This article was originally posted on April 29, 2023.
The Arizona State Sun Devils (5-12) fell 11-6 to the No. 20 Southern California Trojans (14-3) on Friday afternoon. It was Senior Day in Tempe and although ASU was looking to end the regular season off on a high note, they were met by the best team in the Pac-12. USC played a very complete and consistent game, they stuck to their systems and showed why they sit atop the division.
A few players played their last game in a Sun Devils uniform including graduate attacker Kaylon Buckner, who holds the record for most games played in program history.
“I’m super blessed to be a part of this program,” Buckner said. “I’m always proud to wear the fork on my chest and I think that’s something I’ll carry for the rest of my life”
The Trojans started off this one strong. From the first draw, it looked like they were ready to go and it showed in the first quarter.
Less than a minute into the game, USC was presented with a free position. Sophomore attacker Isabelle Vitale capitalized on the first chance of the game, giving the Trojans the early lead.
ASU got into some foul trouble early on in the first, but luckily for them, USC was only able to convert on one out of the three free positions.
“Undisciplined play, whether it’s what the officials are calling or us not playing till the whistle we got to make sure we are turning that around and capitalizing on those moments rather than continuing to string those on together,” said ASU coach Taryn VanThof.
The Sun Devils had their chances, but they couldn’t land many shots on net. Lots of wide shots and turnovers in the offensive zone kept the Sun Devils off the scoreboard throughout the first quarter.
USC scored three more goals before the end of the first quarter, two of them coming from junior attacker Maggie Brown.
USC looked like the faster team. Their high-octane offensive system allowed them to be able to get the Sun Devils defense moving around and opening up.
The Trojans liked to have one player behind the net in the offensive zone, allowing that player to be able to quarterback the offense and wait till there was room to throw the ball right in front of the net for a quick shot. ASU had no answer for the way USC was executing offensively.
The one thing the Sun Devils had been great at all year long was draw controls and they continued to be spectacular in that department. An early second-quarter robbery from sophomore goalkeeper Katie Vahle allowed ASU to successfully clear the ball and head the other way to set up the attack.
Buckner collected her 32nd goal of the season to open the scoring for the Sun Devils.
A pretty play from junior attacker Mina Scott allowed ASU to keep possession of the ball in the offensive zone, resulting in another goal for the Sun Devils. Graduate attacker Greta Stahl found the back of the net to cut the Trojans’ lead to two.
The Sun Devils started getting through the Trojan defense that had been super tight.
“We started to make sure we were running through our sets for a full 60 and not just the first 10 and looking for the first opportunity,” VanThof said. “We really tried to capitalize on momentum and make sure we were moving that ball more than just once inside”
Just about a minute later, the Trojans marched back down and killed the Sun Devils’ momentum as Brown scored her hat-trick goal and restored the Trojans’ lead back to three.
The rest of the second quarter was a back-and-forth contest. Every time the Sun Devils would get within three and started to come back, USC answered back.
With 36.3 seconds left in the second quarter, Vahle received a yellow card. She was subbed out for junior goalkeeper Flynn Murphy until the end of the quarter and USC was given a free position with no goalie in the net. Senior attacker Ella Heaney capitalized on the free position giving the Trojans an 8-4 lead going into halftime.
Again, ASU scored to make it an 8-5 game to start the third quarter courtesy of Scott. But, three minutes later, the Trojans found a way to put another one past Vahle to keep the gap.
The Sun Devils figured out ways to score against the USC defense that was very aggressive at times, but they couldn’t seem to shut down that offensive setup from USC. All game long, the Trojans continued to utilize a player behind the net to drive their offense, and ultimately that was the reason the Trojans came out on top.
It was a hard-fought game for the Sun Devils. They played with heart continuing to try and keep the game close, but there is a reason the Trojans are where they are in the standings as well as the NCAA rankings.
Although it was a tough outing for ASU, it was clear they improved significantly since the last time they played USC earlier on in the season.
“A ton of growth from the last time we stepped up against USC and I’m proud of that growth in a lot of moments,” VanThof said.
The Pac-12 tournament is up next for this Sun Devils squad as they will head to Berkeley, California looking to take this tournament as a fresh start.
“The game of lacrosse is any given day, excited to get out doesn’t matter who we are up against. It’s a new season so a new team steps onto that field,” VanThof said.
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