No. 19 USC Lacrosse Tames the Bears On The Road In The First Leg Of Its Bay Area Trip

Friday, March 31

Berkeley, Calif.

3:00 PM

USC

9-2, 4-0Pac-12

California

3-7, 1-3Pac-12

USC

California

Photo by: Andrew Madsen, KLC Fotos

No. 19 USC Lacrosse Tames the Bears On The Road In The First Leg Of Its Bay Area Trip

March 31, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Highlights

The Trojans remain undefeated in conference play, as they improved to 4-0 in Pac-12 play

BERKELEY, Calif. - The 19th-ranked USC Lacrosse (9-2, 4-0 Pac-12) squad was led by a defensive effort as it forced a frenzy of turnovers against California (3-7, 1-3 Pac-12) in the 11-6 victory at California Memorial Stadium Friday, Mar. 31.

KEY PLAYERS:

Junior Maggie Brown and redshirt sophomore Isabelle Vitale posted the game-high for goals, as they each posted a hat trick in the outing. Both players got their fourth hat trick of the season, and Brown got her fifth career hat trick, while Vitale posted the 11th of her career. Junior Shelby Tilton contributed the game-high for points, as she found the net one time and got four assists.
Graduate transfer Emma Wightman and sophomore Alexis Niblock took charge in the caused turnover category, each having two. Niblock also posted a game-high four groundballs.
Junior goalie Kait Devir got the winning decision, as she surrendered six goals and posted six saves in her outing.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The Trojans got on the board early, as Brown put two in the back of the net off her first two shots of the game. USC would continuously add to its lead through the first, as USC would score the first five goals of the game, with the fifth happening at 2:35.
California got on the board at the end of the first at :24 and followed suit with a run of four straight goals to dwindle the Trojans' lead to 5-4. Sophomore Christiana Gagnon, however, kept it out of reach, as she scored in the late stages of the second to give USC the 6-4 lead at the half.
The Trojans kept the ball in their court, as the defense held the Bears scoreless throughout the third quarter. USC forced eight turnovers in this quarter, as Wightman posted both of her caused turnovers within five minutes, and Niblock claimed one of her two towards the end of the period. While the defense played its role, the offense provided support starting at 4:47. From there, it came alive with two more goals to give USC a 9-4 lead.
In the fourth quarter, the Trojans extended the lead further with two goals that completed hat tricks for Brown and Vitale. The Bears would score two more to round out the score at 11-6.

UP NEXT:
The Trojans continue on their first conference road trip as they head towards Stanford, Calif., for a battle of the top two teams. First draw for the Stanford game is set for 1 p.m. Sunday (Apr. 2) at Laird Q. Cagan Stadium.

GAME NOTES:

USC continued its longest winning streak against one team in program history, as it has won 15 straight games against California. The Trojans lead the all-time series 15-1.
USC is 105-17 all-time versus unranked opponents.
The Trojans are 35-10 all-time in Pac-12 games.
USC improves to 15-5 all-time in Pac-12 road games.