University Southern California Trojans
USC Opens Pac-12 Play Against Washington State
September 21, 2011 | Women's Soccer
Sept. 21, 2011
THIS WEEK
The USC women's soccer team sets up for its first-ever Pac-12 match, settling in at home for a shot at kicking off 2011 conference play on a winning note. The Trojans (3-6-0) are looking to turn around a three-game skid and pick up their first home win of the year as they host Washington State (6-2-1) in a 1 p.m. match on Sunday (Sept. 25) at McAlister Field.
FOLLOW ALONG
Live stats will be available for Sunday's match. Click on the Gametracker link for each game on the USC soccer schedule page at usctrojans.com.
RANKINGS
USC opened the year ranked No. 25 in both the NSCAA and Soccer America preseason polls, but dropped out of the polls after opening losses. Washington State is receiving votes in this week's national polls.
SCOUTING WSU
The Cougars are 6-2-1 overall entering the Pac-12 opening weekend, coming off two overtime wins on the road last week, when USU beat both Gonzaga and Idaho 2-1 in OT. Eileen Maes leads WSU in scoring with four goals, and Micaela Castain has scored three so far. Goalkeeper Gurveen Clair has two shutouts and 27 saves for a Cougar defense that has allowed seven goals in nine games to date. Matt Potter is in his ninth season as head coach of the Cougars, who went 7-13-0 overall and was 2-7-0 in Pac-10 play last year. USC is 9-4-3 all-time against WSU after a 3-2 win over the Cougars last season at McAlister Field.
LAST WEEK
USC got stuck with another tight loss after another strong performance in nonconference action. The Women of Troy put together a tough effort against No. 23 host Portland on Sunday afternoon, but the Pilots managed early goals in each half on the way to a 2-1 loss for the Trojans. USC answered a 3rd minute Pilot goal with a strike from Ashley Freyer in the 16th, but Portland got the go-ahead in the 49th for the winner. That gave USC its third straight loss, solidifying a roller coaster nonconference start to 2011 for the Trojans, who lost three, won three and have lost three again on the way into this weekend's Pac-12 opener.
ROAD WARRIORS
While USC's home turf has been a difficult stage for the Trojans so far, the Women of Troy have grabbed some important wins on the road. In the first weekend of September, USC turned an early-season slump into a three-game winning streak after a victorious weekend run through out-of-state competition. In a big matchup at No. 17 Illinois, USC put together an offensive onslaught that rang up a 3-1 victory, with a 17th minute goal from Ashley Freyer leading into two second-half strikes by the Trojans. Haley Boysen scored on a Brittany Kerridge assist in the 57th minute, and Kerridge converted on a penalty kick in the 66th to put USC ahead 3-0 for some padding. A 74th minute score by the Illini put the game-winner as Boysen's blast, and USC had some momentum to carry them across the state lines. On Sunday, the Trojans fought out of a halftime hole to claim an overtime victory over host Purdue, thanks to an equalizer from Elizabeth Eddy and the game-winner from Courtney Garcia in OT. Goalie Shelby Church had another six-save outing for the Trojans, rounding out a strong weekend in goal for the USC sophomore. Both games were a part of the Illini/Boilermaker Cup, and four Women of Troy earned All-Tournament Team honors on the successful road trip: Brittany Kerridge, Shelby Church, Carly Butcher and Ashley Freyer. For her two-assist, one-goal effort on the weekend, Kerridge was named to the Soccer America Team of the Week and as one of CollegeSoccer360.com's Primetime Performers of the Week.
TROUBLE AT HOME
USC's four losses sustained at McAlister marks the most losses taken by the Trojans on that field in a season and most overall home losses since 1994. The Women of Troy look to turn the tables on that slump this weekend as they shift focus to familiar foes with the start of Pac-12 play at McAlister Field.
INJURY REPORT
USC has three players sidelined for the season with ACL injuries. Sophomore defender Mia Bruno suffered a tear during the spring; freshman defender Heather Davis was injured during high school; and redshirt sophomore Morgan Morrow recently sustained another season-ending injury .
LAST SEASON
USC went 13-6-3 overall last season after a third-place finish in the Pac-10 with a 5-3-1 mark. The Trojans reached the NCAA Tournament for the sixth straight season, beating Illinois 3-1 in the first round before falling 4-0 to eventual NCAA champion Notre Dame. Ashli Sandoval was USC's top scorer with six goals -- including three game-winners -- while Autumn Altamirano and Elizabeth Eddy each added five goals. Karter Haug was USC's assists leader with six assists, and Shelby Church was USC's goalkeeper of record in all games as she hauled in 82 saves with 25 goals against. Pac-10 honors went to seniors Haug and Megan Ohai on the Second Team and Alyssa Dávila with honorable mention along with Sandoval. Eddy was named to the Pac-10 All-Freshman Team.
ON THE CLIMB
In spite of interruptions from injuries, USC redshirt senior Ashli Sandoval has already locked in on the USC career leader boards. As she enters her final season with the Trojans, the 2007 NCAA Champion is following up her call-up to the Mexican National Team's summer training camp with one last push to the top of the lists at Troy. Sandoval has a hold with the No. 4 all-time mark in career assists (23), No. 8 in career game-winning goals (5), No. 10 in career points (51) and No. 10 in career goals (14). Sandoval was recently joined on the game-winning goal board by junior Courtney Garcia, who tallied her fifth game-winner in USC's overtime win at Purdue last weekend. Meanwhile, making a push to join Sandoval on the assists ladder is senior Brittany Kerridge, whose two assists over the weekend give her a career count of 10 to date.
BACK ON THE ATTACK
Five of USC's top seven scorers in 2010 were either freshmen or sophomores. That sure-footed unit returns for 2011, along with leading scorer Ashli Sandoval, who provided six goals in 2010 after being sidelined in 2009 with an ACL injury. As freshmen, Autumn Altamirano, Haley Boysen and Elizabeth Eddy accounted for a third of USC's goal-scoring in 2010. Now sophomores with some extra savvy, that trio combines forces with Sandoval, senior Ashley Freyer and juniors Courtney Garcia and Samantha Johnson as the Trojans bring back seven of their top eight scorers. Thirteen different Women of Troy got to the back of the net to tally 39 goals in 2010. Now, six games into 2011, three of those 2010 scorers are already on the board, as Boysen, Eddy, Freyer and Garcia have all scored to date, while Brittany Kerridge has blasted to the front of the pack with a career season even in the early goings, boasting three goals and four assists so far.
SOMETHING NEW
Three Trojan newcomers have already made their marks on the offensive end this season. Transfers Kristina Noriega and Erica Vangsness have each scored a goal apiece, and true freshman Jessica Musmanno has served up an assist for the Trojans. Noriega and Musmanno have both appeared in the starting lineup as well, with Noriega a full-time starter on the back line, and Musmanno holding two starts up front for the Trojans.
A DECADE IN
USC head coach Ali Khosroshahin just finished up his 10th season of collegiate head coaching. It's a milestone that he admits came faster than he expected, but there's no doubt that he has squeezed a lot of shining moments into his first decade. In his four seasons at the helm of the Women of Troy, he's continued his streak of NCAA appearances (2005 and 2006 at Cal State Fullerton; 2007-present at USC) and picked up a national championship along the way. Khosroshahin and the Trojans won the 2007 NCAA title in his first season at Troy, making USC the first and only Pac-12 school to ever win a women's soccer national championship. The 2007 National Coach of the Year, Khosroshahin totes a 61-20-10 (.725) overall record at USC and 137-60-16 (.681) career record into this final season of his first decade of collegiate coaching.
