No. 20 USC finishes with consecutive draws in Washington

No. 20 women’s soccer drew with Washington Sunday afternoon in a 2-2 bout where the Trojans led twice before allowing the Huskies to level the score. Despite dropping points, USC remains undefeated in Pac-12 play and maintains its position at the top of the Pac-12 Following a 0-0 draw with Washington State Thursday, the Trojans arrived at the University of Washington to conclude their short visit to the Evergreen State with hopes of expanding their Pac-12 lead. 

USC opened the scoring in the 30th minute when freshman forward Simone Jackson raced across the left wing before cutting a pass into the feet of junior midfielder Croix Bethune who shot from just outside the box into the right post. The Huskies quickly responded a minute later when junior forward Kyla Ferry tapped in the equalizer following a series of ricochets. 

The Trojans continued the search for a pivotal goal in the second half until the 64th minute when Bethune completed her brace after receiving a pass from junior forward Hannah White in the penalty box. Once again, the Huskies responded in swift action three minutes later when senior forward McKenzie Weinert equalized after receiving a through pass into the penalty box and placing the ball in the top right corner. 

Both teams couldn’t settle the bout after two overtime periods and subsequently ended the game without a victor. The result marked USC’s second consecutive draw, both of which have been in away matches. 

Despite Bethune’s contributions with a goal in each half, the Trojans quickly conceded goals to Washington minutes after each instance and prevented USC from taking 3 points from the Huskies.  

“It was just tough conditions and … and we were a little uncomfortable in them today,” Head Coach Keidane McAlpine said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “I thought, all in all, we did pretty well and we were just unfortunate not to score some of the ones on the other end.”

USC managed 20 shots with 7 on target, and Washington had 16 shots with 6 on target. 

“I thought we created enough chances to win the game,” McAlpine said. “I didn’t think we were as efficient in terms of putting shots on frame and forcing the keeper to make saves, and ultimately, it cost us the win.” 

The Trojans remain undefeated in the Pac-12 along with No. 23 UCLA. USC’s winning run lasted a historical 11 matches and spanned the course of nearly two months. 

“I think the team enjoys winning … What gives us a lot of confidence is that we were able to make sure we didn’t lose the game,” McAlpine said. “We were able to come away with a draw on the road in tough conditions at both places and that’s a part of being a team on the way to being pretty great.” 

Following UCLA’s draw with Washington State and Stanford’s victory against Arizona late Sunday evening, USC holds a narrow advantage at the top of the Pac-12 conference table. USC is currently at 20 points, while Stanford has 19 and UCLA has 17 points. 

USC returns to Soni McAlister Field to face UC Berkeley in its third-to-last match of the Pac-12 season Thursday at 3 p.m.