No. 17 USC Lacrosse Rallied the Troops in the Fourth to Best No. 15 Army

Friday, February 9

West Point, N.Y.

2:00 PM

USC

1-0

Army

0-1

USC

ARMY

No. 17 USC Lacrosse Rallied the Troops in the Fourth to Best No. 15 Army

February 09, 2024 | Women's Lacrosse

Box Score

Graduate Student Ella Heaney led the charge, as she posted a career-high six goals in the upset win over the Black Knights

WEST POINT, N.Y. - No. 17 USC lacrosse marched out of West Point with a 13- 9 road win against No. 15 Army in the season opener on Friday, Feb. 9, at Michie Stadium.

KEY PLAYERS:

Graduate student Ella Heaney was a force in the first half, securing four goals to start before she added two more to set a new career high. Her second goal at 14:09 in the second quarter was her 100th career goal for the Women of Troy. Heaney recorded her 16th career hat trick, which ties her for fifth in program history.
Senior Shelby Tilton recorded USC's second hat trick of the afternoon, scoring three straight goals to extend the lead from 9-8 to 12-8 in less than four minutes. Tilton also added one assist, bringing her total to four points. Tilton now has 11 career hat tricks, which ties her for 11^th in program history.
Freshman Anna Regan had a stellar debut for the Women of Troy, as she recorded 11 draw controls as USC outmaneuvered the Black Knights in the circle 17-9.
On the defensive side, the Trojans were led by sophomore Kate Gerrity, who had three ground balls and two caused turnovers. Junior Alexis Niblock joined her with two caused turnovers.

HOW IT HAPPENED:

The story of the first quarter was defense, and it was the start of an excellent day for Heaney. The Women of Troy shut out the Black Knights 1-0, limiting Army to just one shot on goal. Along that same line, USC coaxed the Black Knights into six turnovers compared to the Trojans four.
The second quarter played a similar tone but allowed the offenses on both sides to get in their rhythm. Both sides found the inside of the net four separate times, and for USC, that means Heaney collected three more goals on her way to her halftime total of four.
As the back-and-forth continued throughout most of the third quarter, the Army started to garner momentum, outscoring the Women of Troy 3-2; to end the third, the score was tied at 7-7. The Black Knights scored three straight in the middle phases of the quarter (from 9:17 to 7:20). USC opened the third quarter with a goal by senior Maggie Brown at 12:29 and finished the quarter with Heaney's fifth goal at 6:19.
While the initial phases of the fourth gave the Black Knights a lead again (8-7), the remainder of the final 15 gave USC new life. The Women of Troy scored six straight from 10:10 to 2:52, as they did not let up on their attack front. Heaney started the trend with her sixth of the day, but soon others followed, as redshirt junior Isabelle Vitale scored a free-position goal (8:19) to give the lead back to USC, 9-8. Tilton would ensure there was no patching up this floodgate, as she posted a hat trick in less than three minutes. Brown found her second goal of the day to finish the scoring for USC before it would claim the game 13-9.

UP NEXT:
The Women of Troy continue on their tour of the East Coast as they face Villanova at 9 a.m. PT/12 p.m. ET on Sunday (Feb. 11) at Villanova Stadium in Villanova, Pa.

GAME NOTES:

USC is 8-4 all-time in season openers, has won seven of the last eight openers, and is 3-1 in season openers on the road.
The Women of Troy are now 28-40 all-time against teams in the IWLCA rankings. This is USC's first top-25 road win since it won 14-10 against Michigan on April 3, 2022.
Heaney netted her 100th career goal for USC. The graduate student now has her 16th career hat trick, which puts her in a tie for fifth all-time in the Women of Troy's history. With six goals, Heaney broke her previous career-high of five (Cal; Apr. 8, 2022).
USC has played 38 games in the Eastern Time Zone and is 18-20 overall.
This was the first meeting between the Women of Troy and the Black Knights, as USC now owns the record 1-0.

For more information on the USC women's lacrosse team, a complete schedule, and results, please visit USCTrojans.com. Fans of the Women of Troy can follow the team on Instagram and X @USCTrojansLax.