No. 18 USC Lacrosse Looks to Snap Denver’s Winning Streak to Start Postseason Play

LOS ANGELES - The 18th-ranked USC Lacrosse program (16-3, 9-1 Pac-12) begins it's venture into the NCAA postseason, as it looks to upset undefeated Denver (19-0, 6-0 Big East) on the Pioneers home turf. The Trojans will face No. 5 Denver at 2 p.m. PT Friday (May 12) in Denver at the Peter Barton Stadium.

Game #19 • Friday, May 12 • `2 p.m. PT
No. 18 USC (16-3, 9-1 Pac-12) vs No. 5 Denver (19-0, 6-0 Big East)
California Memorial Stadium • Denver, Colo.
SERIES HISTORY: Tied 4-4 • STREAK: L1
LAST GAME: W, 11-6 (vs. Colo May 6 • California Memorial Stadium)
LIVE STREAM: ESPN+
OPPONENT WEB: denverpioneers.com

CROSSExamination

The Trojans claimed both the Pac-12 regular season title and Pac-12 Tournament Title for the first time since 2019. USC has won back-to-back Pac-12 regular season titles (shared with Stanford in 2022).
USC is currently ranked No. 18 in the IWLCA final pre-postseason poll.
The Trojans claimed four of the seven major conference awards, as Emma Wightman was named Defensive Player of the Year, Claudia Shevitz was named Midfielder of the Year, Kait Devir was named Co-Goalkeeper of the Year and head coach Lindsey Munday was named Coach of the Year.
Wightman's award is her second straight Defensive Player of the Year award, as she claimed the AAC DPOY award at Florida in 2022.
USC dominated the Pac-12 awards, as nine players were mentioned on the All-Conference list including four on the first team and five on the second team. The first team includes: Emma Wightman, Claudia Shevitz, Olivia Dooley and Isabelle Vitale. The second team includes: Maggie Brown, Shelby Tilton, Ella Heaney and Kait Devir.
The Trojans are 4-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, with their last loss coming in 2022 to Virginia (L, 11-13). USC has cumulated wins over Florida (2017), Jacksonville (2017), Stanford (2016) and James Madison (2015).
USC is 0-1 all-time versus Denver in the NCAA Tournament, as it was bested by the Pioneers 10-11 (OT) in Ann Arbor, Mich. in 2019.
The Trojans are 40-11 all-time in Pac-12 games, with a 17-3 record in the conference over the past two years.
USC's defense has been a force this season, as it finished the regular season and conference postseason ranked 7th in the NCAA for caused turnovers per game, 30th for groundballs, defender Olivia Dooley ranked 8th in the NCAA for caused turnovers per game with 2.35 and goalie Kait Devir was 4th in the NCAA for goals against average with 7.51.
Emma Wightman hit a major milestone (Apr. 9, vs. Stanford) with 100 career-caused turnovers (74 at the University of Florida and 26 at USC).
The Trojans claimed ten of the 24 Pac-12 Player of the Week awards, which ties the single season record with Arizona State (2021). The Trojans owned eight of the 12 DPOW honors this season, which is another single-season Pac-12 record.
USC is 3-12 all-time against teams in the IWLCA Top 5, with its last victory happening against No. 2 Florida in the Second Round of the NCAA Tournament in 2017.
At the Pac-12 Tournament sophomore Catherine Lord was selected as the tournament MVP after posting six caused turnovers, seven groundballs and six draw controls in the two games played.

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Players Mentioned

Maggie Brown

Kait Devir

Olivia Dooley

Ella Heaney

Catherine Lord

Claudia Shevitz

Shelby Tilton

Isabelle Vitale

Emma Wightman