The Trojans came out of the gates strong against a deep-benched Oregon State University, racking up 6 goals in the first quarter.  After their offense stalled in the second quarter, the men in cardinal and gold found themselves plagued by penalties the rest of the game and unable to produce, despite multiple shot opportunities.

Leading the scoring was returning, starting midfielder  Matt Williams (Chapel Hill, NC / Durham Academy) with 3 goals.  Attackmen John Duddridge (Santa Ana, CA / Foothill)  and Jordan Levitz (Chicago, IL / Stevenson) both contributed 2 goals, while attackman Avery Brovick (San Diego, CA / Francis Parker) and middies Will Purvis (Coronado, CA / Coronado) and Kase Lawal (Houston, TX / Kinkaid) all put one in.

Starting goalie, Jeff Barton (Englewood, CO / Cherry Creek), played a solid game with 13 saves and 12 clears, but with 8 1/2 penalty minutes against the Trojans, they found themselves on defense too much which resulted in an OSU Beavers 12-10 win.

Due to field conditions at our backup site, Mira Costa High Schoool, the UNLV @ USC game for 2/7 has been canceled.

The venue for the UNLV @ USC game for 2/7/10 has changed to Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, CA.  The start time is now 11:30am.

Not since we found out the DVD release of Avatar would have an alien sex scene in it has there been so much excitement among the ’10 USC Men’s Lacrosse team.  The 2010 season begins this Sunday at home against UNLV and the Trojan laxers plan to start the season out with a bang.  Though our ’09 season didn’t produce the record we would’ve hoped for, the changes we made to our organization last year created a buzz that brought out a wave of talent for the ’10 season.

The Trojan Lax team is stronger at every position.  With more numbers than we’ve had in the past, competition for spots on the starting roster has caused every practice to become a proving ground for each player.  As a result, each player finds they are fueled by the same motivation that the team has as a whole: to prove ourselves every chance we get.

The ’09 season left a bad taste in our mouth, and after many trips to the bar we’ve realized there’s only one way to wash it out.  We plan to set the tone for our entire season this Sunday against UNLV.   In our minds, the spotlight is on us to see if the USC Men’s Lacrosse program can become a national contender.  Equipped with an improved coaching staff and more talent than ever, the 2010 Trojan Men’s Lacrosse team is ready to step up to the challenge.

I am happy to announce that you will now be able to hear about Trojan lacrosse directly from the players in a new section on the website called the Team Blog.  Starting off our blog posting is Sophomore Attackman Jordan Levitz.  In his first post, you can read about his take on the state of the team and the upcoming 2010 season.  Enjoy!

- Coach Aktary

The USC Men’s Lacrosse Team has released its 2010 schedule.  The Trojans will be making two major trips to face off against out of conference opponents this year.  During the first trip, the Cardinal and Gold will square off against PAC-10 rivals Washington State and Oregon State in the PAC-10 Tournament held in Seattle at Washington University.  The second major road trip for the Trojans will be to College Station, Texas, where they will face new competition in Baylor and Kansas, as well as Texas A&M, against whom the Trojans had an nail-biting game last year at Florida State’s Southern Shootout.  Naturally, USC will play a full conference schedule against some of the most highly-ranked teams in the nation like UC Santa Barbara, Loyola Marymount, and 2009 National Runner-Up, Chapman.  As is the tradition, regular season play will end with a game against UCLA, who will be playing on Trojan turf this year.  The full 2010 schedule can be found on the MCLA league website or on usclacrosse.com.

The Trojans are kicking off Fall Ball for the new school year tonight.  The team will be practicing with new Strength & Conditioning Coach and Nike SPARQ Trainer, Robert Steele tonight at 7pm on the track around Cromwell Field.  The public is welcome to watch from the stands as the team runs through their SPARQ fitness evaluation.

Fall Ball continues tomorrow as the team holds their intra-squad scrimmage on Cromwell field.  The team will meet at 9pm to stretch and will take the field promptly at 9:30pm.  Feel free to come down and cheer on your favorite player!

Fall practice schedule:

Tuesday, Wendesday: 7pm-9pm  Nike SPARQ Training & Stickwork

Thursday: 9pm-11pm Scrimmage

February 9, 2009 – The USC Trojans Men’s Lacrosse Team lost two games this weekend against #9 ranked UC Santa Barbara and #25 ranked Santa Clara University.

The Men of Troy were in Santa Barabara on Saturday for a cold, gray afternoon of lacrosse.  The always rowdy UCSB fans didn’t phase the Trojans as they came out of the gates strong and kept pace with UCSB, tying the score at 2 by end of the first quarter with solo goals by  sophomore midfielder Ricky Giancola and freshman attackman John Duddridge.  However, with the start of the second quarter, it became clear that USC was going to have trouble clearing the ball as UCSB turned up the heat on its ride.  Unable to get the ball to the offense, the Trojans only posted 1 goal in the second quarter: a rip from Duddridge, fed by sophomore attacker Jordan Levitz.  Meanwhile, UCSB took advantage of their extended possession time and drove up their score by 5, leaving the half-time score at 7-2.

The Trojans offense, who had lost Giancola shortly after his first goal due to an injury, had little opportunity left.  Spending too much time in the penalty box and too little time clearing, USC came up short in the second half, producing only 3 more goals: a solo by senior captain Corey Janoff, another solo by Levitz, and a quick shot by attackman Nima Majd off a feed from Levitz.  UCSB finished off the second half with 6 more goals, making the final score of this conference game 13-6.

Sunday brought USC’s second home game – a faceoff with former WCLL rival and now out of conference opponent, Santa Clara University.  The Trojans were not as fast out of the gate in this game, allowing Santa Clara to rack up 8 goals in the first quarter, to USC’s 2: a feed from Janoff to Levitz, and a connection from junior midfielder Kase Lawal to Duddridge.  Mistakes and penalties continued to plague the Trojans for the rest of the first half, and Santa Clara cranked up their lead to 13-3 by halftime.  The sole USC goal in the second quarter was a Levitz to Duddridge shot.

The second half showed an entirely different USC team.  Rejuvinated and refocused by some outstanding play by sophomore captain and goalie Alex Rice, the Trojans won the second half of play.  USC posted 6 more goals in the second half (Levitz solo, Levitz fed by Majd twice, sophomore attacker Peter Randaccio fed by Majd, Janoff solo, and Janoff fed by Levitz), and held Santa Clara to only 5.  Unfortunately, it was not enough to overcome the early lead Santa Clara had created and the final score ended up 18-9.

The Trojans will spend this week regrouping and preparing for their upcoming trip to the Pac-10 Shootout at Stanford University where they will face Stanford (on 2/14) and Cal (on 2/15).

Feb. 04, 2009 – The USC Trojans Men’s Lacrosse Team announces it’s captains for the 2009 season.  Corey Janoff, David Krumwiede, and Alex Rice will lead the team both on and off the field.

Senior and returning captain Corey Janoff (West Linn, OR/West Linn High School) is the Trojans’ face-off specialist and one of the teams strongest offensive weapons.  Corey was a high school First-Team All-State player and Oregon’s only Academic All-American.  Corey brought his leadership skills to USC and continues to be an inspiration to the team on and off the field.

Senior and returning captain David Krumwiede (Paradise Valley, AZ/Phoenix Country Day School) is the driving force behind what is sure to be a dominant defense this season.  David is a charismatic leader whose commanding presence is felt on the field at games and around the table at team meetings.

Sophomore Alex Rice (Hollywood, CA/Blair Academy)  is the newest and youngest of the three players receiving the honor of being named captain, but you wouldn’t know it by his demeanor.  Alex is a hard-working athlete who is returning to the team after a strong showing last year as a starting freshman goalie.

“This is going to be a challenging year for the team,” commented Head Coach David Aktary.  “We are undergoing a lot of changes in almost every aspect of the program and we are facing competition from some of the best teams in the league.  Fortunately, we have three bright, hard-working, and capable young men to help guide the team through this transition.  The leadership and dedication they have already demonstrated gives me confidence that we are on the right path with the right leadership.”

The USC Trojans were ranked #8 in the SLC in a preseason poll by MCLA The Lax Mag, and won their first game against Pepperdine, 17-2.  The Trojans look to build upon that win in their games against conference rival UCSB on Saturday, February 7 in Santa Barbara and at home against WCLL powerhouse Santa Clara on Sunday, February 8.

The men in Cardinal and Gold triumphed over the Pepperdine Waves today, 17 to 2.  Top goal contributors include transfer sophomore Jordan Levitz at attack with 5, fellow attackman and freshman John Duddridge with 3, and returning midfielders Ricky Giancola and Matt Williams, both scoring 2.  Putting on an all-star performance was captain and returning midfielder Corey Janoff with 4 goals and 14 won faceoffs.  Returning midfielder Case Lawal provided 1 goal and 1 assist while fellow returner Nima Majd assisted 2.

The dominant defense by starting long poles Hunter Meldman, David Krumwiede, and John Ludwig was supported by fellow close defenders Jordan Morse Reiff and freshman Chase Bakaly, holding the Waves to only 2 goals.  Supporting the defensive efforts were longstick midfielders Ryan Leaverton and Jamie Kline.

Goaltenders Addison Martinez, Alex Rice, and Jeff Barton took turns in the crease stopping nearly all the shots the Waves got off and starting clears that led to multiple fast break opportunities for the Trojans.