USC Trojans: Women’s Lacrosse Shines on National Stage, Defeats Ducks 12-10

The USC Women of Troy played their first-ever nationally televised game in grand fashion, taking down the Oregon Ducks 12-10 in a crucial MPSF conference game. The victory started off the month of April on a positive note; the team is coming off a 3-6 rigorous schedule in the month of March, and the win showcased a balanced effort across the board.

“This really was the first game in which we played a full 60 minutes where every single player played a major role in securing the victory,” Head Coach Lindsey Munday said. “We didn’t have to rely on just one or two players. We had people step up in all facets of the game, today, and it produced a great result.”

The Trojans (6-8, 3-2) were led by freshman attackers Caroline de Lyra, who finished with three goals and three assists, and freshmen Caroline Cordrey, who scored four goals on seven shots. The Oregon Ducks (5-6, 0-2) battled the Trojans down to the wire, but could not overcome the Women of Troy relentless attack.

“I think the reason that we were successful, tonight, especially on offense is because we had patience,” Munday said. “The Ducks shut down a lot of our plays, but the reason things worked is because we waited for the best opportunities to present themselves.” The patient Trojans outshot the Ducks 20-19 in the contest, while dominating the time of possession throughout the contest.

The scoring was tight throughout the first half, as neither team could gain more than a two-goal advantage. Haleigh Dalmass scored an unassisted goal at 26:37 mark giving USC the first lead of the game. Caroline de Lyra led the Trojans with two first-half goals, posting consecutive unassisted marks mid-way through the opening frame.

After Oregon scored three straight goals, the Trojans finished the half on a 4-2 run capped off by a free position goal from Caroline Cordrey with 40 seconds remaining.

The Trojans changed up the style of play once the second half came around, shifting the tide in their favor. “At the halftime break, we buckled down and honed in on feeding and made some good changes and got them to score in different ways and it helped,” Munday said. USC jumped out to a 10-8 lead with 18 minutes left in the game, playing strong defense led by their keeper Liz Schaefer who made five saves in the victory.

The Oregon Ducks tied the game at 10 as Hayley Miller drove right through the defense on a free position shot, intensifying the defensive stalwart. Caroline De Lyra came up with her third and most pivotal assist of the game when she hit a cutting Dalmass for a Trojan goal, giving them a lead they would not summas. “Caroline was challenging in, and I saw my defender turn away, and I just went to goal and Caroline made a great pass to me. She is a great, great feeder and she just made a great pass on that play.

The Trojans used their patient attack to milk down the final minutes of action, even adding on to their lead with a goal from the star of the game, Pac-12 leading scorer Caroline de Lyra. The Women of Troy sit over .500 in the conference with the victory, heading into their second-to-last home game against Cal Berkeley on Fri., Apr. 12th at 3 p.m.