Soccer travels to Salt Lake to face Utah
The Trojans will hit the road this week to take on University of Utah as they continue to fight for their position in the Pac-12 conference.
No. 15 USC comes into the match following their 2-0 defeat of then-ranked No. 25 rival Cal Berkley last Friday.
“Cal is always a tough team to play, and you never really know what you are going to get,” said Head Coach Jane Alukonis. “We were super fortunate to put one away early the first three minutes, so that always gives you lots of energy and good spirits.”
USC’s third minute goal was scored by sophomore forward/defender Kayla Colbert, who also recorded an assist on sophomore forward Simone Jackson’s goal at the 17th minute. Colbert, who was injured for the first half of the season, has been electrifying since her return to the field, totaling 3 goals and 4 assists in only 5 games played.
“We like her scrappiness. She said that one of her nicknames is Scrap, and I think that is a nice way to describe her attitude when she plays,” Alukonis said. “Kayla’s natural instincts are to get in and score, and she is really light on her feet, so she has been really efficient in terms of getting her fitness back quickly.”
The Trojans were also aided by the return of sophomore midfielder Simi Awujo and junior defender Zoe Burns, who were missing during the Trojans’ loss to University of Arizona as they spent time with the Canadian National team.
“Both of them are really good at keeping the ball,” Alukonis said. “[Zoe and Simi] really help us control the game and play the way we want to, so it’s great to have them back, and hopefully we can just hang on to the ball and dominate because Utah likes to play possession style as well.”
Now at full strength, the Trojans have a plan to continue their offensive attack against the Utes.
“Trying to get them early, attack fast, move the ball quickly and punish them as much as possible [is key],” Alukonis said. “The majority of goals [against Utah] were scored on the counter, so capitalizing on that because we are good in those transition moments.”
But the true key to the game is how the Trojans work together.
“Defensively, just recognizing early what they’re playing and what that means for us in terms of roles and responsibilities,” Alukonis said. “Just figuring out how to work together at a fast pace to try and free open some players for shots.”
With just 7 points in conference play, Utah sits at ninth place in the Pac-12, compared to the Trojans who sit at third with 15 points, behind only UCLA and Stanford. Still, the Trojans recognize that traveling and playing Utah will not be easy.
“It’s a tough trip because you travel in between, and the altitude and a one-hour time change,” Alukonis said. “Utah, we saw a player was red carded the last game, so we’re trying to do our best guess as to what they’ll play. They’ve tried a couple different formations, and Head Coach Hideki Nakada has them playing nice soccer, so I think it will be a fun match.”
Getting the win in Utah is essential for USC as they enter the final stretch of Pac-12 play.
“The next 5 games obviously will determine our ability to win the Pac-12, our placement in the tournament, the possibility of hosting in the tournament for some of the rounds and just overall finishing in terms of rank and who we would match up against,” Alukonis said. “The hiccup against Arizona, we can’t have another one of those. We’ve just got to keep driving forward and win out.”
The Trojans will take on the Utes Thursday at 5 p.m. on the Pac-12 Network.