USC sweeps weekend with wins over Michigan and Western Michigan

The USC women’s soccer team swept the weekend on the road in Michigan. In the middle of a five-game road trip, the Trojans managed a 1-0 overtime victory over No. 24 Michigan Friday and dominated Western Michigan with a 5-0 win on Sunday.

Prior to Friday, the Trojans held a 4-0 all-time record against the Wolverines, whom they last faced in 2009.

USC got off to a strong start in Ann Arbor, Mich., with a series of shots around the ninth minute. In response, Michigan fired off a couple of attempts around the 13th-minute mark and continued to maintain slightly more possession throughout the half.

During regulation, the Trojans and the Wolverines traded opportunities back and forth, but it was senior goalkeeper Anna Smith who kept the game tied at 0-0.

In the 39th minute, after Michigan junior forward Dani Wolfe was taken down inside the box, Smith came up with a diving stop on a penalty kick by Michigan senior midfielder Sarah Stratigakis to keep the game scoreless.

Smith finished the game with a career-high 11 saves.

“I thought Friday’s game was one of [Smith’s] best games in an SC jersey,” said head coach Keidane McAlpine after Sunday’s game. “Her composure, the big saves that we needed, allowed our team to be confident and play with more confidence and play with more urgency knowing that they had Anna behind them.”

In the second half, the two teams continued to see scoring opportunities, but both struggled to capitalize, leaving the game tied at 0-0 going into overtime.

“I think we grew in the game as the game went on,” McAlpine said. “I thought as the dying minutes of regulation time were going, we were starting to feel better and be better and play better, so I think that carried into the overtime.”

Despite the Wolverines having a 21-8 shot advantage in regulation, the Trojans dominated in overtime.

Only 34 seconds in, redshirt senior forward Jada Talley just barely missed a one-touch chance to score off a pass from freshman forward Simone Jackson. Within the first three minutes, USC earned three corner kicks with the third resulting in the game-winning goal.

Freshman midfielder Aaliyah Farmer fired a header inside the right post off of a deep corner to the back of the box from Talley in the 94th minute to give the Trojans the 1-0 victory.

On Sunday, the Trojans cruised through their first ever matchup against the Western Michigan Broncos in Kalamazoo, Mich.

In her first start of the season, senior forward Penelope Hocking scored on a give-and-go from redshirt senior midfielder Savannah DeMelo in the third minute. Hocking later scored in the 59th minute with a one-touch shot off a pass from senior midfielder/forward Madeline Vergura.

The Trojans scored three more goals in the second half.

Junior midfielder Croix Bethune scored in the 72nd minute on a deep ball to the penalty area from junior forward Hannah White.

Six minutes after picking up her first career assist, White scored her first career goal, burying a shot in the upper left corner in the 78th minute off of a pass from sophomore forward Katie Roditis.

In the 84th minute, USC’s final goal came after freshman midfielder Simi Awujo took the ball up the field and fired to the left of the Western Michigan freshman goalkeeper Lauren Boafo, bringing the final score to 5-0.

With all but one goal coming in the second half, McAlpine said reestablishing and maintaining a sense of urgency was important in the last 45 minutes.

Despite a couple of unlucky shots in the first half, the Trojans finished out an overall excellent weekend outshooting the Broncos 30-6 with 14 shots on target.

“I think as you look at the games we’ve gotten better and better and better in those moments at figuring ourselves out and being able to play through the tough moments, and I thought today was sort of the culmination of that, and we hope to carry it through the next game,” McAlpine said after the game Sunday.

The Trojans improve to 3-2 on the season and will travel to Santa Barbara, Calif., to face the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos on Thursday, Sept. 16.