Buffs' Road Woes Continue vs. No. 18 USC

LOS ANGELES - Colorado lacrosse was defeated 17-13 by No. 18-ranked Southern California here Friday afternoon as the Buffs suffered their first conference loss of the season. The Buffs are now 1-3 for away games.

The Buffaloes (3-5, 2-1) earned 22 draw controls compared to the Trojans' (7-2, 2-0) 10, and CU's Zoe McElhaney set a new draw control career record with 18, but the possessions didn't all translate into goals for the Buffs. CU had 14 turnovers, giving USC ample opportunity to score. 

"The things that made the difference today were in our control, and we didn't execute in those moments," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden commented after the game. "We have to be confident enough in ourselves to accept that, learn from that, and be more prepared for the next moment."

Colorado took 31 shots compared to USC's 29, but the Buff's defense proved unable to stop the Trojans from scoring 17 goals. The second quarter proved especially painful for CU as USC scored eight goals and the Buffs only earned four. 

"Nothing is going to come easy, and at moments, we wanted someone to give us a call, give us a play," Coach Whidden said. "That's not going to happen against a team like USC. We have to earn it. We did in spots, but in the middle of the game, we gave in on little plays and that cost us."

Charlie Rudy and Ashley Stokes continued to lead the offense for the Buffs with Rudy putting away four goals and Stokes finding three. 

The Colorado lacrosse team will travel to Tempe to face Arizona State University at 1 p.m. MT this Sunday March 26th.

"We have a big turnaround and need the game Sunday. We will get refocused tonight and tomorrow and be ready for that.'

HOW IT HAPPENED: 

The Trojans struck first, scoring a goal in the first two minutes of the game, and USC quickly earned their second goal on a free position attempt. Goalkeeper Grace Donnelly managed to stop the original shot, but Claudia Shevitz picked up the rebound to find the back of the net on her second shot. 

Rudy scored the first two goals for the Buffs.In Rudy's second goal, she managed to squeeze between her shot in between the goalie and the upper right corner off a free position attempt. From there, Jess Peluso earned CU's third unanswered goal for the Buffs' first lead of the game. USC wasn't done though and put away two unanswered goals, retaking the lead 4-3 to close out the first quarter.

The Buffs quickly tied things back up less than two minutes into the second quarter. Morgan Pence fired a free position attempt into the goal's bottom left corner for the equalizer. However, one minute later USC's Maggie Brown found her second goal of the game to retake the lead.  Shelby Tilton put away a goal to put the Trojans up 6-4. The Buffs were able to put an end to the Trojans' scoring run with Sam McGee's first goal of the game. Sydney Zimmerman found her first goal of the season to tie it at six a piece off an assist from Peluso. The lead didn't last long though as USC retook the lead a minute later with a free position goal. The Trojans scored three more unanswered goals before Ashley Stokes finally managed to earn another point for the Buffs. USC scored two more goals to finish the half with a 12-7 lead. 

The Trojans carried their momentum into the second half, scoring two straight. Rudy stopped the bleeding by scoring on a free position attempt to trail 14-8. Rudy's goal gave her her seventh hat trick out of eight games this season. 

USC responded with two more goals to end the third quarter, leading 16-8. 

The Buffs began the fourth quarter with a player-up opportunity after a high sticking call that occurred with one second left on the clock in the third. Pence fired off the Buffs' first goal of the quarter to put them within seven at 16-9.

Colorado put away two more unanswered goals as Rudy earned her fourth and S. Zimmerman picked up her second. USC ended CU's 3-0 run with a goal, but Ashley Stokes responded with two more goals to earn her own hat trick.

Despite Colorado's 5-1 surge in the fourth quarter, it wasn't enough to overcome the Trojans' substantial lead and USC took the game 17-13.