Women’s soccer brings high expectations into 2019

With the 2019 season just around the corner, USC women’s soccer is set to build upon last year’s success with a team that has all the tools to bounce back and take another stab at the national championship.  

The Trojans are fresh off another impressive season under head coach Keidane McAlpine, who has led the team to four straight campaigns with at least 15 wins. However, the team’s search for its second title in three years ended with a heartbreaking loss to Florida State in the Sweet Sixteen  of the NCAA tournament on penalty kicks.    

The team will enter the season ranked No. 5 in the United Soccer Coaches Preseason Poll behind two Pac-12 schools: Stanford and UCLA.

USC lost three seniors and two graduate students during the offseason, but is expecting returning players to fill the void, including sophomore forward Penelope Hocking and redshirt junior goalie Kaylie Collins. Hocking earned Pac-12 Freshman of the Year for her stellar 14-goal campaign, which included three game-winners.

Collins was a second team All-American after an outstanding season in which she allowed just 11 goals en route to 10 shutouts. She will look to maintain a solid defensive unit and improve on her already-impressive 86.1% save percentage.  

Collins’ defensive line will be anchored by senior outside back Julia Bingham, who has started all but four games during her college career thus far. Bingham has been one of USC’s most reliable defenders to date and earned All-Pac-12 second team honors last season.

The Trojans will face a tall task in replacing injured junior midfielder Savannah DeMelo. A third team All-American last season, DeMelo was recently named to the Hermann Trophy watch list, alongside Collins. DeMelo posted nine goals and 10 assists in 21 games in 2018 but will miss the majority of the season due to an Achilles injury. 

DeMelo’s absence will place a heavy offensive burden on returning midfielders senior Jalen Woodward and junior Alea Hyatt.  

“She is a really big part of our team,” said Bingham, who has competed against DeMelo from a young age. “But I believe we do have a lot of [midfielders] that could fill her spot. I have no doubt we will be fine.”

McAlpine said he will give junior midfielder Arlie Jones the nod in DeMelo’s place.

“We expect [Jones] to do some big things,” McAlpine said. “She is a very talented player that has not really gotten [an] opportunity show her skill, but I think people will be surprised.”

USC’s strong incoming freshman class will help lessen the impact of DeMelo’s absence. The Trojans have once again compiled one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, coming in at No. 3 overall behind UCLA and Penn State.

The talented class of 2023 includes midfielder Croix Bethune, who was named the country’s top midfielder in 2017. Another newcomer, forward Olufolasade Adamolekun, recently played for the Jamaican national team in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and will provide useful international experience to the team.

The Trojans were also able to land graduate transfer Natalie Ward from Notre Dame, where she appeared in 34 games. Although her senior season was cut short due to injury, Ward’s experience will be a valuable asset.

USC will field one of the most formidable and complete teams in the nation, but winning the Pac-12 will be no easy task. Reigning Pac-12 champion Stanford is a perennial powerhouse that will look to defend its conference title for the fifth season in a row. The Cardinal also boast a solid lineup featuring two Hermann watch list candidates: sophomore forward Sophia Smith and junior forward Catarina Macario.  

UCLA is coming off an Elite Eight appearance and will return a top-tier offense that threatens to knock off the Trojans for the third year in a row. The Bruins brought in All-American transfer Lucy Parker from LSU this offseason to lead their defense, posing a challenge for a USC team without DeMelo. 

“Beating every California team will be huge because we always struggle with California schools,” Bingham said. “We really have to stay focused and locked in for every game.”

On top of an extremely competitive Pac-12 schedule, USC is slated to play some of the most difficult non-conference opponents in the nation, including reigning national champion Florida State. The Trojans will look to avenge last year’s season-ending loss to the Seminoles in the rematch Sept. 1.

“One of the things that I like about this group is that we have a lot of experience and older players who have been a part of [the] 2016 championship team, and we also have players who played in that very tough loss against FSU,” McAlpine said. “We can use that experience and the disappointment of not reaching our goals last season to our advantage.”

A well-rounded recruiting class and a more experienced lineup should also help the Trojans down the stretch during conference play and in closely contested matches. For USC to capture the top spot in the Pac-12, it will need to prove that it can compete with the top teams in the conference — and there will be limited room for error.