Trojans Top Buffs In Pac-12 Title Game

Sunday, April 28

Eugene, OR

2:00 PM

Colorado

10-7

USC

16-3

Colorado

USC

Photo by: Eric Evans Photography

April 28, 2019 | Lacrosse

Box Score Stats (PDF)

By: Linda Sprouse, Associate SID

EUGENE, Ore. – The No. 22 University of Colorado lacrosse team fell to 17^th-ranked Southern California, 12-3, Sunday in the championship game of the Pac-12 Tournament at Pape Field.

"Credit to USC," head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. "I thought they played really well on both ends of the field. They came out and they were executing. They didn't make it easy on us. I thought defensively we made some stops and played really hard, and it wasn't enough for us. Offensively we struggled; we needed more people to step up and be aggressive. We needed to do a better job under pressure of being controlled. It wasn't our day."

CU is now 10-7 overall, while USC improved to 16-3. The Trojans earned the Pac-12's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament with the victory, while the Buffs will have to wait and see if they get an at-large bid. The NCAA Selection show is slated for Sunday, May 5, at 7 p.m. on ESPN.com.

WHAT HAPPENED: The Trojans were first on the board, scoring on a free-position attempt at 28:35. USC recorded another two goals to take a 3-0 lead with 21:48 left in the half.

Neither team would score for the next 10 minutes, although both had good chances, until USC tallied its fourth marker of the afternoon at 11:48. One minute later, the Trojans would increase their lead to five, forcing CU to use a timeout.

The Buffaloes were not able to get much going offensively as USC scored two more times before Miranda Stinson found the back of the net off a pass from Samantha Nemirov, with 00:36 left to play in the half.

The Trojans scored the first three goals in the second half before Chloe Willard earned CU's second goal of the game with 7:16 left to play, bringing the score to 10-2. Liz Phillips had the assist on the marker.

The Buffs would score one more time (Stinson at 3:50), but USC would add two more for the 12-3 win.

KEY STATISTICS: The Trojans won 11 of 17 draw controls and took 34 shots, compared to 20 for the Buffs. Ground balls were pretty even (USC 21, CU 19). The Buffs had eight free-position opportunities and were only able to convert on one, while the Trojans had four free-position goals on seven tries.

ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Miranda Stinson, Julia Lisella and Olivia Aschman were selected to the all-tournament team.

NOTABLE:

Samantha Nemirov extended her school record point scoring-streak to 37 games
USC's defense held the Buffs scoreless for the first 29:24 of the game, the longest CU has been held scoreless to open a game in program history
This was the third straight conference championship game for the Buffs

TEAM LEADERS:

Colorado

Points: 5

Goals: 3

Assists: 2

Draw Controls: 6

Ground Balls: 19

Saves: 9

Southern California

Points: 18

Goals: 12

Assists: 6

Draw Controls: 11

Ground Balls: 21

Saves: 11

QUOTEABLE:
Head Coach Ann Elliott Whidden
General Statement
Obviously disappointing to us. Credit to USC. I thought they played really well, on both ends of the field they came out and they were executing they didn't make it easy on us. I thought defensively we made some stops and played really hard, and it wasn't enough for us. Offensively we struggled, we needed more people to step up and be aggressive. We needed to do a better job under pressure of being controlled and looking for our third fourth opportunity, it wasn't our day.

Looking ahead postseason
The only guaranteed way we had was obviously to win this and get the automatic bid. Since we didn't do that, I think we have put together a strong resume. I think we have done a lot of things throughout the season and played a tough schedule. It's up to us to just wait now and see, see what other conferences do and what happens. That's a part we can't control but we will keep practicing and hope we get another chance to be together.

On the senior class
I think this class has really been tested this year in terms of ups and downs and we saw some ups and downs. I'm really proud of them, leadership-wise, growth wise, I'm really proud of their heart, their passion, dedication to this program and all that they have given. I wish it would have ended a little bit differently today, I wish we would have done more, I wish they could have done more on the field but I think at the same time I'm proud of everything they have done and hopefully this isn't the end for us and we are given another chance.