University Southern California Trojans
USC
Oregon*
USC Falls 3-1 To Oregon In Pac-10 Finale
November 05, 2006 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 5, 2006
EUGENE, ORE. - The No. 22-ranked USC women's soccer team was tripped up in its final Pac-10 game of the season, falling 3-1 to host Oregon on Sunday (Nov. 5) to finish in fifth place in the conference. The Women of Troy hold a 10-4-5 overall record as they await the NCAA Tournament selections to be announced on Monday (Nov. 6). The Trojans fell behind early but were able to tie it up with a score from Rosa Anna Tantillo before Ducks forward Nicole Garbin managed two scores to put USC in a 3-1 hold in the second half.
Oregon finishes second to Pac-10 champion UCLA with the victory over the Trojans, while Stanford finishes third. Four Pac-10 ties put the Trojans short on points, as USC finishes conference play with 13 points -- a point behind fourth-place Washington State (14). California is the Pac-10's sixth-place team with 12 points.
Once again, the final numbers weighed in the Trojans favor, but the goal count wound up tilted away from the Women of Troy thanks to a pair of one-on-one strikes from Oregon's Garbin. USC fought back from being out-shot in the first half by putting up 11 shots against the Ducks in the second half to finish with a 14-11 shot advantage, but none of those second-half shots made their way to the back of the net for the Trojans. USC also managed four corner kicks in the second half compared to Oregon's two first-half corners, and yet still the Trojans' offensive pressure came up short of the Ducks' attack.
Oregon struck early and put USC on its heels with a score in the eighth minute. An Oregon corner kick made its way into the box for a header by Rachel Grushkin that USC goalie Veronica Simonton made the save on, but the ball came loose and Allison Newton scored crosscage for a 1-0 Oregon lead. In the 36th minute, USC got its equalizer. A centering pass was controlled by Lauren Brown and sent to Rosa Anna Tantillo on the left side of the goal. Tantillo punched in her team-best fifth goal of the season to lock the Trojans in a 1-1 tie with the Ducks as halftime drew nearer, but Oregon would strike again before the close of the half. In a rare defensive miscue, Simonton played a pass back to defender Meagan Holmes, who had Garbin nearby. Garbin picked off the pass and squared off one-on-one with Simonton, slipping the ball into the open net to notch a 2-1 lead for Oregon in the 43rd minute.
USC turned things around in the second half and upped its pressure on the Oregon goal, generating 11 shots -- including several solid chances to tie it back up. Each attempt was frustratingly just off the mark, however. The harshest blow to the Trojan cause came in the 77th minute of play when Garbin got deep in USC territory. Janessa Currier had Garbin under wraps, but Currier and Garbin got tangled up and Currier went down. There was no call from the referee, leaving Garbin alone with the ball for another one-on-one chance against Simonton. She managed her second goal with a score to the near post that got Oregon ahead 3-1.
USC now awaits news of a potential postseason berth, which will be announced in the NCAA Selection Showat 12 p.m. on ESPNews. With a 10-4-5 overall record, USC boasts more overall wins than Pac-10 fourth-place finisher Washington State. And of the Trojans' four losses, only this latest 3-1 defeat was to an unranked team, although Oregon does boast a recent upset of No. 3-ranked Pac-10 champion UCLA.
Oregon 3, USC 1
USC 0 - 1 --- 1
ORE 1 - 2 --- 3
SCORING:
7:32 - ORE: Allison Newton (Rachel Grushkin)
35:04 - USC: Rosa Anna Tantillo (Lauren Brown)
42:02 - ORE: Nicole Garbin (unassisted)
76:31 - ORE: Garbin (Dani Oster)
SAVES: Veronica Simonton (USC) 2, Jessie Chatfield (ORE) 4.
SHOTS:
USC - 14
ORE - 11
CORNER KICKS:
USC - 4
ORE - 2
