US Lacrosse Magazine released the Nike/US Lacrosse Division I Women’s Preseason Top 20 on Dec. 17. Team-by-team previews will be unveiled on uslaxmagazine.com through the end of the month and will also appear as part of the magazine’s NCAA preview edition in February.

Don’t get the mag? Join US Lacrosse today to start your subscription.

No. 10 USC

2019 Record: 16-4 (9-1, Pac-12)
Coach: Lindsey Munday (8th year)
Assistants: Deemer Class, Katie Hertsch, Mike Gvozden

All-Time Record: 95-42
NCAA Appearances: 4
Final Fours: 0
Championships: 0

2020 Schedule

Save the Date
Feb. 21

An early-season showdown against Boston College that will be telling. Sure, the Eagles look much different, but Charlotte North still makes them a top-notch contender. There are legit expectations with USC this spring, and how the Trojans fare against Boston College — albeit in just the third game of the season — could be an indicator of their strength.

K Train: USC Full Steam Ahead with Kerrigan, Kelsey and Kaeli 

The USC women’s lacrosse team will always have its much-praised defense to fall back on, but now the Women of Troy are getting a bit defensive about their offense.

Ranked sixth in the nation in scoring defense last spring, USC rode its stingy unit to a 16-4 season as the offense ranked 32nd overall. But now that coach Lindsey Munday returns 241 of the 272 goals her team scored, she’s thinking the offense could take that next step.

Not to mention that assistant coaches Deemer Class and Katie Hertsch are now in their second years with the team, creating a comfort level when it comes to strategy and tactics.

“We’ve been a defensive-minded team,” Munday said, “but hopefully in the midfield and offense is where people will notice us this year.”

Munday has a bevy of offensive options at her disposal. Tops among them are Kelsey Huff and Izzy McMahon, a tandem who combined for 78 goals last season. Munday said McMahon, a known gym rat, put even more emphasis on strength and conditioning during the offseason.

Defense certainly fuels the offense, and with Kerrigan Miller vacuuming ground balls in the midfield, the Women of Troy’s transition game should be top-notch. She’s coming off a balanced season in which her scoring fell from 36 goals to 22 goals, but she set career highs in ground balls (56), caused turnovers (41) and draw controls (52).

Miller likely will be in the Tewaaraton Award discussion — at the very least as a nominee — during a senior season in which she’s expected to be an on-field leader. Overall, she contributes to a unit that could be considered the team’s greatest strength.

“Our midfield has been strong with Kerrigan, Kelsey and Kaeli [Huff],” Munday said. “The midfield has been pretty strong for us, both on the defensive end and then on the offensive side. Being offensive threats that we really rely on.”

A sizable senior class has Munday reminiscing about 2016 and her first group of seniors. She said these seniors are quick to include the freshmen and treat everyone on the team equally, part of what Munday thinks could foster sustained growth.

“This is probably the closest team that we’ve had in the past three years, at least,” she said. “It kind of reminds me of the 2016 seniors that we had. They have really high hopes and high goals.”

With high hopes and high goals comes high expectations, but the Women of Troy aren’t ones to shy away.

“West Coast lacrosse is here and can compete against the best teams on the East Coast, and hopefully USC and other Pac-12 teams will show that as well,” Munday said.

Projected Starters

D – Morgan Kuligowski – Sr. – 13 GB, 10 CT
D – Natalie Byrne – Sr. – 21 GB, 18 CT
D – Lizzy Wagner – Jr. – 30 GB, 10 CT 
M – Kerrigan Miller – Sr. – 56 GB, 52 DC
M – Kaeli Huff – Sr. – 24 G, 18 GB
M – Kelsey Huff – Jr. – 43 G, 26 CT
M – Katie Ramsay – So. – 20 G, 13 CT
A – Emily Concialdi – Gr. – 30 G, 16 A
A – Hope Anhut – Sr. – 29 G, 17 A
A – Izzy McMahon – Sr. – 35 G, 27 GB
A – Sophia Donovan – Jr. – 30 G, 50.0 SH%
GK – Riley Hertford – Jr. – 151 SV, 49.8 SV%

Tewaaraton Watch
Kerrigan Miller, M, Sr.

A dynamo in every area of the field, Miller has served as the Trojans’ glue since her rookie season. Last season, she led the team in caused turnovers (41) and placed second in ground balls (56) and draw controls (52). Offensively, she can capitalize when given the opportunity.

X Factor
Riley Hertford, GK, Jr.

As a first-time starter last spring, Hertford anchored a stingy defense by allowing only 8.26 goals per game. She notched double-digit saves four times, including a season-high 17 in a 10-9 win over Stanford. With another season like that, Hertford could again lead the Trojans to a Pac-12 title — and maybe more.

National Rankings

241

Having lost just 11.4 percent of the team’s scoring from last season, USC returns players who accounted for 241 of the team’s 272 goals. Most notably, Kelsey Huff (43 goals), Izzy McMahon (35), Sophia Donovan (30) and Hope Anhut (29). The loaded roster shouldn’t have a problem scoring with so many returning talents who already have experience feeding off each other.

Enemy Lines

“They’ll be strong again. They have a lot back and Lindsey always does a good job.”