Women of Troy triumph in PKs to advance to next round of NCAA Tournament


Brian Ji | Daily Trojan

Brian Ji | Daily Trojan

The women’s soccer team is on to the next one.

The Trojans defeated Cal State Fullerton on penalties after a 3-3 draw in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. It was a thriller of a contest at McAlister Field as entertaining as it was tense.

Fullerton took the lead at 19 minutes on a lovely far-post header off of a long throw in. The Titans then doubled their lead with 11 minutes remaining in the half off of another header, this time from a corner kick.

The Women of Troy were in unfamiliar territory at the interval, trailing 2-0 and looking a bit out of sorts. However, the second half turned out to be an entirely different story.

“Offensively I thought we were doing a great job,” head coach Keidane McAlpine said of his team’s first-half performance. “And so the message was kind of to continue to be aggressive and be assertive going forward.”

Just minutes into the second half, center midfielder Morgan Andrews cut the visitors’ lead in half when she hit an absolute rip from outside the area. Unfortunately for the Titans, she was just getting started.

Andrews brought USC level in the 54th minute, finishing a cross by right-back Kayla Mills.

But, Fullerton quickly responded, regaining the lead immediately after Andrews’ equalizer. The ball bounced into the box and took a hop over the head of Trojan netminder Sammy Jo Prudhomme.

USC continued to dominate possession even after falling behind 3-2, never looking flustered despite what the scoreboard said. Then the hat trick came for No. 3 in red. Mills once again fed Andrews, who steered the ball past goalkeeper Jennifer Stuart and into the bottom corner.

It was 3-3 for the remaining 23 minutes of regulation, meaning overtime was on the way. Neither team was able to find the back of the net in overtime, though, and so the match had to be decided by a penalty shootout.

Prudhomme stopped two of Fullerton’s spot kicks, helping the team to victory with a pair of massive saves. Each Trojan penalty-taker did her job, as USC went four for four from 12 yards out in the shootout.

One of Prudhomme’s stops came on the first kick of the shootout.

“I think making a save on the first one was really important for the team cause I think it just calmed everybody down,” she said.

Despite only winning on a penalty shootout, USC certainly had the better of the play against Fullerton. The Women of Troy logged 33 shots and nine corners and, in the first half alone, hit two posts and a crossbar. The Titans made the most of their few opportunities and played with tremendous fight, but USC could have run away with the game.

The Women of Troy kept fighting, even when the ball refused to go in. They matched Fullerton’s pace up top and had the lion’s share of possession in the middle of the park. Mandy Freeman’s physical presence at center defensive mid ensured that Fullerton did not have long spells of possession, while workhorse Nicole Molen played a sound game and was battling all over the pitch.

Though Andrews was the hero with her three goals, center-backs Ally Prisock and Dominique Randle were also outstanding in this game. Randle and Prisock have noticeable chemistry and came up with a number of last-ditch challenges to win the ball back when Fullerton came with offensive pressure.

After allowing two goals in the first half, USC managed to take the game by the scruff of the neck rather than losing its flare. This team’s ability to bounce back is admirable, and much of the credit goes to McAlpine.

“Their character showed through,” McAlpine said of his team’s performance. “They could have given up and quit in the first half, but they stayed with it.”

The team exploded after the break and put Fullerton under a great deal of pressure.

“They got after it,” McAlpine said. “And it was absolutely fantastic the way they finished the game.”

The team’s camaraderie helped them to an emotional win over Fullerton. Andrews has lauded her team’s spirit this season and knows the group has something special.

“I’ve worked really hard this entire season,” Andrews said. “I’m doing what I have to do for the team, and they’re doing the same thing for me. So as long as we’re working hard together, we’re going to keep winning.”

The Women of Troy fell to Pepperdine in the first round of the NCAA Tournament last season. Ironically enough, USC lost that game on PKs. This is a different team, though, one that looks more than capable of contending for the national title this season.

USC now prepares to take on either Boston College or Princeton in the Round of 32.