Buffs Hit Road To Face No. 9 USC and San Diego State

BOULDER — After wrapping-up a very successful home regular season slate, Colorado (12-1) is ready to hit the road for three straight weekends, starting this Friday and Sunday, in Southern California.

The Buffs, who are ranked fifth in a pair of polls and are sixth in the other, will start things off with a top-10 showdown against No. 9 USC (11-3) at the L.A. Coliseum on Friday, April 14. Opening draw is scheduled for 6 p.m. MT/5 p.m. PT. Both teams are undefeated in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play with USC boosting a 5-0 record, while the Buffs have a 4-0 mark.

On Sunday, April 16, Colorado will face off against San Diego State (8-5, 2-3 MPSF). That contest is scheduled for a 1 p.m. MT/12 p.m. PT start.

HOW TO WATCH THE GAME AGAINST USC: Friday's game will be televised live on Pac-12 Mountain/Los Angeles. Live stats will be available at CUBuffs.com/lacrosse on the schedule page.

HOW TO WATCH THE GAME AGAINST SAN DIEGO STATE: A link to the live stream, as well as the link to the live stats, is available at CUBuffs.com/lacrosse on the schedule page.

ABOUT THE BUFFS: Colorado is 12-1 overall and owns a 4-0 record in Mountain Pacific Sports Federation play. CU started the season with a school record 11 straight wins before losing its first game of the season. The Buffs rebounded last week with their first-ever win against Stanford, a 13-8 decision, to finish the home regular season with a perfect 8-0 record. CU is currently ranked fifth in the Cascade/Inside Lacrosse and Nike/U.S. Lacrosse polls, and is sixth in the IWLCA Coaches poll.

Darby Kiernan leads CU with 51 points (35 goals and 16 assists). She leads the league and ranks sixth nationally in draw controls per game (6.85) and is fourth in the MPSF, 21st in the NCAA, in free-position goals per game (0.92). Katie Macleay is second on the team with 40 points (27 goals and 13 assists), while Johnna Fusco is third with 38 points (32 goals and six assists). Fusco is the MPSF leader in free-position goals per game (1.36), which is third in the NCAA. Fusco is also third in the MPSF in goals per game (2.91), while Kiernan is sixth with 2.69.

Defensively, Paige Soenksen is fifth in the NCAA with a 7.45 goals against average and is fourth with a .554 save percentage. She leads the MPSF in save percentage and is second in goals against average.

The Buffs have only allowed 93 goals this season and have scored 193. As a team, CU has 96 caused turnovers this season. Sarah Brown has tallied 20 to lead the team, while Molly Rovzar and Kelsie Garrison are second with nine.

Colorado leads the conference in three categories: draw controls per game (14.69), save percentage (.553) and win percentage (.923). The Buffs are second in points per game (20.85), scoring defense (7.15), scoring margin (7.69), scoring offense (14.85), shots per game (32.23) and turnovers per game (15.15). In the NCAA, CU is second in scoring defense, third in win percentage and fourth in scoring margin and saves percentage.

ABOUT THE TROJANS: USC enters the game with an 11-3 overall record. The Trojans are also 5-0 in MPSF play. USC has won 15 straight MPSF regular season games, dating back to 2015, and have won its last 22 home games. The two teams will square off against each other in the historic L.A. Coliseum where the Trojans sport a 3-2 record. USC is currently ranked ninth in the IWLCA Coaches and Inside Lacrosse Media polls.

The Trojans led the NCAA in scoring defense (6.57) and are second in scoring margin (8.79). The Trojans are out-scoring their opponents 215-92.

Individually, Michaela Michael leads the USC offense. She is fourth in the NCAA in goals per game (3.79), shot percentage (.646), is eighth in draw controls per game (6.64) and is 13th in points per game (4.79). She has 67 points this season, 53 goals and 14 assists. Cynthia Del Core is second on the team in points with 47 (26g, 21a) and Kerrigan Miller is third with 36 points (26g, 10a).

Defensively Gussie Johns leads the NCAA in goals against average (6.83) and is fourth in ground balls per game (4.07). Her saves percentage is .497, which is 13th in the nation. USC's defense has forced 154 turnovers this season. Miller leads the team with 21 and Lydia Sutton is second with 20.

THE SERIES: USC has a slight 2-1 lead in the all-time series against CU. The Buffs took the first meeting, a 12-11 OT win, in Boulder, but have lost the last two contests. Two of the games have been decided by one goal; the largest margin of victory has been three goals. USC won the second meeting 12-9 in L.A.

ABOUT THE AZTECS: San Diego State has an 8-5 record this season and is 2-3 in conference play. The Aztecs have lost their last two games, a 17-12 decision to Fresno State and a 15-3 loss to USC.

Kristen Hickey leads SDSU with 31 points this season, 25 goals and six assists. Alex Watson is second with 26 points (23g, 3a) and Kayla Deitz is third with 25 points (23g, 2a). Katrina Reeves has played in all 12 games for the Aztecs and has allowed 11.28 goals per game. She has a .469 saves percentage with 98 saves this season.

SDSU leads the conference in caused turnovers per game with 11.92, which is also seventh in the NCAA. Katrina Reeves and Ijeoma Ikpe each have 19 this season, while Kristen Hickey has 18. The Aztecs also lead the MPSF in ground balls per game with 20.92.

THE SERIES: Colorado leads the series 5-0. The two teams have met three times in the regular season and twice in the MPSF Tournament. The first two games in the series (in 2014) went to overtime, but the Buffs have dominated in the last two contests. On April 30, 2015, CU recorded a score of 15-6 in San Diego. Then on April 10, 2016, CU posted a 16-3 victory in Boulder.

UP NEXT: The Buffs stay on the road to finish the regular season. CU will take on St. Mary's on April 21 and will wrap-up the regular season on April 23 at California.

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Players Mentioned

Sarah Brown

Johnna Fusco

Kelsie Garrison

Darby Kiernan

Katie Macleay

Molly Rovzar

Paige Soenksen