Women's Lacrosse | March 13, 2019

LOS ANGELES – No. 22-ranked USC lacrosse (6-1, 1-0 Pac-12) hits the road with a three-game winning streak for a pair of Pac-12 contests this week. The Trojans visit Boulder, Colo., to take on No. 23 Colorado (3-3, 2-0) at Kittredge Field on Saturday, March 16, at 11 a.m. MT (10 a.m. PT). USC then heads up to the Beaver State to take on Oregon (2-5, 0-2) at Papé Field in Eugene, Ore., on Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m. PT. Both games will be streamed live on the Pac-12+ platform.

GAME #8 • Saturday, March 16 • 11 a.m. MT (10 a.m. PT)
No. 22 USC (6-1, 1-0) at No. 23 Colorado (3-3, 2-0)
Kittredge Field • Boulder, Colo.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-2 (.714) • STREAK: L1
LAST MEETING: L, 10-7 (Apr. 16, 2018 • Boulder, Colo.)
STREAM: Pac-12+ Colorado Stream
OPPONENT WEB: CUBuffs.com
 
GAME #9 • Sunday, March 17 • 1 p.m. PT
No. 22 USC (6-1, 1-0) at Oregon (2-5, 0-2)
Papé Field • Eugene, Ore.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-3 (.625) • STREAK: L1
LAST MEETING: L, 18-11 (Apr. 8, 2018 • Eugene, Ore.)
STREAM: Pac-12+ Oregon Stream
OPPONENT WEB: GoDucks.com

CROSSExamination

• USC is ranked No. 22 in the IWLCA coaches poll; the 46th consecutive week that the Trojans are ranked in the poll.
• The Trojans are 4-6 all-time in Colorado and 3-2 in Oregon.
• USC's three-game winning streak matches a season long.
• Colorado is the third ranked opponent the Trojans face this season. USC owns 16 all-time wins over ranked foes (16-27).
• Six different Trojans have scored double-digit goals this season with nine players with five goals or more through seven contests.
• Jr. midfielder Kerrigan Miller was named the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week (March 11) and is the first player in league history to receive both the offensive and defensive weekly awards in her career.
• Seventh-year head coach Lindsey Munday is 85-39 all-time.

The Trojans' three-game streak matches a season high and includes the team's first victory over a ranked team this season (No. 24 Virginia Tech). USC leads the Pac-12 in shots (35.0), shots on goal (25.71), goals (14.71), and free-position percentage (.444). The Women of Troy field a balanced offense, which has seen nine different Trojans score at least five goals this season.
 
Sophomore midfielder Kelsey Huff (15g, 3a), sophomore attacker Sophia Donovan (14g, 4a), and junior attacker Hope Anhut (11g, 7a) lead the Trojan offense with 18 points apiece. Senior attacker Emily Concialdi has scored 13 goals while junior attacker Izzy McMahon and junior midfielder Kerrigan Miller have each scored 11. Miller does a little of everything and is tied for first in the Pac-12 for caused turnovers (2.00 ctpg) and ground balls (3.57 gbpg). Sophomore goalie Riley Hertford also grabs 3.57 ground balls per contest and is second in the league with a 10.60 goals-against average.
 
Senior defender Jackie Gilbert leads the Trojans in the center circle with 38 draw controls and has eight caused turnovers to go with six ground balls as one of USC's top crease-defenders. Among USC freshmen, midfielders Katie Ramsay (9g, 1a, 14dc) and Erin Bakes (6g, 2a, 3gb) have made early impacts for the Women of Troy. Now in her seventh season, head coach Lindsey Munday (85-39) leads an experienced and battle-tested squad into a quest for a fourth NCAA berth.

SCOUTING REPORT - NO. 23 COLORADO: The Buffaloes (3-3, 2-0 Pac-12) enter the week on a two-game winning streak with a pair of Pac-12 road victories over Stanford and Cal. CU's three losses this season are to ranked foes including to No. 6 Florida, No. 6 Stony Brook, and No. 25 Michigan. Senior mainstay Miranda Stinson leads the Buffs with 27 points (21g, 6a) and 10 caused turnovers. Stinson is also second on the team with 15 draw controls. In the circle, Eliza Cahill leads with 23 draw controls and has 11 ground balls. In goal, Julia Lisella has a .504 save percentage with an 11.60 goals-against average. The Women of Troy are 5-2 all-time against Colorado but are only 1-2 when they face the Buffs in Boulder. CU won the last meeting, 10-7, at home. Further, the Trojans are 4-6 in the state of Colorado, which includes last year's season-ending loss to Stanford in the Pac-12 semifinal.
 
SCOUTING REPORT - OREGON: The Ducks (2-5, 0-2 Pac-12) have lost three in a row and have surrendered 12 goals or more in each of their last six games. Oregon's wins are over Mercer and Jacksonville. Senior Shannon Williams is the Pac-12's points leader with 20 goals and 14 assists. Jamie Level has 32 draw controls in the center circle and has scored 10 goals on the season. In goal, Rachel Hall has surrendered 89 goals but holds a .511 save percentage with 93 saves. Four Ducks have reached double-digit ground balls and three have double-digit goals including Williams and Level. Carlie Leach has 12 goals to help power the offense. USC is 5-3 all-time against the Ducks but had a four-game winning streak over Oregon snapped in a stunning 18-11 loss in Eugene, Ore., last spring.

TRACK THE TROJANS: For a behind-the-scenes look, fans of USC lacrosse can follow the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @USCTrojansLax. USC will appear in four live Pac-12 Networks broadcasts this spring. Home games against Stanford (Mar. 25), Colorado (Apr. 5), and Oregon (Apr. 7); and a road game at Stanford (Mar. 31) will be shown on the Networks' national and regional channels. Pac-12 tournament games will also be carried on the network's channels. All non-broadcast league games will be shown on the Pac-12+ stream platform.
 
LAST TIME OUT: The Women of Troy won their seventh straight conference opener on a resounding 15-3 victory at Arizona State. USC held a 10-1 lead at the half and got hat tricks from Sophia Donovan and Katie Ramsay in the win. It was the first game in which the Trojans held their opponent under the 10-goal mark and snapped a string of five games of 10-plus goals by USC opposition. Back home for a non-conference tilt, the Women of Troy secured a 13-11 win over No. 24 Virginia Tech to log the team's first victory over a ranked opponent this spring. It was the program's 16th all-time win against a ranked foe. Donovan led all scorers with four goals this time while Kelsey Huff and Hope Anhut each racked up three-goal hat tricks. Kerrigan Miller was the Trojans' defensive catalyst as she picked up six ground balls and caused five turnovers in the win.
 
OREGON TRAIL: Two of the Trojans' squad-women hail from the Beaver State. Junior defender Natalie Byrne is from West Linn, Ore., and sophomore goalie Riley Hertford is from Lake Oswego, Ore., both suburbs to the south of Portland. Formerly, USC letterwinner Ceara Leo also came from Oregon. She played for the Trojans from 2013-15.

LET'S GET IT STARTED: USC improved to 4-3 all-time in season openers following its 15-10 win over Hofstra (Feb. 9). The Trojans started the year 3-0 before suffering a loss; the second-best start in school history. The program record for consecutive wins to open a season is 20 when USC blazed a trail into the 2016 NCAA quarterfinals with a 20-0 record.
 
FRESH RECORDS: In USC's game against Hofstra, freshman attacker Katie Ramsay became the first Trojan freshman to record a hat trick in her first collegiate game since 2013 (Maggie Mawhinney vs. Presbyterian; Feb. 13). She scored the first goal of the game, which marked only the third time that a freshman scored the Trojans' first goal of the season. Ramsay joined Kelsey Huff (2018 at Virginia Tech) and Amanda Johansen (2013 vs. Northwestern).
 
NET VALUE: Sophomore goalie Riley Hertford's win on Feb. 9 vs. Hofstra marked just the second time that a USC netminder has earned a victory in her first-career start. The other was Cassandra Collins (April 24, 2016) in her senior game start against UC Davis. Hertford's career-high 11 saves against Jacksonville (Feb. 24) made her just the third USC goalie to collect double-digit saves in a game.
 
ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS: USC has celebrated seven IWLCA All-America selections through six years as a program. Michaela Michael was the first-ever All-American selection as a third-teamer in 2015. Michael and defender Courtney Tarleton were each named to the first team in 2016, with midfielder Amanda Johansen chosen to the third team. Michael repeated her first-team honors in 2017 and defender Lydia Sutton earned third-team honors. Kerrigan Miller joined the ranks as a third-team choice in 2018.