No. 18 USC Lacrosse Hosts UC Davis in Home Opener

Mar 2, 2021

USC LAX Notebook (Mar. 2) | Live Stats | Live Stream

LOS ANGELES – The 18th-ranked USC lacrosse team (1-2) hosts UC Davis (3-1) in its first home game of the season on Sunday, March 7. The Trojans and Aggies will meet on McAlister Field for first draw at 3 p.m. PT and be shown live on the USC streaming platform. USC and UC Davis face off for the sixth time with the five previous meetings from 2013 and 2017 as members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation. The Trojans are 5-0 in those games including an 18-9 result in Davis, Calif., the last time the teams clashed in 2017.

GAME #4 • Sunday, March 7 • 3 p.m. PT
No. 18 USC (1-2) vs. UC Davis (3-1)
McAlister Field • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-0 (1.000) • STREAK: W5
LAST MEETING: W, 18-9 (April 23, 2017 • Davis, Calif.)
STREAM: USC Live Stream
OPPONENT WEB: UCDavisAggies.com

CROSSExamination

USC is ranked No. 18 in the IWLCA coaches poll; the 61st consecutive week that the Trojans are ranked in the poll.
The Trojans are the defending Pac-12 champions and were chosen to finish in a tie for first by the league's coaches.
USC is 4-4 all-time in home openers, which includes a 4-1 mark at McAlister Field. The other three losses were at the LA Memorial Coliseum (2013, '15) and on Cromwell Field (2014).
The Trojans are 47-11 all-time on McAlister Field and have won seven straight games there dating back to April 7, 2019.
USC and UC Davis are familar opponents. The Trojans and the Aggies faced each other five times as members of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation from 2013-17. The Women of Troy were 5-0 in those meetings with an average margin of victory of +7.8 goals per game.
Ninth-year head coach Lindsey Munday is 102-44 all-time (.699) and was named the 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

USC looks to get back to winning after going 0-2 on last week's trip to the East Coast. The Trojans were tested by a pair of top-10 ranked opponents in Stony Brook and Boston College but will now remain on the West Coast for the remainder of the regular season.

The Women of Troy are 47-11 all-time on McAlister Field and have won seven straight games there since the end of the 2019 season. Under the direction of ninth-year head coach Lindsey Munday, USC was selected to finish in a tie for first place in a preseason poll of the Pac-12's head coaches. The Trojans are still the defending league regular-season and tournament champions after the 2020 season was suspended due to the COVID-19 world pandemic.

Through three games, senior attacker Sophia Donovan and sophomore attacker Ella Heaney share the team-lead for goals with six apiece. Donovan and senior captain Kelsey Huff each have three assists. In the center circle, graduate transfer attacker Maddie McDaniel has pulled in 27 draw controls including a season-best 15 against San Diego State to open the year. Defensively, senior Natalie Byrne leads field players with five ground balls. In goal, preseason ILWomen All-American senior goalie Riley Hertford has put up 26 saves and has team highs of eight ground balls and four caused turnovers.

All home USC women's lacrosse competitions will be conducted in accordance with the Pac-12 COVID-19 Medical Advisory Committee health and safety recommendations and guidelines, available at Pac-12.com/health.

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.