No. 10 Trojans Open Pac-12 Play at No. 25 Utah

Saturday, September 23

Salt Lake City, UT

1:00 PM

USC

Utah

Photo by: John McGillen

No. 10 Trojans Open Pac-12 Play at No. 25 Utah

September 22, 2017 | Women's Soccer, Features

Game Notes vs. Utah

Trojans take on the Utes on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.

THIS WEEK
The No. 10 Trojans open Pac-12 play on the road at No. 25 Utah on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 1 p.m. PT. The match is a rematch of the NCAA Round of 16 where the Trojans defeated the Utes 1-0 at McAlister Field en route to the 2016 NCAA title.

SCOUTING UTAH - The Trojans are 7-3 all-time against the Utes. When playing in Salt Lake City, the Trojans are 1-2-1, including a hard-fought 1-1 double-overtime tie last year. However, the Trojans and Utes last met in the Round of 16 in the 2016 NCAA Tournament, where the Trojans defeated the Utes 1-0 at McAlister Field to push the Trojans to the Elite Eight. Junior Leah Pruitt tallied the game-winning goal in the 73rd minute, putting away a rebound off a saved shot coming from a corner kick in the rain. Then in Pac-12 play, the Trojans found themselves down after a 73rd minute goal by the Utes, but sophomore Taylor McMorrow came through with the equalizer in the 79th minute. The Trojans then had what looked to be the game-winner called back with a controversial offsides call in the last minute of regulation.

REVIEWING LAST WEEK - The Trojans went 2-0 last week with two comeback wins at WCC foes Loyola Marymount and USD. The Trojans defeated the Lions 2-1 with two goals in the last five minutes to propel them to victory. Leah Pruitt broke through with the game tying goal in the 86th minute (assist Tara McKeown) and then Erika Okuma came through with her first collegiate goal in the 88th minute (assist Nicole Molen) to put the Trojans on top. Then at USD, the Trojans went down early, conceding a goal just 18 seconds into the match, but scored three unanswered goals to get the 3-1 decision. Alex Anthony scored the game-tying goal and freshman Savannah DeMelo had her first and the first multi-goal outing by any Trojan so far on the year.

ON THE ROAD AGAIN - This season the Trojans are 3-1 on the road, defeating Missouri 2-0, LMU 2-1 and USD 3-1 but falling 2-1 at Kansas.

COMEBACK KIDS- The Trojans are 3-1 in come-from-behind games this year, including two comeback wins this past weekend on the road at LMU and at USD.

PAC-12 OPENERS- The Trojans are 12-6-4 all-time in Pac-12 openers and 4-4 all-time when opening conference play on the road. Under the direction of head coach Keidane McAlpine, the Trojans are 3-0 in Pac-12 openers and 1-0 on the road. The last time the Trojans opened on the road was in 2014, where they beat Arizona 3-0.

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.

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 XI - 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 SEASON - 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 2013-14 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.

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.

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.

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.

LAST SEASON- The Trojans won the program's second national title in their 15th tournament appearance. They earned a two seed for the second time in program history. The previous time was in 2007 when they went on to win the NCAA title. It's the highest seeding the program has ever seen. The Trojans are 19-11-5 all-time in the NCAA Tournament, including going 6-0 in 2007 to win the NCAA title. Under head coach Keidane McAlpine the Trojans are 5-1-3 in the postseason (three years). 2016 was just the second time the Trojans advanced to the NCAA Women's College Cup, with the previous time coming in 2007. That year on Nov. 30 the Trojans defeated crosstown rival UCLA 2-1 in the semifinals and Florida State 2-0 in the finals in College Station, Texas to win the program and the Pac-12 their first NCAA women's soccer title.