As the final buzzer rang across Peter Barton Stadium in the Rocky Mountains of Denver, the women wearing cardinal and black uniforms knew their season was over. But despite losing a 10-7 battle with the Denver Pioneers, USC won the 2023 season. The team finished with a 16-4 overall record and a Pac-12 Tournament Title.
Now, USC lacrosse looks to defend its conference title one last time before moving to the Big Ten for the 2025 season. The Trojans are projected to finish atop the Pac-12 again, according to the preseason coaches poll.
“We were excited about how we finished last year, but we want more,” head coach Lindsey Munday said. “This group has been really intentional about that, and we’ve recognized our strengths from last year and also recognized what we need to do to continue to get better.”
USC will bring back several players from the 2023 campaign. Notably, graduate attacker Ella Heaney will return for one more year after completing her undergraduate studies in 2023. She started in all 20 of the Trojans’ games last season and finished with 59 points, the second-highest on the team last season.
“My team and the coaches made it an easy decision to come back,” Heaney said. “I’m striving towards another year of awesomeness.”
Including Heaney, the Trojans will retain their top seven scorers from last season.
“We’re hitting our peak at the right time,” senior midfielder Claudia Shevitz said. “We’ll be able to maintain our top form when it’s necessary.”
However, the Trojans will be without defenders Emma Wightman and Olivia Dooley, both of whom graduated. Wightman was an Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association All-American last season, while Dooley forced a team-leading 44 turnovers. The vacancies will require other players, such as junior defender Alexis Niblock and graduate defender Danielle Carson, to play bigger roles.
“New people are ready to step up, and we’re really excited for those players to get their opportunities,” Munday said.
In the cage, senior goalie Kait Devir will return to document the team’s season after posting a .453 save percentage with 116 saves last year. Devir contributed to the Trojans having the fifth-best scoring defense in the nation last season while vlogging the team’s travels on YouTube.
The Trojans will kick off their season against the Army Black Knights on February 9. When USC plays its home opener on February 17, the team won’t play at McAlister Field, the place that the Trojans have called home for the past 11 years.
The new Rawlison Stadium will replace McAlister Field starting in 2025. So with the site under renovation for this season, USC will call two separate locations home: Dignity Health Sports Park and L.A. Memorial Coliseum.
Dignity Health Sports Park, home to the MLS’s Los Angeles Galaxy and CSU Dominguez Hills, is located almost 13 miles away from McAlister in Carson, California. The Trojans will play five games at Dignity Health this season from mid-February to the end of March.
“We have to adapt a little bit, but we’re excited,” Munday said. “We’re ready to play anywhere.”
USC will begin conference play on March 16 against UC Davis, one of two new teams in the Pac-12. San Diego State is the other, whom the Trojans will play on April 27. Both the Aggies and the Aztecs joined the conference this year as part of an agreement signed in 2022 before the Pac-12 dissolved due to a mass exodus of its teams, USC included.
USC’s final two home games (including Senior Day) and the Pac-12 Tournament will take place in the Coliseum, where the program played its first-ever game in 2013.
“Being in the Coliseum for two really important regular season games and the tournament is really special,” Shevitz said. “There’s a great legacy in the Coliseum, so we’re super pumped.”
The Trojans kick off their season at 2 p.m. in West Point, New York.