No. 22 Trojan Lacrosse Holds Off No. 24 Hokies for 13-11 Win

Photo, recap courtesy of Southern California

Katie Chin

The Women of Troy got hat tricks from three players to win their third straight game

 LOS ANGELES – The No. 22-ranked USC lacrosse team (6-1) matched a season high with its third straight win on a 13-11 decision over No. 24-ranked Virginia Tech (4-4) at McAlister Field on Sunday, March 10.
  KEY PLAYERS

• Junior attacker Hope Anhut led all players with a career-high six points and secured her second-career USC hat trick with three goals to go with three assists.
• Sophomore attacker Sophia Donovan scored four goals to lead all players and finished with five points (1a). It was Donovan's third-career hat trick game and her second in back-to-back outings.
• Junior midfielder Kerrigan Miller was the Trojans' defensive stopper and tied a career high with six ground balls to go with a season-best five caused turnovers. Miller also scored a goal and secured three draw controls.
• Sophomore midfielder Kelsey Huff scored three goals and dished out one assist and recorded her ninth-career hat trick.
• Senior defender Jackie Gilbert locked in 10 draw controls and caused two turnovers to go with a ground ball.
• For Virginia Tech, Mary Claire Byrne, Paige Petty, Emma Crooks, and Taylor Caskey each scored two goals apiece. Petty had an assist and won three draws. Defensively, Elena Ricci had three caused turnovers and three ground balls with four draw controls to lead the Hokies.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• The teams went back and forth for five minutes before Virginia Tech opened with a goal on a free position shot by Petty. The Trojans scored three unanswered goals with two from Huff and one from Donovan to claim the lead, but the Hokies went on a 4-1 run to take the lead back at 5-4 with 12:38 to halftime.
• Following a timeout, the Trojans got a goal from Miller and followed it up with goals by Anhut and Donovan who scored off a feed from Anhut with eight seconds to the halftime break for a two-goal USC lead, 7-5.
• Donovan scored the first two goals of the second half to push the Trojans ahead by four, 9-5, but the Hokies went on another run and pulled within two at 10-8. From there, Kaeli Huff, Kelsey Huff, and Anhut each scored goals one minute apart to get the Trojans their biggest lead of the game, 13-8, with 7:21 to play.
• Virginia Tech scored the final three goals of the game despite USC's wins in the center circle, but the clock ran out on the Hokies as the Trojans held on for a 13-11 victory

UP NEXT

• The Women of Troy hit the road for two Pac-12 contests this week. First, USC takes on No. 23-ranked Colorado (3-3) in Boulder, Colo., on Friday, March 15, at 3 p.m. MT (2 p.m. PT). The Trojans then head to the Pacific Northwest to face Oregon (2-5) on Sunday, March 17, at 1 p.m. PT in Eugene, Ore

GAME NOTES

• USC improved to 2-0 all-time against Virginia Tech. It was the Trojans' 16th all-time win over a ranked opponent.
• At least two Women of Troy scored hat tricks in the same game for the fourth time this season.
• USC improved to 38-10 all-time at McAlister Field with a 42-12 record at home.

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 on Twitter @USCTrojansLax.