Women of Troy score late to defeat Bruins

Beat the Bruins · Before Friday’s 2-0 win, the No. 14-ranked Women of Troy were 0-15 all-time against the Bruins in Westwood. – Brian Ji | Daily Trojan

The women’s soccer team capped off an impressive regular season with an emphatic 2-0 road win over UCLA.

The Women of Troy (14-5-1) entered the game as the No. 14 team in the land. USC’s play in this game, as well as the team’s body of work all season, legitimized that lofty ranking. The Women of Troy bullied a UCLA team that was really struggling to put the pieces together during the latter stage of the season.

The Bruins (8-10-1) endured a down year after having lost just one game in each of the past two seasons. UCLA captured the national title in 2013 and came close to repeating the following season, but 2015 was not so kind to USC’s crosstown rival.

On Friday night, the Bruins had the chance to make a statement against a favored USC team. For the majority of the game, the two sides were on level pegging. It was a tremendous fixture to watch for the record-breaking crowd at UCLA’s Drake Stadium. Back and forth they went, nothing to choose between them.

The match was deadlocked at 0-0, as a record 6,253 fans held their breath.

Then the Trojans decided to take matters into their own hands.

USC strung together a terrific offensive move in the 73rd minute. After excellent possession to advance the ball into the final third, right back Kayla Mills drilled a low cross to Morgan Andrews. Andrews coolly tucked the ball into the back of the net. She made the finish look easy, maintaining her composure in front of the goal and giving USC a much-needed score.

In a tense game, the junior midfielder was seemingly immune to the pressure. She was clearly enjoying herself out there, dictating the flow of play and controlling the middle of the park.

She had given the visitors the lead, but the game was still on a knife’s edge. However, Andrews was not done yet.

Just six minutes later, she doubled the lead on a beautiful volley from inside the area. Sydney Johnson served an aerial ball into the box, but Andrews still had a lot to do. She made a clean connection and powered it home to give USC a massive win. It is safe to say that her volley will be in USC’s conversation for goal of the year.

UCLA played with energy, but the Bruins did not have an answer for Andrews. The Notre Dame transfer has been unstoppable this season, and her performance against the Bruins on Friday night was no exception.

The Women of Troy have quite a bit of momentum as they prepare for the NCAA Tournament, but they also have all of the fundamentals to win the national title this year.

It all starts with the goalkeeping. It is virtually impossible to win games, let alone the NCAA tourney, without outstanding play from the netminder. Sammy Jo Prudhomme has posted 10 shutouts this season and has made clutch saves when her number is called. Against UCLA, Prudhomme came up huge in the second half when she made a leaping save to the near post, keeping the Bruins off the score sheet.

The game was 0-0 at that point. If Prudhomme had not made that acrobatic save, the outcome of this game could obviously have been different.

The back line is also resembling a fortress at the moment. Perfection is impossible, but the defense’s steady play against UCLA was pretty close to flawless. The team’s possession-oriented style means that Prudhomme often opts to roll the ball out to her defenders, who are all comfortable in possession.

The back line then looks to connect high-percentage passes to midfielders Mandy Freeman, Nicole Molen and Morgan Andrews. Freeman plays the role of center defensive mid, while Andrews and Molen are given more license to roam. Molen is tireless in the middle and rarely exits matches to catch a breather and Andrews is one of the most dominant players in college soccer.

The play from wingers and the center forward has also been incredibly promising. There is a steady rotation among the forwards in this 4-3-3 formation, with all contributors bringing a unique skillset to the table.

With a well-rounded, explosive team, the table is set for head coach Keidane McAlpine to lead his team on a national title run.