University Southern California Trojans
USC
SMU
Women's Soccer Season Ends With OT Loss
November 14, 1999 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 14, 1999
LOS ANGELES - Sophomore Sarah Harvey's overtime goal in the 106th minute lifted the No. 19 SMU women's soccer team to a hard-fought 1-0 victory over No. 13 USC in an NCAA Tournament second-round match in the Coliseum on Sunday.
SMU improved to 17-5-1 overall and will play sixth-seeded Penn State next weekend. USC ended its season at 14-6.
After two scoreless 45-minute halves and one 15-minute overtime period without a goal, it didn't take long for the Lady Mustangs to earn the game-winner. Fifty-eight seconds into the second overtime, junior midfielder Ashley Potthoff crossed the ball into the middle from the left side. Junior midfielder Nicole Lamb knocked it down and passed quickly back to the left, in front of a charging Harvey, who took the ball and kicked it past USC goalkeeper Shaelyn Fernandes from about 15 yards out.
The match see-sawed back and forth, with neither team controlling play. Both sides came up with several good opportunities throughout the match, but strong defensive play and excellent work by the goalkeepers ? Fernandes of USC and Becca Lief of SMU (who each had seven saves) ? closed down the scoring chances.
Harvey scored her team-high 11th goal of the season. It was SMU's 13th shutout of 1999.
All three of USC's all-time NCAA Tournament matches have gone into overtime (USC is now 1-2 in the NCAAs). Also, it was only the third loss ever for USC at the Coliseum in 30 matches.
The Women of Troy were hurt by the absence of star junior midfielder Isabelle Harvey, the team's leading scorer, who missed the match after receiving a red card in the regular-season finale.
SMU (17-5-1) 0-0-0-1---1
USC (14-6) 0-0-0-0---0
Scoring: Sarah Harvey (Ashley Potthoff, Nicole Lamb), SMU, 105:58.
Shots: USC 15, SMU 16 Saves: Shaelyn Fernandes (USC) 7, Becca Lief (SMU) 7
Fouls: USC 15, SMU 6 Corners: USC 4, SMU 7 Offsides: USC 1, SMU 1 Att: 775
USC Head Coach Jim Millinder
"I thought it was a pretty even game, and at the end it all comes down to who finishes it off."
(re: absence of Harvey): "There's no doubt that she adds another dimension to the game, but we could have won it without her. SMU plays a 4-3-3 and even though we started the game with a 4-3-2 we had to make some adjustments. Without Harvey, we changed to match them and I believe it was effective."
(re: team stamina): "Both teams were very tired. You play that much and that hard and everyone gets tired. It became a game of who was going to be able to play better at the end."
(re: the season): "We had a great year ... we need to change some things, but the Trojans will be back. For one, we need to be better in the front third of the field. I also counted six outstanding chances in the game, but we have to be able to hit the frame."
USC Goalkeeper Shaelyn Fernandes
(re: game intensity): "Because it's the NCAAs the intensity of the game always steps up. We've played a lot of hard teams this year, but it always becomes so much more intense in tournament."
SMU Forward Sarah Harvey
(re: how the final play developed): "There was just a lot of jumbling ... everything happened so fast. I just got the perfect pass."
SMU Head Coach George Van Linder
(re: USC): "They were not a dirty physical team, they were just physical and played extremely hard. They're a very good, solid team -- quicker than any of the teams we've faced this season. We have not played against a team with a wing midfielder who's as fast as Clark."
(re: absence of Isabelle Harvey): "To say that they did not play as well without Isabelle would be unfair to the entire team. They played their hearts out today and deserve all the credit."
SMU Forward Nicole Lamb
(re: strategy against Kim Clark): "We just tried to double-team her at times and take her out of her game."
