Top-Seeded USC Awaits Opponent in Pac-12 Semifinal

LOS ANGELES – The top-seeded USC lacrosse team (14-3) takes aim at the 2019 Pac-12 tournament championship this weekend in Eugene, Ore. The Women of Troy finished the regular season 9-1 in league games to win the Pac-12's regular-season title and secured a first-round bye in the tourney. The Trojans will meet either fourth-seeded California (6-11) or fifth-seeded Arizona State (6-11) in one of two semifinal games on Friday (April 26) at 4:30 p.m. PT on Papé Field.

GAME #18 • Friday, April 26 • 4:30 p.m. PT
[1] No. 17 USC (14-3) vs. [4] Cal (6-11) or [5] ASU (6-11)
Papé Field • Eugene, Ore.
POSTSEASON HISTORY: 10-7 (1-1 Pac-12)
LAST GAME: L, 15-14 vs. Stanford (April 27, 2018)
TV: Pac-12 Networks (Jason Knapp & Kara Lentz)
WEBSITE: Pac-12.com/womens-lacrosse/tournament

CROSSExamination

USC is ranked No. 17 in the IWLCA coaches poll; the 52nd consecutive week that the Trojans are ranked in the poll.
The Women of Troy own two postseason tournament crowns as winners of the 2016 and 2017 MPSF titles.
The Trojans are 10-7 all-time in postseason games, which includes a 1-1 mark in Pac-12 tournament contests (2018).
USC holds a 4-2 all-time record in the state of Oregon, which includes a 14-5 win over the Ducks in a visit to Eugene on March 17 this spring.
USC leads the Pac-12 in scoring defense (8.40 gaa), save percentage (.502), caused turnovers (10.88 ctpg), and scoring margin (+5.30 gpg).
Nine different Trojans have scored double-digit goals this season. Seven of those players have scored 20 or more goals including team leader Kelsey Huff (36).
USC registered the first-ever shutout in both program and Pac-12 history in a home game against Oregon; a 16-0 victory at McAlister Field.
Seventh-year head coach Lindsey Munday is 93-41 all-time (.694).

USC owns two conference tournament championships as winners of the 2016 and 2017 Mountain Pacific Sports Federation titles; the final two seasons of MPSF lacrosse. The Trojans travel to Oregon for the second time this spring where they are 4-2 all-time. USC is 10-7 in all postseason games, which includes a 1-1 finish in the inaugural Pac-12 tournament (2018).

The Trojans lead the Pac-12 and are eighth in the NCAA in scoring defense at an 8.40 goals-against average. USC is also first in the league in save percentage (.502) and scoring margin (+5.30 gpg).

Nine Women of Troy have scored double-digit goals through 17 regular-season games including seven players over the 20-goal mark. Team leader Kelsey Huff has 42 points on 36 goals and six assists. Huff also has 31 ground balls and 26 caused turnovers as one of the Trojans' most well-balanced contributors. Emily Concialdi (28g, 13a) has collected 41 points; and both Sophia Donovan (27g, 13a) and Hope Anhut (26g, 14a) have 40 points each. Izzy McMahon ranks fifth with 36 points (26g, 10a) and Kaeli Huff has 25 points (21g, 4a). USC's freshmen midfielders have also made an immediate impact. Katie Ramsay has scored 17 goals and grabbed 24 draw controls and Erin Bakes has 12 goals in her first year.

All-American midfielder Kerrigan Miller does a little of everything for the Women of Troy. She has 20 goals, 39 draw controls, 46 ground balls, and a team-high 36 caused turnovers. In goal, Riley Hertford leads the league with an 8.63 goals-against average (eighth in the nation) and tops all players with 3.29 ground balls per game. In the center circle, Jackie Gilbert has 110 draw controls and leads the league at 6.47 per game. She also has 26 caused turnovers and 27 ground balls.

TRACK THE TROJANS: USC lacrosse fans can follow the Trojans on Twitter and Instagram at @USCTrojansLax. USC appeared 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). Pac-12 tournament games will also be carried on the network's channels.

LAST TIME OUT: USC concluded the regular season with a 16-10 victory over Arizona State on Senior Day at McAlister Field to secure the Pac-12's regular-season crown and the top seed in the conference tournament. Jackie Gilbert set a new school record with 17 draw controls against the Sun Devils while Emily Concialdi, Izzy McMahon, and Kerrigan Miller each registered hat tricks to power the USC offense.

SCOUTING REPORT - CALIFORNIA: The Golden Bears (6-11, 3-7 Pac-12) enter the tournament losers of four of their last five. The lone victory was a 17-8 win over Arizona State. Cal's loss to Oregon (12-8) was the only league win for the Ducks this season. The Bears lead the Pac-12 clearing percentage at 232-for-277. Kirsten Swanson leads Cal with 34 goals; Jenny Wilkens leads the defense with a .380 save percentage. USC is 8-1 all-time against the Bears and has won eight in a row. The teams have never met in a postseason contest.

SCOUTING REPORT - ARIZONA STATE: The Sun Devils (6-11, 2-8 Pac-12) picked up a pair of non-conference wins before falling to USC, 16-10, in the regular-season finale. Kerri Clayton is the Devils' offensive leader with 33 goals and 45 points. Emily Glagolev is ASU's top distributor with 30 assists (22 goals) on the season. In goal, Berkeley Bonneau tops all Devils with 48 ground balls and has a .487 save percentage. The Trojans are 5-0 all-time against Arizona State and met the Devils in the 2018 Pac-12 quarterfinals where USC won, 19-7.

SHUTOUT SHOUTOUT: The Trojans logged the first and only shutout in both program and Pac-12 history on April 7 with a 16-0 victory over Oregon at McAlister Field. Previously, the fewest goals ever allowed by USC was one in a 19-1 victory over Fresno State (April 20, 2013). Before the first season of Pac-12 lacrosse, Colorado recorded two shutouts and makes the Trojans' the first by a Pac-12 team since CU's 23-0 win over Saint Mary's College in the MPSF on April 15, 2016.

JUST LIKE THEY DRAW IT UP: Senior defender Jackie Gilbert set a new USC record with 17 draw controls in a single game against Arizona State (April 20). She broke a record previously held by All-American Michaela Michael of 15 set in 2015. Gilbert also became only the third Trojan to cross the 200-career draw control mark and now has 213. Gilbert's 110 draw controls this season ranks third in single-season USC history and make her only the third Trojan to collect 100 or more in a season (Michael and Amanda Johansen are the others). Additionally, Gilbert's 17-draw game is her eighth-career game with 10 or more; only two shy of Michael's 10-game USC record.

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Players Mentioned

Hope Anhut

Erin Bakes

Emily Concialdi

Sophia Donovan

Jackie Gilbert

Riley Hertford

Kaeli Huff

Kelsey Huff

Izzy McMahon

Kerrigan Miller

Katie Ramsay