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No. 20 USC Lacrosse Hosts Sun Devils and Bulldogs

by usctrojans.com
Mar 17, 2021

Watch: Live Stream | USC Lax Notebook (Mar. 17)

LOS ANGELES – 20th-ranked USC (3-2, 1-0 Pac-12) returns to McAlister Field where it has won eight straight games and hosts Arizona State (3-2, 1-1) for a league contest on Friday (March 19) at 3 p.m. PT and Fresno State (1-5, 0-0 MPSF) for a non-conference matchup at noon on Sunday (March 21).

GAME #6 • Friday, March 19 • 3 p.m. PT
No. 20 USC (3-2, 1-0) vs. Arizona State (3-2, 1-1)
McAlister Field • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-0 (1.000) • STREAK: W5
LAST MEETING: W 16-10 (Apr. 20, 2019 • McAlister Field)
TV/STREAM: USC Live Stream (Carlo Jimenez)
OPPONENT WEB: TheSunDevils.com

GAME #7 • Sunday, March 21 • 12 p.m. PT
No. 20 USC (3-2) vs. Fresno State (1-5)
McAlister Field • Los Angeles, Calif.
SERIES HISTORY: USC leads, 5-0 (1.000) • STREAK: W5
LAST MEETING: W 21-5 (Mar. 31, 2017 • McAlister Field)
TV/STREAM: USC Live Stream (Carlo Jimenez)
OPPONENT WEB: GoBulldogs.com

CROSSExamination

  • USC is ranked tied for No. 20 in the IWLCA coaches poll; the 63rd 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 was on its way to Tempe, Ariz., to play ASU last year when the team was ordered back to campus ahead of the spring shutdown brought on by the COVID-19 world pandemic. The Trojans and the Sun Devils have not faced each other since the 2019 regular-season finale.
  • The Trojans are 48-11 all-time at McAlister Field and have won eight consecutive games there since April 20, 2019; a 16-10 victory over Arizona State.
  • The Women of Troy improved to 9-0 all-time in league openers with an 18-10 road win at California last week.
  • USC has scored 20 goals twice this season. That total equals the seventh highest in a single game in program history; achieved seven other times previously.
  • Ninth-year head coach Lindsey Munday is 104-44 all-time (.703) and was named the 2019 Pac-12 Coach of the Year.

The Trojans won their ninth consecutive league opener last week with an 18-10 victory over California in Berkeley, Calif. Due to COVID-19 protocols, USC's top-25 meeting with Stanford was subsequently postponed. 
 
USC's meeting with ASU is of particular significance because the teams have not met since 2019's regular-season finale at McAlister Field. The Trojans won, 16-10, to claim the Pac-12 regular-season crown and then went on to win the Pac-12 tournament championship. Last year, USC was 6-0 when it was en route to Tempe, Ariz., to face the Sun Devils before the team bus was ordered back to campus ahead of the spring shutdown brought about by the COVID-19 world pandemic.
 
Through five games, graduate attacker Izzy McMahon leads the team with 15 points on nine assists and six goals. Sophomore attacker Ella Heaneytops all Trojans with 12 goals and midfielder Kelsey Huff has 10 goals including her 17th-career hat trick last week. In the center circle, graduate transfer attacker Maddie McDaniel has pulled in 50 draw controls including a season-best 15 against SDSU to open the year. Senior defender Lizzy Wagner leads field players with eight ground balls. 
 
THE CHAMP IS HERE!: USC is the defending Pac-12 regular-season and tournament champion (2019). The Trojans own three conference titles as winners of two Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) championships in 2016 and 2017. In a preseason poll, USC was picked by the league's head coaches to finish in a tie for first place with Colorado.
 
ALL-AMERICAN GIRLS: USC has celebrated eight IWLCA All-America selections. 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 Johansenchosen to the third team. Michael repeated her first-team honors in 2017 and defender Lydia Sutton earned third-team honors. Kerrigan Millerjoined the ranks as a third-team choice in 2018 and was a second-team All-American in 2019.
 
PAC IT UP: 2021 marks the fourth season of Pac-12 lacrosse. In 2018, the Conference of Champions made lacrosse the 13th women's sport sponsored by the Pac-12. The addition of Arizona State gave the league the minimum six teams to receive an automatic qualifier berth into the NCAA championship. The first Pac-12 Lacrosse Championship was held at Prentup Field and hosted by Colorado. Stanford claimed the first Pac-12 title and USC won the second in 2019. Previously a member of the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation, from the end of 2015 to the middle of the 2018 season, USC won a school-record 22 consecutive conference games. The Trojans were undefeated in the MPSF in 2016 (9-0) and 2017 (8-0). USC won the 2016 and 2017 MPSF championships. USC is 9-0 all-time in league openers and earned its first victory in a Pac-12 opener, 14-3, against Arizona State in 2018. 
 
PAC-12 POW-WOW: USC players own 17 Pac-12 Player of the Week awards. Senior goalie Riley Hertford was chosen for her league-record sixth career award on March 8. She won the honor three times in a shortened 2020 season and twice in 2019. Among other current Trojans, Sophia Donovan (Mar. 18, 2019) and Kelsey Huff (Apr. 1, 2019) were named for the offensive award once each in their careers. Of the 17 times a USC player has won the award, 12 are of the defensive variety; five for offensive honors. Colorado is second with 16 awards, followed by Stanford (14), Arizona State (9), Oregon (3), and California (1).
 
POLL POSITION: The Trojans opened 2021 ranked No. 13 in the IWLCA Coaches' preseason poll. USC has spent 63 straight weeks ranked in the poll; dating back to the 2016 preseason poll. USC spent a school-record 26 consecutive weeks in the top 10 from March 21, 2016 to Feb. 19, 2018. USC is 23-32 all-time against ranked opponents; 10-14 against teams ranked in the top 10 and 2-11 against teams ranked among the top five. 
 

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