Michigan
1-1
USC
2-0
Michigan Falls in Tough Contest at No. 16 USC
2/15/2020 5:59:00 PM | Women's Lacrosse
» Michigan took its first loss of the season, 10-8, at No. 16 USC.
» Maggie Kane recorded a hat trick and one assist.
» Nadine Stewart scored two goals.
» Michigan won 11 draw controls.
» The Wolverines will play their home opener Friday (Feb. 21) against Louisville at 3 p.m.
Site: Los Angeles, Calif. (McAlister Field)
Score: #16 USC 10, #9 Michigan 8
Records: U-M (1-1), USC (2-0)
Next U-M Event: Friday, Feb. 21 -- vs. Louisville (U-M Lacrosse Stadium), 3 p.m.
LOS ANGELES, Calif. -- In a back-and-forth contest between two top-25 teams, the No. 9-ranked University of Michigan women's lacrosse team fell, 10-8, to No. 16 USC in the closing minutes Saturday afternoon (Feb. 15) at McAlister Field.
Junior Maggie Kane led the Wolverines with four points, scoring three goals and adding an assist, while Caitlin Muir had three assists and a goal and Nadine Stewart scored twice.
U-M controlled the draw, winning 11 of 20, including taking the first three of the game. Kane and senior Molly Garrett won five draws apiece, marking back-to-back games in which Kane has won five draws or more.
Defensively, Kane and Muir each had two caused turnovers and Sydney Whitaker had three ground balls for U-M, while Arielle Weissman posted her second straight game with eight saves.
Kane pushed Michigan to an early 2-0 lead, scoring a pair of goals in under three minutes. The Trojans responded with two of their own before Muir fed Stewart to give the Wolverines the lead for the second time in the contest at 3-2.
Lilly Grass made a clutch move on the left side of the net and buried the ball into the lower-right corner to give U-M a 4-2 lead with 19:48 remaining in the opening frame.
USC stormed back to score two of its own over the final 15 minutes of the first half, and the teams were tied at 4 heading into the locker room at halftime. Michigan won six draw controls, while Weissman made five saves in the first 30 minutes.
The Wolverines used back-to-back goals to start the second half to take a 6-4 lead -- their third of the game -- but once again USC came back to tie the game with just under seven minutes to play.
The Trojans scored less than a minute later and took an 8-7 lead before Michigan called timeout with just over three minutes remaining. Coming out of the timeout, Kane dipped into the middle of the fan and fired a shot over the right shoulder of the goalie to knot the game at 8 late in the second half.
USC responded off the draw, scoring what would be the game-winner with 2:40 remaining and added an open-net goal with less than a minute left for security. With one final possession, the Wolverines could not find the back of the net.
Michigan will open its 2020 home campaign Friday (Feb. 21) when it welcomes Louisville for a 3 p.m. contest at U-M Lacrosse Stadium. The game will be streamed live on BTN Plus.
