There may be a new challenger in Colorado, but USC still reigns supreme in the MPSF. The Trojans made it official on Friday night, clinching the top seed in the MPSF tournament with a 15-12 win over Stanford.

Kylie Drexel scored five goals and added four assists, and Michaela Michael added five goals of her own, to lead the way for USC, which moves to 7-0 in conference play. 

Michael had four of the Trojans’ first five goals, helping them take an early 5-3 lead and hold a 7-5 advantage at halftime. It was a tight affair through the first 10 minutes of the second half, but USC began to pull away.

With a 9-8 lead, USC scored five consecutive goals from five different players to take hold of the game and seal the victory. Drexel had two goals in the second half to fuel the Trojans run late.

Kelly Myers had three goals for Stanford, which sits third in MPSF standings.

Colorado Cruises

Colorado scored 15 first-half goals en route to a 24-5 rout of St. Mary's to move to 6-1 in MPSF play. Darby Kiernan scored four goals — one of eight Buffaloes with multiple goals — to lead the way for her team.

The Buffaloes scored the game's first nine goals, helping them to a 15-2 halftime lead. Kiernan had all of her goals in the first half, making way for others to find the back of the cage in the second half.

Colorado outshot St. Mary's 42-14 and held the Gaels to 5-for-13 on clears.

James Madison Maintains CAA Dominance

Kristen Gaudian scored five times to lead No. 16 James Madison rout Drexel 19-7 and clinch the top seed in the CAA tournament. James Madison dropped 14 goals in the first half, including four from Gaudian.

Gaudian and Elena Romesburg had hat tricks in the first half to help the Dukes jump out to an early lead and push it to 14-5 at halftime. Drexel cut the deficit to eight goals coming out of the break, but couldn't get closer.

James Madison dominated offensively, outshooting Drexel 37-14 and winning 19 of 28 draw controls.

Towson Dodges Delaware

No. 18 Towson got three goals from Kaitlyn Montalbano to pick up a big CAA win over Delaware by a score of 8-5. The Tigers led by two goals at half and boosted the margin to 7-2 in the second half, making it hard for a Blue Hens comeback. 

Montalbano scored the game’s first two goals to help Towson take a 3-1 halftime lead. Towson outshot Delaware 11-4 and won four of five draw controls in the half.

The second half featured nine goals, and the Tigers held on despite a late Blue Hens rally. The Blue Hens outshot the Tigers 17-11 in the second half. Becky Gohsler had two goals to lead Delaware.