LOS ANGELES, Ca. The Villanova Wildcats (4-1) took on the USC Trojans (4-1) on the road at McAlister Field, succumbing to USC 15-4. This was the first loss of the season for the Wildcats as they were coming off of four straight wins. Despite the loss, Sydney Pappas scored her nineteenth goal of the season while Caroline Curnal and Kayla Gulmi led the team in points today with two a piece. Sophomore Cate Gallagher made her first start of her career, making four saves and picking up four ground balls. Senior Catherine Field scored her second goal of the season while freshman Maddie Luer led the team in caused turnovers with three. 

It took about five minutes to see a goal from either side despite it being a physical and speedy first quarter. The first goal came from USC's Maggie Brown who stood out offensively in today's match with six points coming from four goals and two assists. Halfway through the first quarter Maddie Dora put her name on the map with a goal assisted by Brown to bring the score to 2-0. Bringing the Wildcats some momentum, Pappas ripped a goal in the upper left corner making the score 2-1 and reminding people why she is an offensive force to be reckoned with. With eleven seconds left in the first half, Brown marched down the field and scored her second goal of the day.

The Trojans outscored the Wildcats in the second quarter 4-1 with Isabelle Vitale and Ella Heaney scoring two a piece for USC. Field put one on the scoreboard for the 'Cats making it 6-2, until Vitale scored with eight minutes remaining in the half. The score heading into the second half was 7-2 USC. 

The Wildcats started the second half off strong with help from Jessie Lee who scored a goal off of an assist from Maddie Luer. Even though this bridged the gap between the 'Cats and the Trojans, USC responded four minutes later with a goal from Claudia Shevitz. Three more goals came for the Trojans in the third quarter; two from Christina Gagnon and one from Maggie Brown. The score going into the final quarter was 11-3 in favor of USC. 

The fourth quarter saw USC goals from familiar faces such as Brown, Shevitz, and Vitale, but also got a glimpse of freshman Haley Newton when she scored the first of her career. Curnal scored with fifty seconds left on the clock but it was not enough to overpower the Trojans's defensive and offensive effort today. 

The Wildcats will be staying in California to play against San Diego State this Wednesday, March 8th, at 8:00 PM EST.