Sloppy ball control and unforced errors doomed No. 22 USC against No. 20 Stanford’s tenacious defense and quick-cutting offense at the Coliseum. Despite staying within striking distance until the third quarter, trailing 9-5, the Trojans ultimately fell 18-6.
“I think for us, we have to control what we can control,” USC head coach Lindsey Munday said. “We had a lot of unforced turnovers, so it’s really hard to win a game.”
Those turnovers – 19 in total – proved devastating. Passes sailed overhead, balls dribbled out of sticks in transition and Stanford capitalized at every turn.
One thing the Trojans couldn’t control was Stanford’s redshirt sophomore attacker Aliya Polisky, who sliced and diced her way to seven goals on the day to tie her career high for goals in one game. The 2024 Pac-12 Freshman of the Year wasted no time stamping her mark in the Coliseum, clocking a hat trick within the first nine minutes of play.
“She can shoot from anywhere, she’s really, really shifty, and she dodges really, really hard,” Munday said.
Polisky’s flurry of first-quarter scores prompted a goalie change, bringing sophomore goalie Annie Shields between the Cardinal and the net. Shields made several impressive off-hip saves, racking up 11 stops, but she could only muffle Stanford’s scoring machine. The Cardinal offensive attack scored in the final seconds of the first and second quarters.
The Trojans showed flashes of excellence and the makings of a potentially explosive offense. Redshirt senior attacker Isabelle Vitale showcased her playmaking instincts, dishing out two dimes – leaving her just 10 behind USC’s all-time record.
“Teammates getting open [makes] my job easy,” Vitale said. “Just hitting the open girl when I see her.”
After a long possession, the Trojans struck first in the second half as Vitale found senior attacker Maddie Dora diving through the defense, who snared the pass from behind, spun and rifled a shot into the top right corner at full speed, cutting the deficit to four.
Dora, who had USC’s only hat trick, breathed a much-needed aggression into the Trojan attack, drawing several fouls on the Cardinal defense.
“That’s what we were practicing all week, driving through the seams through their high-pressure defense to draw in a foul,” Dora said.
Her third goal brought her team to within four scores, but Stanford won the ensuing draw, zipped down the field and sunk one into the back of the net immediately after. This sequence bottled up the running theme: USC’s long, painful possessions often ended in turnovers, while Stanford scored quickly on the other end.
The team was only able to score once more after Vitale and Dora’s highlight connection early in the third quarter, as its offense stalled out in the second half, grinding unfruitful possessions to the end of the shot clock before turning the ball over.
Stanford took advantage of USC’s undisciplined checking by drawing twice as many free-position shots (eight) as USC (four) and winning 67% of draws in the second half, pouring in nine more goals.
“You have to be smarter than that!” Munday said to her player sitting in the penalty box in the third quarter. As turnovers and penalties mounted for the Trojans, Stanford punctuated the win by outscoring USC 5-0 in the fourth quarter.
After the game, Vitale emphasized the team’s mindset looking forward.
“We’re just going to flush this game because there’s nothing we can do about it,” Vitale said.
The Trojans will travel to Berkeley for their next matchup on February 14 against the California Golden Bears.
“At the end of the day, it’s game one of a long season,” Munday said. “We’re a really young team, and we want to be our best at the end of the year.”