Friday’s match is worth your time

This Friday night, the USC women’s soccer team hosts archrival UCLA at the Coliseum. I will be there. Not because I have to cover the game — our excellent beat writers Ben Albert and Paolo Uggetti can take care of that. Not because our football team is in the middle of another long, boring bye week. And especially not because I’m a soccer fanatic. I will be there for one reason, the same reason over 90,000 of the Trojan faithful cross Exposition and navigate the Rose Garden on Saturdays: It’s going to be a lot of fun.

I understand if you don’t believe me. There are plenty of excuses not to make the trek out to this match, especially as a busy USC student. So because I’d like to avoid getting lost among a sea of parents and high school coaches on Friday night, let me try to ease some of those doubts. And don’t worry, hypothetical fellow student. I’ve thought of everything.

Right off the bat, aren’t we gonna lose? Like, pretty badly?

Yeah, that’s possible. The undefeated, top-ranked Bruins are the reigning national champions. They’re on top of the Pac-12, the nation and probably the universe. The Women of Troy are a talented squad, but they’re unranked and fighting for an NCAA tournament bid. On paper, it’s not an even matchup. But as anyone who watched UCLA stun No. 2 USC at the Rose Bowl in 2006 can tell you, rivalry games aren’t played on paper. Anything can happen.

Yeah, but that’s football. Do we actually have a chance to win this soccer game?

You bet we do. We’ve even done it before. A little over two years ago, I watched former USC midfielder Jordan Marada and the unranked Women of Troy upset the No. 2 Bruins in one of the most thrilling sporting events I’ve ever witnessed. The match ended on Marada’s overtime winner, the closest thing I’ve ever seen to an honest-to-goodness, buzzer-beating goal. It was absolutely brilliant, a golden goal so perfectly timed that the opposition had no chance to respond. I wasn’t the only one there to see it, either. At least 30 students stormed McAlister Field to celebrate, as a similarly dominant UCLA squad — one that went on to reach the NCAA quarterfinals -— walked away in utter disbelief. Wouldn’t that be fun to see again, in a night game at the Coliseum no less?

O.K., but come on. This is soccer. College students don’t get excited about soccer.

Some do. The men’s game between UCSB and Cal Poly — dubbed the “College California Clasico” by NBC’s Men in Blazers — draws thousands of students, while hundreds more can’t even get tickets. UCSB students are known for their soccer fanaticism, including tossing tortillas onto the field after a home goal. Now I’m not claiming we steal that tradition, but wouldn’t it be fun to start one of our own?

Those schools don’t even have football! USC students barely even come out for basketball games. It’s all about football, all the time.

Technically, Cal Poly has an FCS football team, but that’s neither here nor there. Though I admit it’s tough to imagine USC students getting pumped up for a non-football sport, it does happen. Anyone who came out to see the Trojans pick up their fifth consecutive national title in men’s water polo two years ago can attest to that. Students packed the stands, suffering through rain and cold weather to see USC knock off UCLA. It wasn’t an isolated event, either. Uytengsu Aquatics Center was rocking for a regular season matchup between the No. 3 Trojans and the No. 1 Bruins just this past Sunday.

Ok, you got me convinced. I’ll give this whole soccer business a try. We better not get blown out…

I can’t guarantee that we won’t! Just like -— not for lack of trying — I couldn’t guarantee that our football team would overpower Boston College. But I can guarantee that if you grab a group of friends and head out to the Coliseum this Friday night at 7:30 p.m., you’re gonna have a good time. And isn’t that what college is all about?

Will Hanley is a junior majoring in political science and communication. His column, “Sports Willustrated,” runs Thursdays.