No. 18 USC Lacrosse Opens Up Pac-12 Play This Weekend at McAlister Field

LOS ANGELES- The 18th-ranked USC lacrosse (5-2) squad begins its journey into conference play as it welcomes Arizona State (1-4) Friday (Mar. 17) to McAlister Field. The Women of Troy will look to improve on last weekend's results, as they dropped a top-25 matchup against then-No. 16 Princeton (8-11) and bested Hofstra in a nailbiter (9-8).

Game #6 • Friday, Mar. 17 • 3 p.m. PT
No. 18 USC (5-2) vs Arizona State (1-4)
Soni McAlister Field • Los Angeles
SERIES HISTORY: USC Leads 8-2 • STREAK: L1
LAST MEETING: L, 12-13 (May 5, 2022 • SD Lacrosse Stadium)
LIVE STREAM: USC Livestream 3
OPPONENT WEB: thesundevils.com

CROSSExamination

USC is 10-0 all-time in conference openers.
The Trojans are 35-8 in conference home games (17-5, Pac-12; 18-3, MPSF).
USC is 4-1 against Arizona State in its first meeting of each season and is 3-1 at home against the Sun Devils, with the only outlier for both claims happening Mar. 19, 2021 (L, 9-20).
The Trojans are 31-10 in Pac-12 games, finishing the 2022 season 8-2 in conference play. That record tied them for first place in the Pac-12, as they held a share of the Pac-12 regular season title.
Last time out, USC was defeated by ASU in the Pac-12 semifinal May 5, 2022 (L, 12-13).
USC is 101-17 all-time versus unranked opponents.
The Trojans' 2023 captains are graduate student midfielder Katie Ramsay, senior midfielder Sloane Murphy, senior defender Danielle Carson, and junior attacker Shelby Tilton.
Olivia Dooley is the reigning Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year. The league's Defensive Player of the Year has come from USC two times since the award began being issued. Jackie Gilbert was chosen in 2019.
USC's defense has been a force this season, as it ranks 4th in the NCAA for caused turnovers per game, 6th for groundballs and goalie Kait Devir is 9th for goals against average.
The Trojans went 1-1 this past weekend, as they were led on the defensive side by the defensive player of the week for the Pac-12 Alexis Niblock. Niblock posted six groundballs and three caused turnovers.

This season the theme has been the same, the defense. It will be something to watch in this game, as the Sun Devils are currently averaging 10.2 goals per game, while USC only allows 8.57 per game. So far, ASU's 10.2 goals per season are not doing it any favors, as the squad is currently 1-4. However, the Sun Devils have paced their way with three ranked opponents, losing by an average of 3.3 goals on the road against then-No. 7 Florida, No. 24 Jacksonville, and No. 25 Penn State. ASU will search to end a four-game skid as it heads to McAlister Field, while the Women of Troy have won five of their last six by an average of 7.4 goals.

USC is led by its current defending player of the week, Alexis Niblock. Niblock had a career day against then-No. 16 Princeton, as she posted three caused turnovers and two groundballs. The sophomore is just one of the fundamental defensive pieces that have led to the Trojans' constant success near the net. On the other side, expect junior Maggie Brown to continue her offensive tirade as of late. The attacker leads the squad in goals (14) and points (19), as she has posted 16 points in the last four games. Brown earned her first start of the season against Hofstra and posted a hat trick in the affair.

Next Event

Players Mentioned

Maggie Brown

Danielle Carson

Kait Devir

Olivia Dooley

Sloane Murphy

Alexis Niblock

Katie Ramsay

Shelby Tilton