EUGENE, Ore. — USC has been a force to reckon with in Pac-12 lacrosse in 2019.

In Sunday’s Pac-12 tournament championship game, the Trojans dominated from start to finish. With quick and efficient ball movement and lockdown defense, No. 1 seed USC played a near perfect game to claim the second ever Pac-12 tournament title in a 12-3 win over No. 2 seed Colorado, giving the Trojans the regular season and tournament crowns.

“The regular season was great but we really wanted them focused on this and making sure that we have a chance to play again,” USC head coach Lindsey Munday said. “This time in the season, it’s earning your right to play with the group that you have. This is a different team this weekend than we’ve been all year and I’m really proud of them.”

The Trojans got rolling immediately with an electric first half jumping out to a 7-0 lead, starting with a free position goal by the tournament MVP, junior Kerrigan Miller.

“Most valuable player could have gone to anyone on my team right now,” Miller said. “I think we played a full 60 and everyone contributed. I was definitely shocked it was awarded to me.”

Sophomore midfielder Kelsey Huff found pockets of space in front of Colorado’s crease, where she fired off three goals in six shots before the break for a hat trick performance and the most goals by any individual in the game.

“I think it was just working together with my teammates to find the open spots,” Huff said. “I just happened to be in the middle and get the shot off.”

Both teams waltzed into the championship game after impressive semifinal performances, with USC walking over Cal 16-5.

The Buffaloes were outmatched on Sunday, with USC stifling a Miranda Stinson-led Colorado attack. USC stopped Stinson’s speed in the attacking zone each time Colorado carried the ball forward in transition.

“They’re strong one on one so it was hard for us to find space and opportunities,” Colorado head coach Ann Elliott Whidden said. “They put a lot of pressure on us and we didn’t do a good job of handling that pressure and making good decisions.”

While Colorado scored two late second half goals, the damage was already done by the Trojans.  

Colorado went 1-for-8 on free positions, while USC went 4-for-7 as the Trojans also controlled the draw 11-6. Colorado, last year’s regular season champions, split the regular season series with USC, beating the Trojans 9-8 in Los Angeles but falling 11-5 in Boulder, with the draw being the key element in those games.

Following disappointment last year in the Pac-12 tournament when the Trojans were bounced in the semifinal by Stanford, USC had a chip on its shoulder when it came to Eugene this year.

“It totally drove us to come out here and put out our best product,” Miller said. “No one wants to feel how we did last year and not making the [NCAA] tournament. Coming out here this year we had something to prove.”

USC’s defense contained the Buffaloes for much of the game. In the first half, Stinson, the conference’s leading scorer who scored four times in her team’s 16-9 semifinal win over defending conference champions Stanford, had four attempts from free positions but was denied every time. With 36 seconds left in the half, the senior spoiled the USC shutout with a shot from the right side to finally beat Riley Hertford.

“They just had each other’s backs, they were moving fast, they were playing really disciplined,” Munday said. “If we could put MVP for the whole defensive unit we would have done that because they played really, really well today against a really talented team.”

Hertford was impressive in the championship, as she has been all season long for the Trojans. The league-leader in goals-against average, save percentage and ground balls per game, made 11 saves for a .786 save percentage.

In the opposite cage, Julia Lisella was battered by the USC onslaught but still managed nine saves. Heading into the tournament, Lisella had the fewest goals allowed in the conference.

After missing out on last year’s NCAA tournament, the No. 17 Trojans, now 16-3 on the year, should make this year’s tournament, which featured Stanford and Colorado last year. For No. 20 Stanford and No. 22 Colorado, time will tell if they are to earn at large bids for the national tournament, but for USC, focus has already shifted.

“When this team plays together and buys in, we’re really hard to stop,” Munday said. “Focus on us, continue to get better, and continue to believe and trust each other and trust the process.”