However, the Wildcats proved their worthiness of a No. 5 ranking by adjusting in the second half ultimately scoring in the final minute to force the game into overtime. The Wildcats had the momentum and scored a go-ahead goal early in the overtime period which would prove to be the game-winner as Northwestern defeated USC 12-11 in overtime.
"They need to hold their heads high," said head coach Lindsey Munday. "We wanted to walk on this field and compete and have it be about us and it was. I think we did a phenomenal job of really showing up for this game. It stings. It's tough. But it's our first game. This is just starting and it's exciting."
This is the third time the Women of Troy have faced the Wildcats. In the program's first game ever, Northwestern dominated USC at the Coliseum winning 18-5. Last year, the two squads faced off at Wrigley Field in Chicago with the Wildcats again finishing victorious defeating the Women of Troy 12-5. There were high hopes for the 2015 matchup at the Coliseum as USC entered the game with the No. 5 ranked recruiting class and were selected to finish third in the preseason MPSF rankings. Though the Women of Troy could not close out a victory to start their 2015 season, the improvement since their first game at the Coliseum two years ago is something worth noting and was seen by everyone who attended Saturday's season opener.
"We have had a vision for this program since day one. We've told our players where we see this going and they've done a phenomenal job of buying in," said Munday. "There's great things to come. We're not a young team anymore. The juniors and seniors are setting the tone for what they want to be remembered for."
The veterans of the Women of Troy made the biggest impact in Saturday's heartbreaking loss to the Wildcats with juniors Caroline De Lyra and Amanda Johansen scoring six of USC's 11 goals. However, it was sophomore Michaela Michael who really made in impact at midfield with a game-high seven draw controls.
Seven different USC players scored on Saturday which gives the coaching staff plenty of scoring threats moving forward. The Women of Troy have a week off before a road trip beginning on February 20 against Stonybrook followed by a matchup with Marist on the 22nd. Despite Saturday's loss, USC showed tremendous improvement and made a statement for the rest of 2015.
"I think our main goal going into this game was to focus on us and see the standard we wanted to set this season," said the head coach. "We set a good standard for ourselves."
Here are John McGillen's photos from today's season opener...
