No. 20 USC Lacrosse Fought the Up-Hill Battle, as it Rallied to Best Colorado 16-13

Friday, April 14

Boulder, Colo.

3:00 PM

USC

12-3, 7-1

Colorado

6-6, 4-2

USC

Colorado

Photo by: Yannick Peterhans

No. 20 USC Lacrosse Fought the Up-Hill Battle, as it Rallied to Best Colorado 16-13

April 14, 2023 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score Highlights

The Trojans outscored the Buffalo 8-2 in the second half, cementing their lead in the Pac-12 standings

BOULDER, Colo. - The 20th-ranked USC Lacrosse squad brought the heat to snowy Boulder as the Trojans overcame a Colorado halftime lead, to win 16-13 on Friday (Apr. 14) at the Colorado Indoor Practice Facility.

KEY PLAYERS:

Junior Claudia Shevitz stole the show in this affair as she posted four goals, all within the second half. This is her fourth hat trick this year and the second consecutive one. She now has nine for her career, which puts her tied for 13th in school history. Junior Shelby Tilton also posted a hat trick, giving her three on the year and putting her at ten for her career. At ten hat tricks, she is tied for 12th in school history.
On defense, the two main culprits struck again, as senior Olivia Dooley and graduate transfer Emma Wightman both had two caused turnovers. Sophomore Catherine Lord also posted a caused turnover and ranked second on the squad with six draw controls.
In the circle, graduate student Katie Ramsay claimed control of the ball most often, as she posted seven draw controls. Junior Maggie Brown also posted a few draw controls as she picked up three while also finding the back of the net for two goals.
Junior goalie Kait Devir was the goalie of decision in this affair, as she allowed 12 goals and grabbed four saves.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

Before either team could take the field, the weather had a significant impact on the logistics of the game, as snow forced the game inside at the Colorado Indoor Practice Facility.
The Buff's dominated the first quarter as they got up early and kept bouncing back after every USC score. Starting the game, Colorado was four-for-four on shots on goal, as it went up 4-0 in a little over five minutes. USC would rally back with a goal at 8:15, but the Buffs would match it. That same scenario would ensue again, but eventually, the Trojans would have the last laugh of the quarter as they limited the deficit after claiming the final two goals to make it 6-4 in favor of Colorado.
USC opened up the quarter in a positive manner, as sophomore Christiana Gagnon found the back of the net on a free-position goal. The Buffs continued to have a problem with the Trojans getting back into it, as they answered USC's three straight goals with two straight. Eventually, momentum would return to the Trojans as they posted three straight once again to tie it 8-8. That stretch started with redshirt sophomore Isabelle Vitale at 9:10, and then both defenses would hold their own, as the following two goals were scored at 3:56 and 2:56. Unlike last quarter, Colorado would own the ending with three straight goals to head into the half-back up three, 11-8.
The second half proved to be all USC as the Trojans outscored the Buffs 8-2 in both the third and fourth quarters. The player that propelled this effort the most was Shevitz. Shevitz posted four goals, with three of them coming in the fourth quarter. Brown posted two goals in that stretch, and senior Sloane Murphy started the rally with a free-position goal at 7:55 in the third quarter.
After surrendering 11 goals in the first half, the Women of Troy defense buckled down to allow just two in the second half. Both goals happened in the third quarter, with Colorado's last goal happening at 2:19 in the third quarter, which means the Buffs ended the game scoreless for 17 minutes and 19 seconds.

UP NEXT:
USC turns back towards the west side of the country as it goes north to face Oregon at noon Sunday (Apr. 16) at Pape' Field in Eugene, Ore.

GAME NOTES:

This is the Trojans' first win this season when they trail at halftime. Previously they were 0-2.
USC is now 3-3 when its opponents score first, and Colorado's 13 goals is a tie for the most goals given up in a win this season. The other game was also against the Buffs on Mar. 24 (W, 17-13).
The Trojans now have a four-game win streak against Colorado, which is the second longest in the all-time series.
USC is now 38-11 in Pac-12 games (16-6 on the road).
The Trojans improve to 108-18 all-time versus unranked opponents.
This is USC's first time playing at the Colorado Indoor Practice Facility.
The Trojans are one game away from clinching a share of the Pac-12 title and will win the title outright with two more wins.