April 17, 2015 Final Stats
DAVIS, Calif. - Juniors Ellie Delich scored two goals to boost UC Davis to a 4-1 start but visiting Southern California dominated the remainder of the game in taking a 15-5 win over its host in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation women's lacrosse action at Aggie Stadium Friday afternoon.
The Aggies slip to 3-11 for the year and 2-4 in MPSF play. The Trojans move to 11-3 overall and remain unbeaten atop the conference at 7-0.
Delich and sophomore Courtney Neff each finished with two goals while sophomore Melissa Kellan added a goal and an assist. Kellan actually scored a second goal near the end of the game but had it disqualified after a failed stick check. Redshirt freshman Lauren Ali recorded nine saves in relief of starter Kai Murphy.
Sophomore Michaela Michael led USC with five goals while Amanda Johansen, Caroline Cordrey and local product Kylie Drexel each added two.
The Aggies came out swinging in the contest, as junior Sam Axenroth won the first draw, then Neff fed Kellan for a goal just 82 seconds in. Senior Sara Quero's steal against Cordrey provided UC Davis with another possession soon after. Kellan assisted Delich on a free-position opportunity to make it 2-0. Michael interrupted the Aggie outburst with her draw control and goal, but Delich answered two minutes later to set the board at 3-1 in the seventh minute. The junior attacker won the next draw, enabling Neff to score on a drive. UC Davis held a 4-1 lead with 21:20 remaining in the first.
However, that proved to be the last Aggie goal for almost the entirety of the contest. Michael and Cordrey had two goals apiece in a 6-0 run that forged a 7-4 Trojan lead at halftime. Drexel and Michael each scored back-to-back to start the second, extending the unanswered stretch to 14 goals. Neff put in the last goal of the game on an eight-meter chance with 3:21 remaining. Freshman Hannah Friel set up Kellan for what appeared to be a transition goal in the final seconds, but the goal was pulled from the board.
Quero was a bright spot for the Aggies defensively with two caused turnovers and three ground balls. Another senior back-liner, Allie Lehner, provided three ground balls, two draw controls and a steal.
USC outshot UC Davis by a 29-14 margin while committing just eight turnovers. The Aggies matched their guests with 11 draw controls but struggled in transition with just 4-for-13 on clear attempts.
UC Davis hosts San Diego State on Sunday at noon. The contest is effectively a must-win for the Aggies in terms of qualifying for the MPSF tournament later in April.
| USC (11-3, 7-0) | 7 | 8 | - | 15 |
| UC Davis (3-11, 2-4) | 4 | 1 | - | 5 |
GOALS - USC: Michaela Michael 5, Amanda Johansen 2, Caroline Cordrey 2, Kylie Drexel 2, Lydia Sutton 1, Annie Ruland 1, Cynthia Del Core 1, Maggie Mawhinney 1. UC Davis: Ellie Delich 2, Courtney Neff 2, Melissa Kellan 1.
ASSISTS - USC: Amanda Johansen 2, Michaela Michael 2, Caroline de Lyra 1, Gabby McMahon 1. UC Davis: Melissa Kellan 1, Courtney Neff 1.
GOALIE SAVES - USC: Gussie Johns 5 (54:36), Liz Shaeffer 0 (3:46), Cassandra Collins 0 (1:38). UC Davis: Kai Murphy 1 (20:43), Lauren Ali 9 (39:17).
