A Stony Brook season with sky-high aspirations opened with a convincing 14-10 win over No. 5 USC on Saturday night in the Orange County Shootout in Costa Mesa, Calif.
If there were any doubts about how No. 2 Stony Brook (1-0) would balance its three 100-point scorers, you can put those to rest.
Courtney Murphy, who set a NCAA record with 100 goals in 2016 before missing most of last year with an injury, made a triumphant return to the field, finishing with eight points on four goals and four assists.
Kylie Ohlmiller, who set a NCAA record with 164 points in Murphy's absence in 2017, didn't put up big numbers, but was very central to the offense and had a goal and an assist.
Kylie's younger sister, Taryn, who had 101 points as a freshman last year, matched Murphy's eight points, also contributing four goals and four assists.
Stony Brook never trailed in the contest, but it was very competitive before turning late in the first half. USC star Kerrigan Miller, who had assists on USC's first two goals, picked up her second yellow card with 11:04 remaining in the half and was lost for the remainder of the game.
After Miller left, USC goalie Gussie Johns made a pair of saves and then had a terrific outlet pass to ignite a fast break that Hope Anhut converted for a Trojan goal to cut Stony Brook's lead to 5-4 with 8:49 left in the first half.
But from there, Stony Brook took control. Stony Brook scored four goals in the final eight minutes of the half, with Murphy scoring once and assisting on two of the other goals to take a 9-4 halftime lead.
Stony Brook stretched its lead to as many as seven goals in the second half and USC got no closer than the final margin of four goals. Anna Tesoriero made 10 saves to earn the win for the Seawolves.
Maeve McMahon, a graduate transfer from Harvard, led the USC (1-1) offense with three goals and two assists and Kelsey Huff also had a hat trick. Jackie Gilbert had 11 draw controls for USC to help the Trojans to a 17-8 advantage in that category and Gussie Johns made 12 saves.
Games of Note
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No. 11 North Carolina picked up its first win of the season, downing High Point 14-10 behind Marie McCool's three goals and 11 draw controls. Freshman Jamie Ortega added a hat trick for the Tar Heels and Ela Hazar had a goal and three assists.
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Freshman Charlotte North scored six goals as No. 20 Duke improved to 2-0 heading into Sunday's big game against Northwestern with an 18-8 win over Campbell. The Blue Devils led 14-2 at the half. Olivia Jenner had 12 draw controls to go along with a pair of goals.
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Brittany Read, the 2017 ACC Defender of the Year at Louisville before transferring to Oregon, made her debut as the Ducks goalie a memorable one. Read made 11 saves as Oregon downed UC-Davis 15-5. Converted defender Jill Zubillaga led the Ducks offense with four goals and an assist.
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Hannah Nielsen picked up her first win as Michigan's head coach as the Wolverines beat Butler 12-2. Adriana Pendino led Michigan with five goals and Alli Kothari made seven first half saves without giving up a goal.
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Less than a week after battling No. 7 Navy to a close 9-7 score in a defensive battle, Ohio State erupted for 20 goals in a 20-5 win over Detroit Mercy. Liza Hernandez led the Buckeyes with five goals.
Nike/US Lacrosse Top 20 Scoreboard
No. 2 Stony Brook 14, No. 5 USC 10
No. 11 North Carolina 14, High Point 10
No. 20 Duke 18, Campbell 8
Other Scores
Cincinnati 20, Gardner-Webb 9
Fresno State 15, Mercer 11
Marquette 19, Central Michigan 7
Michigan 12, Butler 2
Ohio State 20, Detroit Mercy 5
Oregon 15, UC-Davis 5
Winthrop 17, East Carolina 9