All eight Pac-12 women’s lacrosse teams are in action this week as non-conference play continues and  league commences this Friday.

The Pac-12 has two teams ranked in the latest IWLCA Top-25: No. 17 USC and No. 19 Colorado, while Stanford is receiving votes. 

Around the League

• At 7-2, UC Davis is off to its best start since 2011 when the Aggies were 8-1, and has its most home victories (6) since 2007.
  • Natalie Markman netted five goals in last week’s win over Butler, which is tied for the most goals by an Aggie this season (also Ella Brislin vs Akron & Grace Gebhardt vs. St. Bonaventure and San Diego State).
• Stanford (4-2) is riding a four-game win streak, and is outscoring its opponents 73-27 over that stretch.
  • The Cardinal has scored 17 or more goals while allowing eight or fewer during the four-game win streak.
  • Annabel Frist tallied 17 draw controls in last Tuesday’s win over Davidson, the second-most in a game by a Cardinal. Frist ranks tied for first in NCAA DI in draw controls per game at 10.67.
• Oregon (6-1) continued its perfect record at home with a 17-8 win over Furman this past Sunday.
  • The Ducks have six wins through seven games for the first time since 2015.
• Four Buffs recorded hat tricks in Colorado’s (5-2) 17-11 victory at Marquette.
  • Eve Hritzuk, Madeline Pisani, Molly Reed and Ashley Stokes had three goals each, and Morgan Pence notched her 100th career point with an assist.
• California wrapped up its five-game homestand with a 16-8 win over Butler on Tuesday.
• Arizona State (3-4) has dropped its last four games, three of which have come against ranked teams.
  • The Sun Devils narrowly fell to then-No. 6 Michigan, 10-9, before dropping Sunday’s contest to Vanderbilt, 13-11. Arizona went a combined 28-28 in clear attempts those two games.
• The Pac-12 is fourth nationally with 1,259 shots on goal. And with 825 draw controls.
• UC Davis leads the conference with a 49.3 shot percentage, a mark which is also 13th nationally.
• The Sun Devils rank second nationally with a 96.8 clearing percentage, and have the fewest turnovers in NCAA DI at 10.57 per game.
• Stanford (8.33 - 12th) and Oregon (8.43 - 13th) each pace the Pac-12 in scoring defense, and rank in the top-15 nationally. 
  • The Ducks (7.43 - 8th) and Cardinal (7.33 - 9th) are also both in the top-10 in scoring margin.
• Colorado’s Pisani’s 3.86 goals per game is the 16h-best in the country. Pisani has notched a hat trick in all seven games this season.

This Week 

• Arizona State hosts Liberty this Wednesday in one of its three final non-conference games this season.
  • The Sun Devils will be honoring Morgan's Message, which is a 501(c)(3) that strives to eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health within the student-athlete community and equalize the treatment of physical and mental health in athletics. 
• UC Davis is set to play its first Pac-12 league game on Saturday against No. 17 USC.
• Stanford has a tough weekend on deck with a pair of ranked matchups versus No. 19 Colorado (Friday) and at No. 14 Denver (Sunday).
  • The Cardinal will have faced three ranked opponents after this weekend.
  • Colorado has won two of the last three over Stanford, most recently a 12-11 win at the Pac-12 Tournament to send the Buffs to the championship game.
• San Diego State welcomes Dartmouth to the Aztec Lacrosse Field on Friday in the first matchup between these two teams. This contest will be the Aztecs’ final non-conference game this season.
• No. 17 USC (6-2) returns to action against UC Davis on Saturday before hosting Dartmouth on Monday.
  • USC has never lost a conference opener.
  • The Trojans are 2-1 at home this year, with the lone loss coming to then-No. 6 Michigan.
• California travels to Oregon on Sunday in each team’s Conference opener.
  • The Golden Bears have won the last three over Oregon, with the average margin of victory being just 1.33 goals.
  • An Oregon win would give the Ducks their best eight-game start to the season in program history.

Preseason Coaches Poll

• USC was selected first in the 2024 Pac-12 Women’s Lacrosse preseason coaches poll. The defending regular season and tournament champion garnered 48 total points and six first-place votes, while Stanford was picked to finish second with 44 points and two first-place selections. 

Returners & Additions

• The Pac-12 returns 13 postseason All-Conference honorees from a season ago, including reigning Pac-12 Midfielder of the Year Claudia Shevitz, the 2023 Pac-12 Co-Goalkeeper of the Year Kait Devir, and Reigning Freshman of the Year Teagan NG.
• The Conference welcomes seven standouts featured on ILWomen’s Class of 2023 Power 100 Incoming Freshmen Rankings: Stanford Aliya Polisky - No. 14, A, Stanford; Lindsey Devir - No. 16, M, Stanford; Ava Arceri - No. 24, M, Stanford; Shae Lembo - No. 32, G, Stanford; Anna Colpack - No. 54, M, Stanford; Ellie Johnson - No. 71, D, Stanford; Anna Regan - No. 86, M, USC.

2024 Pac-12 Tournament   

• The 2024 Pac-12 Tournament is set for May 1-4 at the LA Memorial Coliseum. The event will consist of a six team, single-elimination tournament format, and the tournament field will be based on regular-season conference record. All five contests are slated to broadcast on Pac-12 Network and the Pac-12 Now app. .

Upcoming Schedule (Full Schedule)