University Southern California Trojans
USC Sets Off For Sixth Straight NCAA Appearance
November 08, 2010 | Women's Soccer
Nov. 8, 2010
2010 NCAA Bracket in PDF Format
The USC women's soccer team is all set to be shipped off to South Bend, Ind., for the Trojans' sixth consecutive appearance in the NCAA Tournament. The Women of Troy have earned an at-large berth in this year's postseason action after a third-place finish in the Pac-10 and holding a 12-5-3 overall record. USC will open up with a first-round clash against Illinois (13-4-1) at 5 p.m. ET on Friday (Nov. 12) for a shot at the second round against either No. 4 seeded host Notre Dame (15-2-2) or New Mexico (12-2-5) on Sunday (Nov. 14) at 1 p.m. ET.
USC, who became the first-ever Pac-10 team to win an NCAA Championship with the Trojans' winning run to the 2007 national championship, is one of seven Pac-10 teams in the NCAA Tournament this year. This will be USC's 12th all-time appearance in the NCAA Tournament, and follows last year's first-round appearance in which the Trojans were edged out in penalty kicks by Oklahoma State. Overall, USC is 12-10-1 all-time in NCAA action.
Friday's first-round showdown with Illinois will mark the first-ever meeting between the Trojans and the Fighting Illini. USC's soccer history with Notre Dame and New Mexico also is slim, with the Trojans facing the Fighting Irish once in 2006 (Notre Dame won 2-0 in South Bend) and facing the Lobos once in 1993 (New Mexico won 2-1 at Cal Tech).
This year, USC has come up against 11 of the teams now bound for the postseason, holding a 5-5-2 against that group. During the 2010 regular season, USC beat UCLA, Auburn, Oklahoma, Washington and California, tied with UNC Greensboro and Texas, and lost to Stanford, Arizona State, Oregon State once each and twice to San Diego.
