Thursday, October 5
Tucson, AZ
7:00 PM
USC
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Arizona
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Photo by: John McGillen
No. 6 Trojans Ready for Clashes at the Arizona Schools
October 04, 2017 | Women's Soccer, Features
The Trojans first face off against the Wildcats at 7 p.m. PT on Thursday.
THIS WEEK
The No. 6 Trojans head out on the road this week, visit Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 5 and then follow up with a game at Arizona State on Sunday, Oct., 8. The game on Thursday at Arizona will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks, while Sunday's game will be live streamed.
SCOUTING ARIZONA- The Trojans are 17-4-2 all-time against the Wildcats. Last season at McAlister Field the Trojans defeated the Wildcats 4-0. When playing in Tucson, the Trojans are 8-2-2 all-time, with the last time the two faced off in the desert in 2014, when the Trojans defeated the Wildcats 3-0. Â
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE- The Trojans are 14-7 all-time against the Sun Devils. Last season in Tempe the Trojans won 2-0. In games at ASU, the Trojans are 6-5.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK - The Trojans outshot their opponents 38-11 on the weekend, getting two wins over the Oregon schools. Thursday's match vs. Oregon State was the team's most complete of the year, with the highest goal output of the season (four), and the team's fourth shutout of the year where they did not allow the Beavers a corner kick opportunity. Leah Pruitt led the way with two goals in the victory, while Savannah DeMelo tallied three assists, tying a USC single-game record for assists by one player in a match. Then against Oregon, the Trojans completed their 4th comeback victory over the year, scoring in the 82nd and 84th minutes to defeat the Ducks 2-1. Freshman Tara McKeown delivered the game-winning goal, her third of the year, but not before Nicole Molen tallied her second goal of the weekend, a header equalizer in the 82nd minute.
HOT START - The Trojans are 8-1-1 to start the season, the best start since a 12-1-1 start in 2008.
RANKINGS - The Trojans are ranked sixth this week in the United Coaches Poll and seventh in the D1Baseball poll. The Trojans, who started the season ranked fourth, are working their way back to the top. They have been ranked all season and have been ranked for 20 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 16 of 2016.
IN THE PAC-12 STATS- The Trojans rank second in the Pac-12 in total shots with 195 over 10 games. The team ransk third with 2.00 goals per game (20 goals in 10 games). Individually, Alex Anthony ranks 10th with 30 total shots and fourth with 3.75 shots per game. Freshman Savannah DeMelo ranks 10th with 1.2 points per game. In Pac-12 play only (through three games), the Trojans are second in shots (58), are third in goals (six) and third in points (20). The Trojans are tied for first with just one goal allowed in three games. In Pac-12 play, Savannah DeMelo and Erika Okuma are tied for the team high with three assists.
NCAA RANKINGS- The Trojans rank fourth in the nation in shots per game, with 19.5 per game. The team ranks 24th with 2.1 assists per game and is 12th with a win-loss percentage of 0.85. Tara McKeown ranks 29th with three game-winning goals on the year. The Trojans' RPI is currently sitting at 56.
PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK- Junior defender Erika Okuma was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year after tallying three assists in two victories last week, including assisting on both of the Trojan goals in the last four minutes of play on Sunday in a comeback 2-1 victory over Oregon. She also helped the Trojans to their fourth shutout of the season on Thursday vs. Oregon State and shut down the Oregon offense after an early goal, keeping the game within striking distance for the last-minute comeback.
COMEBACK KIDS- The Trojans are 4-1 in come-from-behind games this year, including two comeback wins with multiple goals in the last five minutes, at LMU and against Oregon.
FRESHMAN PHENOM - Redshirt freshman Savannah DeMelo, who redshirted last fall after playing with the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team in the World Cup, has tallied four goals on the season already. Those four goals scored by a freshman are the most since Elizabeth Eddy tallied five in 2010. The freshman USC record is nine goals, set by Amy Rodriguez in 2005. DeMelo tallied three assists in USC's 4-0 victory over Oregon State, tying USC's single-game mark for assists by one player in a match. Her three assist game is also tops in the conference this year. Â
TOP DRAWER TEAM OF THE WEEK - Senior defender/midfielder Nicole Molen was named to the Top Drawer Team of the Week after playing two outstanding road matches, including tallying an assist on Leah Pruitt's game-tying goal at LMU.
TOP DRAWER TOP 100 - Junior defender Ally Prisock was named the 25th best collegiate player by TopDrawer Soccer.
PRESEASON BEST XIÂ - Junior defender Ally Prisock was named to the TopDrawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Third Team, while freshman midfielder Savannah DeMelo was named to the TopDrawer Soccer Preseason Freshmen Best XI.
WATCH LIST SEASONÂ - Junior defender Ally Prisock, a lockdown defender on last season's team that boasted the lowest goals against average in the conference, and tallied new program highs in total shutouts (12) and shutouts in a row (7), was named to the watch list for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy Award. Last season senior midfielder Morgan Andrews became the first Trojan in program history to be named a finalist for the award.
NEVADA STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - The Trojans post two Gatorade Nevada State Players of the Year in 2016-17, with freshman Arlie Jones joining the ranks with senior Sydney Sladek earning the honor in 2013-14Â Jones tallied 32 goals and 13 assists this past season to earn the honor, leading Bishop Gorman High School to a 21-3-1 record and the Class 4A Sunset Region Tournament semifinals. She was recently named a high school All-American by the NSCAA and participated in the High School All-American Game. Sladek, who earned the honor in 2013, holds the Nevada single season scoring record with 78 goals, the Nevada career goals record with 207, the Nevada single game scoring record with 10 goals in one match.
NATIONAL TEAM EXPERIENCE - Many of the Trojans boast national team experience, but the depth and experience representing their country runs deep for Trojan freshman. Savannah DeMelo would have been a Trojan freshman in 2016, but redshirted due to competing for the U.S. in the U-20 Women's World Cup in November. Most recently DeMelo joined fellow freshmen Tara McKeon and Arlie Jones in the U-20 training camp in Europe in July. Prior to that DeMelo participated in training camp with the U-19 team this past June in the Czech Republic. Junior Ally Prisock saw action with the U-19 and U-20 squads last year as well. Ashleigh Plumptre, a native of England, has also suited up for her home country in the youth team circuit over the last few months.
THIS YEAR'S MIX - The Trojans return five regular starters from last season's national championship squad, including six who started in the national championship game vs. West Virginia (Bingham, McMorrow, Prisock, Anthony, Rooney, Molen). In addition, three other imapct players in Leah Pruitt, Sydney Sladek and Sydney Johnson return all as upper classmen with a lot of experience over their career. Sophomore midfielder Jalen Woodward is expected to see more action this season and be a mainstay as a holding midfielder for the Trojans. The team does need to replace a lot, however, including Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year Sammy Jo Prudhomme, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Mandy Freeman, and all Pac-12 selections Morgan Andrews, Savannah Levin and Kayla Mills. The only Trojan who was named to the College Cup All-Tournament team returning in 2017 is junior forward Leah Pruitt.
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THE DEFENSE - Defensively the team loses anchor Mandy Freeman, but returns Prisock and Julia Bingham, who was a part of the back line in 2016 that set a team-record 12 shutouts, including seven in a row. The Trojans are also excited about the return of Dominique Randle from a knee injury, as she is a voice with experience to help out the line. In addition to those two, the Trojans boast sophomore Ashleigh Plumptre and newcomers Jessica Haidet and Tara McKeown, providing depth at the position.
THE MIDFIELD- The Trojans return the most in the midfield from the national championship squad, led by seniors Nicole Molen, Sydney Sladek, Amanda Rooney and sophomore Jalen Woodward. The Trojans also add some exciting pieces in Savannah DeMelo, who was away in 2016 playing in the U-20 World Cup with the U.S. National Team and freshman Arlie Jones, who is a versatile and technical player who can also play up top.
THE FORWARDS- The Trojans lost 55 percent (22-of-49) their goals scored last year to graduation (Katie Johnson 10, Morgan Andrews 10, Savannah Levin, 2). However, the Trojans return bonafide scorers in Alex Anthony (tied for the team lead in 2016 with 10 goals, sixth-best goal scoring output in one season at USC) and Leah Pruitt with four. Pruitt also led the team in 2016 with eight assists. They also return dangerous goal scorer Sydney Johnson. Â
HONORS IN 2016 - The Trojans boasted eight All-Pac-12 honorees last season, the most in program history. Returning in 2017 is second-team honoree Alex Anthony, while defender Julia Bingham was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Anthony also earned NSCAA All-Pacific Region honors. Â
WINS IN 2016 - The Trojans' 19 wins in 2016 (19-4-2) season were the second-most in program history, with the most coming during the 2007 national championship season when they went 20-3-2. That year the Trojans also finished second in the Pac-12 and were a two seed in the NCAA Tournament.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE - The 2016 Trojan defense was the stingiest in the Pac-12 in 2016, allowing just nine goals over 19 games in the regular season. The team tallied a program-high 12 shutouts in the regular season (16 total), including seven-straight to set a new program record.
NWSL DRAFT - Five Trojans were taken in the 2017 NWSL College Draft, the most from any one program on the year. Midfielder Morgan Andrews, a New England native, headed hometown team, the Boston Breakers as the third overall pick and the highest a Trojan has ever been taken in the draft. The Trojans went back-to-back as defender Kayla Mills was the fourth overall pick to Sky Blue FC, while teammate Mandy Freeman rounded out the top 10, also drafted to Sky Blue FC. The three first round selections were the most of any program. Forward Katie Johnson was taken in the second round, 16th overall to the Seattle Reign, while goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhomme was taken in the fourth round, 31st overall to Boston, where she will be reunited with teammate Andrews. Prudhomme was just one of three goalkeepers to be drafted.
The only previous USC player to be drafted in an NWSL Draft was Elizabeth Eddy, who was drafted as the 33rd overall pick in the 2014 draft by Sky Blue FC. Eddy is still playing the NWSL, but for the North Carolina Courage (previously Western New York Flash, the reigning NWSL champion).
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM- 10 Trojans earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors in 2016, headlined by Nicole Molen, who earned first team honors with a 3.92 GPA as a human biology major for the second-straight year. She also earned CoSIDA All-Academic District VIII First Team honors for the second-straight season, and represented the Trojans as an NCAA Elite 90 honoree, having the highest team GPA for the Trojans playing in the College Cup. Nine other Trojans earned honorable mention selections, including returners Sydney Sladek (2x honoree, communication major), Sydney Johnson (2x honoree, psychology major) and first time selections Amanda Rooney and Hailey Hite.
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The No. 6 Trojans head out on the road this week, visit Arizona on Thursday, Oct. 5 and then follow up with a game at Arizona State on Sunday, Oct., 8. The game on Thursday at Arizona will be televised live on Pac-12 Networks, while Sunday's game will be live streamed.
SCOUTING ARIZONA- The Trojans are 17-4-2 all-time against the Wildcats. Last season at McAlister Field the Trojans defeated the Wildcats 4-0. When playing in Tucson, the Trojans are 8-2-2 all-time, with the last time the two faced off in the desert in 2014, when the Trojans defeated the Wildcats 3-0. Â
SCOUTING ARIZONA STATE- The Trojans are 14-7 all-time against the Sun Devils. Last season in Tempe the Trojans won 2-0. In games at ASU, the Trojans are 6-5.
REVIEWING LAST WEEK - The Trojans outshot their opponents 38-11 on the weekend, getting two wins over the Oregon schools. Thursday's match vs. Oregon State was the team's most complete of the year, with the highest goal output of the season (four), and the team's fourth shutout of the year where they did not allow the Beavers a corner kick opportunity. Leah Pruitt led the way with two goals in the victory, while Savannah DeMelo tallied three assists, tying a USC single-game record for assists by one player in a match. Then against Oregon, the Trojans completed their 4th comeback victory over the year, scoring in the 82nd and 84th minutes to defeat the Ducks 2-1. Freshman Tara McKeown delivered the game-winning goal, her third of the year, but not before Nicole Molen tallied her second goal of the weekend, a header equalizer in the 82nd minute.
HOT START - The Trojans are 8-1-1 to start the season, the best start since a 12-1-1 start in 2008.
RANKINGS - The Trojans are ranked sixth this week in the United Coaches Poll and seventh in the D1Baseball poll. The Trojans, who started the season ranked fourth, are working their way back to the top. They have been ranked all season and have been ranked for 20 straight weeks, dating back to Sept. 16 of 2016.
IN THE PAC-12 STATS- The Trojans rank second in the Pac-12 in total shots with 195 over 10 games. The team ransk third with 2.00 goals per game (20 goals in 10 games). Individually, Alex Anthony ranks 10th with 30 total shots and fourth with 3.75 shots per game. Freshman Savannah DeMelo ranks 10th with 1.2 points per game. In Pac-12 play only (through three games), the Trojans are second in shots (58), are third in goals (six) and third in points (20). The Trojans are tied for first with just one goal allowed in three games. In Pac-12 play, Savannah DeMelo and Erika Okuma are tied for the team high with three assists.
NCAA RANKINGS- The Trojans rank fourth in the nation in shots per game, with 19.5 per game. The team ranks 24th with 2.1 assists per game and is 12th with a win-loss percentage of 0.85. Tara McKeown ranks 29th with three game-winning goals on the year. The Trojans' RPI is currently sitting at 56.
PAC-12 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK- Junior defender Erika Okuma was named Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year after tallying three assists in two victories last week, including assisting on both of the Trojan goals in the last four minutes of play on Sunday in a comeback 2-1 victory over Oregon. She also helped the Trojans to their fourth shutout of the season on Thursday vs. Oregon State and shut down the Oregon offense after an early goal, keeping the game within striking distance for the last-minute comeback.
COMEBACK KIDS- The Trojans are 4-1 in come-from-behind games this year, including two comeback wins with multiple goals in the last five minutes, at LMU and against Oregon.
FRESHMAN PHENOM - Redshirt freshman Savannah DeMelo, who redshirted last fall after playing with the U.S. U-20 Women's National Team in the World Cup, has tallied four goals on the season already. Those four goals scored by a freshman are the most since Elizabeth Eddy tallied five in 2010. The freshman USC record is nine goals, set by Amy Rodriguez in 2005. DeMelo tallied three assists in USC's 4-0 victory over Oregon State, tying USC's single-game mark for assists by one player in a match. Her three assist game is also tops in the conference this year. Â
TOP DRAWER TEAM OF THE WEEK - Senior defender/midfielder Nicole Molen was named to the Top Drawer Team of the Week after playing two outstanding road matches, including tallying an assist on Leah Pruitt's game-tying goal at LMU.
TOP DRAWER TOP 100 - Junior defender Ally Prisock was named the 25th best collegiate player by TopDrawer Soccer.
PRESEASON BEST XIÂ - Junior defender Ally Prisock was named to the TopDrawer Soccer Preseason Best XI Third Team, while freshman midfielder Savannah DeMelo was named to the TopDrawer Soccer Preseason Freshmen Best XI.
WATCH LIST SEASONÂ - Junior defender Ally Prisock, a lockdown defender on last season's team that boasted the lowest goals against average in the conference, and tallied new program highs in total shutouts (12) and shutouts in a row (7), was named to the watch list for the prestigious MAC Hermann Trophy Award. Last season senior midfielder Morgan Andrews became the first Trojan in program history to be named a finalist for the award.
NEVADA STATE PLAYER OF THE YEAR - The Trojans post two Gatorade Nevada State Players of the Year in 2016-17, with freshman Arlie Jones joining the ranks with senior Sydney Sladek earning the honor in 2013-14Â Jones tallied 32 goals and 13 assists this past season to earn the honor, leading Bishop Gorman High School to a 21-3-1 record and the Class 4A Sunset Region Tournament semifinals. She was recently named a high school All-American by the NSCAA and participated in the High School All-American Game. Sladek, who earned the honor in 2013, holds the Nevada single season scoring record with 78 goals, the Nevada career goals record with 207, the Nevada single game scoring record with 10 goals in one match.
NATIONAL TEAM EXPERIENCE - Many of the Trojans boast national team experience, but the depth and experience representing their country runs deep for Trojan freshman. Savannah DeMelo would have been a Trojan freshman in 2016, but redshirted due to competing for the U.S. in the U-20 Women's World Cup in November. Most recently DeMelo joined fellow freshmen Tara McKeon and Arlie Jones in the U-20 training camp in Europe in July. Prior to that DeMelo participated in training camp with the U-19 team this past June in the Czech Republic. Junior Ally Prisock saw action with the U-19 and U-20 squads last year as well. Ashleigh Plumptre, a native of England, has also suited up for her home country in the youth team circuit over the last few months.
THIS YEAR'S MIX - The Trojans return five regular starters from last season's national championship squad, including six who started in the national championship game vs. West Virginia (Bingham, McMorrow, Prisock, Anthony, Rooney, Molen). In addition, three other imapct players in Leah Pruitt, Sydney Sladek and Sydney Johnson return all as upper classmen with a lot of experience over their career. Sophomore midfielder Jalen Woodward is expected to see more action this season and be a mainstay as a holding midfielder for the Trojans. The team does need to replace a lot, however, including Pac-12 Goalkeeper of the Year Sammy Jo Prudhomme, Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Mandy Freeman, and all Pac-12 selections Morgan Andrews, Savannah Levin and Kayla Mills. The only Trojan who was named to the College Cup All-Tournament team returning in 2017 is junior forward Leah Pruitt.
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THE DEFENSE - Defensively the team loses anchor Mandy Freeman, but returns Prisock and Julia Bingham, who was a part of the back line in 2016 that set a team-record 12 shutouts, including seven in a row. The Trojans are also excited about the return of Dominique Randle from a knee injury, as she is a voice with experience to help out the line. In addition to those two, the Trojans boast sophomore Ashleigh Plumptre and newcomers Jessica Haidet and Tara McKeown, providing depth at the position.
THE MIDFIELD- The Trojans return the most in the midfield from the national championship squad, led by seniors Nicole Molen, Sydney Sladek, Amanda Rooney and sophomore Jalen Woodward. The Trojans also add some exciting pieces in Savannah DeMelo, who was away in 2016 playing in the U-20 World Cup with the U.S. National Team and freshman Arlie Jones, who is a versatile and technical player who can also play up top.
THE FORWARDS- The Trojans lost 55 percent (22-of-49) their goals scored last year to graduation (Katie Johnson 10, Morgan Andrews 10, Savannah Levin, 2). However, the Trojans return bonafide scorers in Alex Anthony (tied for the team lead in 2016 with 10 goals, sixth-best goal scoring output in one season at USC) and Leah Pruitt with four. Pruitt also led the team in 2016 with eight assists. They also return dangerous goal scorer Sydney Johnson. Â
HONORS IN 2016 - The Trojans boasted eight All-Pac-12 honorees last season, the most in program history. Returning in 2017 is second-team honoree Alex Anthony, while defender Julia Bingham was named to the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team. Anthony also earned NSCAA All-Pacific Region honors. Â
WINS IN 2016 - The Trojans' 19 wins in 2016 (19-4-2) season were the second-most in program history, with the most coming during the 2007 national championship season when they went 20-3-2. That year the Trojans also finished second in the Pac-12 and were a two seed in the NCAA Tournament.
LOCKDOWN DEFENSE - The 2016 Trojan defense was the stingiest in the Pac-12 in 2016, allowing just nine goals over 19 games in the regular season. The team tallied a program-high 12 shutouts in the regular season (16 total), including seven-straight to set a new program record.
NWSL DRAFT - Five Trojans were taken in the 2017 NWSL College Draft, the most from any one program on the year. Midfielder Morgan Andrews, a New England native, headed hometown team, the Boston Breakers as the third overall pick and the highest a Trojan has ever been taken in the draft. The Trojans went back-to-back as defender Kayla Mills was the fourth overall pick to Sky Blue FC, while teammate Mandy Freeman rounded out the top 10, also drafted to Sky Blue FC. The three first round selections were the most of any program. Forward Katie Johnson was taken in the second round, 16th overall to the Seattle Reign, while goalkeeper Sammy Jo Prudhomme was taken in the fourth round, 31st overall to Boston, where she will be reunited with teammate Andrews. Prudhomme was just one of three goalkeepers to be drafted.
The only previous USC player to be drafted in an NWSL Draft was Elizabeth Eddy, who was drafted as the 33rd overall pick in the 2014 draft by Sky Blue FC. Eddy is still playing the NWSL, but for the North Carolina Courage (previously Western New York Flash, the reigning NWSL champion).
SUCCESS IN THE CLASSROOM- 10 Trojans earned Pac-12 All-Academic honors in 2016, headlined by Nicole Molen, who earned first team honors with a 3.92 GPA as a human biology major for the second-straight year. She also earned CoSIDA All-Academic District VIII First Team honors for the second-straight season, and represented the Trojans as an NCAA Elite 90 honoree, having the highest team GPA for the Trojans playing in the College Cup. Nine other Trojans earned honorable mention selections, including returners Sydney Sladek (2x honoree, communication major), Sydney Johnson (2x honoree, psychology major) and first time selections Amanda Rooney and Hailey Hite.
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