LOS ANGELES — Senior
Sorana Larson finished with a pair of goals and two assists, leading a group of three Aggies with multiple scores on the day, but it wasn't enough to lift the UC Davis women's lacrosse team in its battle with the No. 18-ranked team in the nation as host USC prevailed, 20-10, on Sunday afternoon at McAlister Field in Los Angeles.
The Aggies earned a split of their Southern California road trip with the defeat, falling to 4-2 overall on the year with their only two loss coming against top-20 competition. The Women of Troy evened their record at 2-2 with Sunday's win.
Larson's four points came on six shot attempts on the day, putting five on goal, while senior
Kate Graham and junior
Natalie Wilson each scored twice — the former finishing with a team-high seven shot attempts and four draw controls on the day
Seniors
Maddie Myers and
Kaley Stunz, along with junior
Kendall Seifert and sophomore
Alex Agnew, also added scores on the day. Defensively, senior
Ally Deremer scooped up three ground balls and finished with three draw controls, junior
Julie Byrne finished with a pair of caused turnovers, and senior goalkeeper
Taylor Mathieson finished with five saves.
Seifert and Graham scored back-to-back goals just four minutes in to erase an early 2-0 USC lead, but the Women of Troy answered with a 5-0 burst to take the lead for good before Agnew's strike stopped the bleeding. Myers and Larson added first-half goals as UC Davis was within striking distance at the break, trailing 11-5 at halftime.
Larson opened the second half with her second goal of the day just 1:40 into the period to get the Aggies to within five goals, but that would be as close as they would come the rest of the way. Three straight goals helped the Women of Troy inch away, but Graham and Stunz found the back of the net to claw a pair of goals back.
USC then scored five of the final seven goals to put the game out of reach, with Wilson accounting for a pair of Aggie scores with 11 minutes and 34 seconds remaining, respectively, to wrap up the day.
Larson's two goals and four points on Sunday give her 102 goals and 117 points for her career, placing her two scores shy of Megan O'Connor (2004-07) and 25 points back of
Amanda Outcalt (2017-20) for 10th place in those respective categories.
UC Davis remains on the road with a short trip to the Central Valley on Saturday (March 13) for a 2 p.m. opening draw at Fresno State. It will be the second meeting with the Bulldogs this year after the Aggies posted a 20-12 victory in the season opener back on Feb. 14 at UC Davis Health Stadium.
ABOUT UC DAVIS
Over 700 student-athletes across 25 intercollegiate athletics teams, following the addition of equestrian and women's beach volleyball in 2018, represent the fifth-ranked public school in the nation.
Centrally located between San Francisco, Lake Tahoe and the Napa Valley, UC Davis is known nationwide as a leader in Title IX gender equity and leadership, ranks annually in the top 10 in diversity and students' social mobility and offers an unrivaled student-athlete experience that features the ideal combination of elite academics, Division I athletics and personal growth.
UC Davis is uncommonly committed to preparing student-athletes for life after graduation with Aggie EVO — an innovative student-athlete outcomes program that helps young women and men develop passions, gain real-world experience, and enjoy a successful launch to full-time employment or graduate school. Through Aggie EVO, Intercollegiate Athletics provides unmatched resources and a vast network of working professionals to ensure post-graduation success for its student-athletes.
