USC wins first Pac-12 away match in 2-1 win over Arizona State

Women’s soccer began its Arizona road trip with a 2-1 victory Thursday over Arizona State University. The win not only marks the Trojans’ first away victory in the Pac-12 but also adds to their seven-game win streak and improves their conference record to 2-0 after dispatching previously undefeated Oregon State University in a narrow 2-1 victory last Friday. 

The Trojans arrived at Arizona State after losing their previous bout last season 1-0. Arizona State senior forward Nicole Douglas, who scored the pivotal goal in last season’s affair, opened Thursday’s scoring in the 30th minute, slotting the ball past USC’s senior goalkeeper Anna Smith. The in-form Douglas added her 12th goal of the season and appeared as a difference maker for Arizona State early on.  

USC responded 13 minutes later when freshman forward Simone Jackson received a through pass from junior forward Hannah White before cutting in and scoring the equalizer at the near post. Jackson’s response marked her second goal of the season and the first of her Pac-12 career. 

Toward the second half, USC’s efforts proved fruitful in the 60th minute, as junior midfielder Croix Bethune sprinted through the left wing before dispatching an attempt blocked by Arizona State’s freshman keeper Birta Gudlaugs. Redshirt senior midfielder Savannah DeMelo committed to the play and followed the eventual deflection before tucking away the game-winner. 

“We’ve been really working on the interchange of our front group and therefore trying to move people around so teams can’t just tee off on them and really locate where players are coming from,” said head coach Keidane McAlpine in an interview with the Daily Trojan. 

USC prevented Arizona State from scoring in the second half, as the backline held the Sun Devils to only three shots compared to the seven allowed in the first. Smith had little to do after the opening goal as she was forced to make only one save.

“In the first half, we allowed [Arizona State] to dictate the tempo of the game,” McAlpine said. “The second half we were far more aggressive, and thus, able to step up … The backline really locked in and figured out how to deal with the players, so they couldn’t get as many good looks they did in the first half.”

USC’s comeback against Arizona State mimicked the recovery made last Friday against Oregon State. The Trojans’ pair of conference wins are the only two victories this season where the team was behind first. Jackson and White, creators of the pivotal equalizer, came off the bench and helped the team in its comeback. 

“We have to be better to start games,” McAlpine said. “We have to be better for a full 90 minutes … However, we have to applaud the players that came in off the bench … I thought they changed the level of intensity for the game that allowed us to make the comeback.” 

The Trojans now have a 7-2 record and are 2-0 in Pac-12 play despite losing their first two competitive games of the season against Pepperdine University and Brigham Young University. USC is currently second in the Pac-12 standings. 

USC will finish its visit to the Grand Canyon state with a match against Arizona University Sunday at 1 p.m.