University Southern California Trojans
Basking Under The Pac-12 Banner
March 09, 2018 | Women's Lacrosse, USC Ripsit Blog, Features
The USC women's lacrosse program played in its first-ever game back in 2013. Since then, the program has won two MPSF Championships, made three NCAA Tournament appearances and now finds itself recognized as part of the Pac-12 Conference.
2017-18 marks the first season that the Pac-12 Conference, which USC competes in in a number of other sports, sponsors women's lacrosse. After previously competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, USC joined Arizona State, California, Oregon, Colorado and Stanford to introduce Pac-12 women's lacrosse this year.
The Pac-12 era officially begins for USC women's lacrosse tomorrow (March 10), as the Trojans host Arizona State at 12 p.m.
Playing under the Pac-12 banner is a big deal for the Women of Troy.
"The Pac-12 is an incredible conference," said head coach Lindsey Munday. "To be a part of that, to have that support that the network can provide to get more exposure for our girls, and to have that platform is really helpful. We're really excited about it."
The Women of Troy came away with the MPSF title in each of the last two seasons, and the team hopes to continue this winning tradition in its inaugural Pac-12 season.
In fact, the Women of Troy are predicted to finish first in the Pac-12 this year.
"Being that the Pac-12 is such a prestigious conference within the country and the winningest conference in the nation, it's just really cool to have lacrosse now added," said senior goalkeeper Gussie Johns (pictured, right). "We hope to continue the tradition of winning and just continue to grow it with more schools in the future."
The presence of a premier western conference that sponsors lacrosse is illustrative of the exciting rise in popularity of lacrosse on the West Coast.
"I think it shows the growth of the sport," said Johns. "I think it shows that the Pac-12 and hopefully the West Coast really is a force to be reckoned with."
As time has passed, Munday has seen more and more young people excited about the games and playing the sport. For example, Munday described the 1,700-person crowd that attended the team's game in Orange County last month. This crowd size would have been unheard of years before.
But why did it take so long for lacrosse to start to heat up in the west?
"I think traditionally you just stay where it starts," said Johns.
However, sophomore midfielder and New York native Kerrigan Miller always dreamed of coming out west to go to college. She has found that lacrosse here on the West Coast is comparable to the state of water polo on the East Coast.
As the only West Coast team ranked in the Top 20 at the beginning of the season, the Women of Troy want to take advantage of their position as leaders for the West. Coming from a storied high school program, Johns shared, "I wanted to come out here and be a part of hopefully making a program grow to the heights of an East Coast program."
Winning and rising in the rankings is exactly what the Women of Troy have been doing since 2013.
"We kind of have a target on our back, which is a good thing," said Miller. "But we also have to defend our title. We have to keep getting better each game and keep representing the Pac-12."
Johns has big aspirations for the future of women's lacrosse at USC and around the country.
"I see it continuing to grow as it has and continuing to go into more and more pockets of the country and different kinds of communities," said Johns. "Hopefully by 2028 we're in the LA Olympics and we see it back on the West Coast. That would be a cool full circle for us here at USC."
2017-18 marks the first season that the Pac-12 Conference, which USC competes in in a number of other sports, sponsors women's lacrosse. After previously competing in the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, USC joined Arizona State, California, Oregon, Colorado and Stanford to introduce Pac-12 women's lacrosse this year.
The Pac-12 era officially begins for USC women's lacrosse tomorrow (March 10), as the Trojans host Arizona State at 12 p.m.
Playing under the Pac-12 banner is a big deal for the Women of Troy.
"The Pac-12 is an incredible conference," said head coach Lindsey Munday. "To be a part of that, to have that support that the network can provide to get more exposure for our girls, and to have that platform is really helpful. We're really excited about it."
The Women of Troy came away with the MPSF title in each of the last two seasons, and the team hopes to continue this winning tradition in its inaugural Pac-12 season.
In fact, the Women of Troy are predicted to finish first in the Pac-12 this year.
"Being that the Pac-12 is such a prestigious conference within the country and the winningest conference in the nation, it's just really cool to have lacrosse now added," said senior goalkeeper Gussie Johns (pictured, right). "We hope to continue the tradition of winning and just continue to grow it with more schools in the future."The presence of a premier western conference that sponsors lacrosse is illustrative of the exciting rise in popularity of lacrosse on the West Coast.
"I think it shows the growth of the sport," said Johns. "I think it shows that the Pac-12 and hopefully the West Coast really is a force to be reckoned with."
As time has passed, Munday has seen more and more young people excited about the games and playing the sport. For example, Munday described the 1,700-person crowd that attended the team's game in Orange County last month. This crowd size would have been unheard of years before.
But why did it take so long for lacrosse to start to heat up in the west?
"I think traditionally you just stay where it starts," said Johns.
However, sophomore midfielder and New York native Kerrigan Miller always dreamed of coming out west to go to college. She has found that lacrosse here on the West Coast is comparable to the state of water polo on the East Coast.
As the only West Coast team ranked in the Top 20 at the beginning of the season, the Women of Troy want to take advantage of their position as leaders for the West. Coming from a storied high school program, Johns shared, "I wanted to come out here and be a part of hopefully making a program grow to the heights of an East Coast program."
Winning and rising in the rankings is exactly what the Women of Troy have been doing since 2013.
"We kind of have a target on our back, which is a good thing," said Miller. "But we also have to defend our title. We have to keep getting better each game and keep representing the Pac-12."
Johns has big aspirations for the future of women's lacrosse at USC and around the country.
"I see it continuing to grow as it has and continuing to go into more and more pockets of the country and different kinds of communities," said Johns. "Hopefully by 2028 we're in the LA Olympics and we see it back on the West Coast. That would be a cool full circle for us here at USC."
Players Mentioned
Goalie
/ Women's Lacrosse
Midfield
/ Women's LacrosseMonday, July 06
Monday, June 29
Tuesday, June 23
Monday, June 22
