Trojans can’t find a winner, settle for draw against Huskies

No. 5 USC soccer played to its second consecutive draw on Sunday against Washington at Husky Soccer Stadium. The 2-2 result extends the Trojans’ unbeaten streak to 13 consecutive matches, but the pair of stalemates has seen their Pac-12 lead shrink to just one point.

The Trojans were without both of their regular starting wingers in senior Penelope Hocking and redshirt senior Jada Talley against the Huskies.

Hocking, the program’s all-time leading goal-scorer, was knocked out of their last contest after a massive collision with Washington State freshman goalkeeper Nadia Cooper. Talley was also out for Thursday’s match against the Cougars.

Missing over a quarter of their goal-scoring output this season, forwards junior Croix Bethune and freshman Simone Jackson stepped up to fill the void in the Trojan attack.

Bethune scored both of USC’s goals on the afternoon. After cutting back to her left foot at the top of the box, Bethune fired a strike inside the far post to put the Trojans ahead in the 31st minute. She put USC back in front 2-1 with another left-footed goal in the 65th minute.

“We just need to put the ball in the back of the net when the chances are given,” Bethune said of Hocking and Talley’s absence. “This is a business trip, and we need to handle business.”

Jackson made the most of just her second start of the conference season, and her 92 minutes played were by far the most of any match in her young career. She was especially dangerous in the first half, putting four of her five shots on target and assisting on Bethune’s opening goal.

“She balled out,” Bethune said of Jackson. “I love when Simone’s on the field. She showed up and showed out tonight. She gave us a lot of chances. I love it.”

Those two goals would have been enough to win any of USC’s Pac-12 games to date. On a rainy, windy afternoon in Seattle, however, the Trojan defense conceded more than one goal for the first time since their third game of the season on Aug. 28.

Even as the Trojan defense struggled in the conditions, conceding 13 fouls while the Huskies put six of their 16 attempts on frame, it took two moments of individual brilliance from Washington senior forward Summer Yates to ultimately crack them.

The former All-American and U.S. U-20 National Team attacker assisted on both goals for the Huskies on Thursday. Yates headed a ball down in the box off a deep cross in the 32nd minute for the first and played a perfect through ball that beat USC senior center back Kaylin Martin for Washington’s equalizer in the 68th minute.

That 68th minute goal would be the last one scored on the day, as both overtime periods passed without a goal from either side and the match ended in a 2-2 deadlock.

The Trojans’ pair of draws in Washington this weekend have seen their Pac-12 lead all but evaporate. Stanford has closed to within a point of USC, and UCLA can pull level with a win against WSU tonight.

USC takes on California next at home on Thursday before closing out the season with two matches against Stanford and UCLA that will likely decide the 2021 Pac-12 Championship.

“It’s another weekend. Time to handle business,” Bethune said of the closing stretch. “As a team, we’ve been focused on meditating and just restarting and re-locking in.”